Post-implantation embryo culture: validation with selected compounds for teratogenicity testing.

1. Some chemical compounds selected by experts for the validation of in vitro teratogenicity testing were investigated in whole rat embryos cultured during the early stages of organogenesis. All sixteen known in vivo teratogens tested also induced specific malformations in embryos grown in culture. 2. Of the nine compounds which were negative in in vivo rat teratogenicity studies, none provoked dysmorphogenic effects in cultured embryos. Abnormal development of the embryos was only observed with these compounds at concentrations also high enough to affect significantly overall growth and/or differentiation. 3. The results showed a high predictability of this system for the compounds tested and suggest that the post-implantation embryo culture system may also be useful in the prospective testing of new drugs and environmental chemicals.