Molnar J J
Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1983 Dec;107(12):629-32.
Postmortem examination of three wild mute swans (Cygnus olor) from a harbor area disclosed an unusual black discoloration of the liver. Chemical, histochemical, and microscopic studies, along with electron-probe microanalysis, showed that cytoplasmic pigment granules in the liver cells contained a copper-protein complex. Similar findings have been reported in Danish and English studies on large numbers of wild mute swans. Two control mute swans from The Bronx Zoo had negligible amounts of hepatic copper. The striking difference between the wild and the captive swans in hepatic copper content suggests that the copper in the wild swans was of environmental origin, most likely from copper-rich antifouling paint used extensively in the marine industry. Flakes of this paint may be ingested by swans searching for food in the sediment of harbor waters.
对来自一个港口区域的三只野生疣鼻天鹅（Cygnus olor）进行的尸检发现，它们的肝脏出现了异常的黑色变色。化学、组织化学和显微镜研究，以及电子探针微分析表明，肝细胞中的细胞质色素颗粒含有一种铜蛋白复合物。丹麦和英国对大量野生疣鼻天鹅的研究也报告了类似的发现。来自布朗克斯动物园的两只对照疣鼻天鹅肝脏中的铜含量可以忽略不计。野生天鹅和圈养天鹅肝脏铜含量的显著差异表明，野生天鹅体内的铜来自环境，很可能来自海洋工业广泛使用的富含铜的防污漆。在港口水域沉积物中觅食的天鹅可能会摄入这种油漆的碎片。
