[Ultrastructure of pulmonary alveolar macrophages in peroral exposure to nitrosodimethylamine].

The data of electron microscopic studies of alveolar macrophages obtained by lung lavage in intact random bred white rats and in rats 3, 12 and 24 hours after a single intraperitoneal administration of nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) at a toxic dose of 30 mg/kg are presented. It is shown that the activation of macrophages takes place within the first hours after exposure. Later such destructive effects as autolysis, fatty dystrophy, "dark" type destruction, nuclear fragmentation, etc., resulting in cellular death and disintegration can appear. The data obtained can serve the basis for the application of lung alveolar macrophages in estimating the harmful effect of different chemical environmental factors.