Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Journal

en Evaluating the Effects of Oral Morphine on Embryonic Development of Spinal Cord in Wistar Rats Cellular and molecular Neuroscience Cellular and molecular Neuroscience Original Original Introduction: In the present research, the effect of morphine consumption during pregnancy on the development of the embryo’s spinal cord was studied in Wistar rat. Methods: Female Wistar rats (Wt: 250-300 g) were mated with males. The test group received morphine (0.01 mg/ml) in their drinking water. Pregnant rats were later killed with chloroform on the 12th, 13th and 14th days of pregnancy, and the embryos were taken out surgically. The embryos were fixed in formalin 10% for 2 weeks. Then, the weight of fixed embryos was calculated by a scale. In addition, several animals’ sizes including fronto-posterior and lateral length were measured by a caliper. Tissue processing, sectioning and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining were applied for the embryos. The sections were examined for spinal cord development by light microscope and MOTIC software. Results: Significant decrease was observed in the fronto-posterior and lateral length and the weight of the embryos in the test groups. The thickness of the white matter layer decreased on the 12th, 13th and 14th embryonic days. The thickness of the spine's grey layer was also less than the control group, on the same days. Increase in the length of the ependimal duct observed as well. Number of grey substance cells decreased compared to the control group within the same days. Meanwhile, thickness of the germinal layer reduced in comparison to the control group on the mentioned days. Discussion: In conclusion, morphine consumption during pregnancy causes defects in growth and completion of the spinal cord. Spinal Cord,White Matter,Grey Matter,Epandimal Duct,Morphine,Rat. 130 135 http://bcn.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-152&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Narges A.Niknam 1370031947532846004142 1370031947532846004142 No Mahnaz Azarnia 1370031947532846004143 1370031947532846004143 No Hossein Bahadoran 1370031947532846004144 1370031947532846004144 No Masoomeh Kazemi 1370031947532846004145 1370031947532846004145 No Elaheh Tekieh 1370031947532846004146 1370031947532846004146 No Mina Ranjbaran 1370031947532846004147 1370031947532846004147 No Hedayat Sahraei 1370031947532846004148 1370031947532846004148 Yes