[Morphogenesis of the embryonic head of the chicken following treatment of the isolated brain with actinomycin D and puromycin. First observations].

Isolated brains of 40 hours-old chick embryos are treated by actinomycin D or puromycin solutions at various concentrations and during a relatively short time. Actinomycin D induced ocular malformations varying from subnormal types to anophthalmy. Above a certain concentration, it inhibits lens development. Puromycin is less powerful and determines microphthalmy and synophthalmy, with lens formation in all cases. It seems that actinomycin D could diffuse from the brain to the optic vesicles and inhibit their inductive influence upon the lentogen placodes.