Vascular anomalies and pyrimethamine-induced malformations in the rat.

Pyrimethamine injected into the rat on days 12, 13, and 14 of gestation induces several types of malformations, including limb and facial deformities. These malformations appear in the same location as the hemorrhages and hematomas induced by this substance. In order to visualize the extent of the vascular disorders in the affected areas, a polymerizable substance was injected intravenously into the fetus. After pyrimethamine treatment, the fetal vascular network was simplified and reorganized in a different way according to the severity of the malformations. The appearance of vascular pathology, followed by malformations in the same regions, raises the hypothesis of a vascular cause of fetal defects.