Effects of Chronic Exposure of Lead on Gonadotrophs of Pituitary in Heteropneustes Fossilis

The apparent impacts of overgrowth of population are many. It has direct impact on natural surroundings, i.e. land, water air and natural resources. Lead is found naturally in a variety of minerals. It is most ancient poison known to man. Environmental levels of lead have increased more than 1,000-fold over the past three centuries as a result of human activity. Leafy fresh vegetables grown in lead-containing soils may have lead-containing dust on them. Children can also be exposed when the working parent brings lead dust home from work (on cloths, in hair, or on shoes, etc). Lead absorbed into the body is distributed to three major compartments: blood, soft tissues and bone.Fish readily absorbs dissolved heavy metals in the water and this serves as a reliable indicator of the extent of the pollution by these contaminants. In this study sublethal concentration of lead acetate i.e. 3.0 mg/litre for six weeks produces alteration in the histology of gonadotrophs in fresh water fish Heteropneustes fossilis.