Radiographic studies on bone in beagles subjected to low levels of dietary lead since birth.

This experiment studies the effects of low-level oral lead administration on bone in standardized colony-raised research male Beagles. Lead was administered to lactating mothers from parturition through weaning and directly to the pups thereafter. Results of bone radiographic morphometric and bone radiographic densitometric findings in five experimental and four control animals are reported. Total femoral length, and femoral diaphysal width, combined with cortical thickness, thickness/width ratio, and radiographic photodensitometry did not vary significantly between both groups, although bone lead and blood lead levels were significantly higher in the experimental group.