The objective of this study was to further evaluate the developmental
toxicity of tributyltin chloride (TBTCl) in rats. Pregnant rats were g
iven TBTCl by gastric intubation at a dose of 25, 50 or 100 mg/kg on d
ays 7-9, days 10-12 or days 13-15 of pregnancy. A significant increase
in the incidence of post-implantation loss was found in the groups tr
eated with TBTCl on days 7-9 at 25 and 50 mg/kg and on days 10-12 at 1
00 mg/kg, but not in the groups treated with TBTCl on days 13-15. No s
ignificant increase in the incidence of malformed fetuses was observed
after treatment with TBTCl on days 7-9. A significantly increased inc
idence of malformed fetuses was detected when TBTCl was given on days
10-12 at 100 mg/kg and on days 13-15 at 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg. The most
predominant malformation was cleft palate. It could be concluded that
the manifestation of deviant development induced by TBTCl varies with
the developmental stage at the time of administration and TBTCl posse
sses teratogenic potential with developmental phase specificity.