A subvertebrate system for rapid determination of potential teratogenic hazards.

The multiplicity of potential teratogenic mechanisms requires that a practical screening system for developmental hazards simultaneously assess effects on as wide a variety of developmental phenomena as possible. The system also must provide the relevant dose level based on adult toxicity. A fresh water coelenterate fashioned into an artificial "embryo" may provide the former, while exposure of adult polyps may provide the latter. The system appears to separate the two dose levels as adequately as standard laboratory rodents but as significantly lower cost in time and effort.