Histopathologic Changes of Rat Liver Following Formaldehyde Exposure

Purpose: This study was designed to determine the histopathologic changes of rat liver while all of the experiments were exposed to formaldehyde for 18 weeks. Materials and Methods: This study was performed on 28, 6-7 week postantal allbino wistar rats. The rats were divided into 3 case groups (E1: 4h/d, 4d/w; E2: 2h/d, 4d/w; E3: 2h/d, 2d/w) and 1 control group. The liver specimens were sectioned at 6 mm and stained with H&E technique for histopathologic study. Results: In group E3, some cells showed eosinophilic cytoplasm and oncocytic view, while others showed focal ground glass view as well as sinusoidal and portal artery dilation. In group E2, sinusoidal dilation and congestion were seen. Mononuclear cell infiltration and regeneration of hepatocytes in priportal space were seen among cases of group E1. Conclusion: The results of this study show that formaldehyde vapor in the concentrations similar to our study, can make histopathologic changes which could be detectable by light microscope. But there is no direct relationship between the duration of exposure to formaldehyde vapor and the intensity of histopathologic changes in the liver.