[Detection of micronuclei in desquamating cells of the human oral mucosa in the territory of South Vietnam].

The possibility of applying the micronucleus test to estimate changes in chromatin structures of somatic cells of South Vietnam inhabitants exposed to with phytotoxic substances (Agent Orange) in the 1960s was investigated. Remote medical and biological consequences of the action of dioxin-containing phenoxyherbicides on man were studied. In inhabitants of Bin Mi Village (Shongbe Province), which had been intensely bombed with Agent Orange, the epithelium of the oral cavity showed a considerable increase in the occurrence of cells with damaged chromatin structures (P < 0.01).