Toxicology reference data for the Wistar rat.

Sixty-six observations on Wistar rats, including body and organ weights, biochemistry, hematology, and urinalysis have been compiled over a period of 16 years. A statistical analysis of these observations involved 3,400 Wistar rats that served as controls in toxicity studies. The results have been recorded on synoptic charts, which provide frequency distributions, cumulative distributions and variations according to the time of observation, the sex and the age of the rats. The construction of the statistical charts, the prominent features of the distributions and the use of reference data in toxicology are discussed.