Oxygen and chromium transfer in perfused gills of rainbow trout salmo gairdneri exposed to hexavalent chromium at 2 different ph levels
Van Der Putte, I.; Part, P.
Aquatic Toxicology 2(1): 31-46
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0166-445X Accession: 006053961
An in vitro study was performed on uptake and transfer of Cr(VI) in gills of rainbow trout (S. gairdneri). Gills were perfused according to the isolated head perfusion technique and externally exposed to Na2CrO4 solutions containing 51CrO42-. Experiments were conducted at a concentration of 10 mg/l Cr and at pH values of 8.1 and 6.5. The transfer of Cr was directly coupled with the transfer of O2 from the external solution to the internal perfusion medium. Under similar conditions of O2 transfer, Cr transfer was significantly more effective at pH 6.5. More Cr was accumulated by the gill tissue at the lower pH. Gill preparations of trout, pre-exposed in vivo for 4 days to 10 mg/l Cr(VI) at pH 6.5, exhibited an impaired O2 transfer. This could be explained by the structural alterations seen after histological examination of the perfused gills.