甲基汞对动物所引起的神经毒性,胚胎毒性和致畸作用,取决于动物的种系、汞的剂量及侵入途径。甲基汞的神经毒性已被长期的临床和动物实验所证实。但甲基汞的发病机理、在神经系统中的损伤部位及所产生的病理过程尚不清楚。许多学者对甲基汞引起的损伤与组织、细胞中汞浓度和分布的关系,发表了不少有争论的报道。看来用功能与形态相结合的研究方法,探讨甲基汞在动物体内的分布和生物转化实有必要。最近,Garman等应用照相乳胶组织化学法(PEHM),为研究汞在组织细胞 The neurotoxicity, embryotoxicity and teratogenic effects of methylmercury on animals depend on the animal’s germline, the dose of mercury and the route of entry. Neurotoxicity of methylmercury has been confirmed by long-term clinical and animal experiments. However, the pathogenesis of methylmercury, the damage in the nervous system and the resulting pathological processes are not yet clear. Many scholars have published many controversial reports on the relationship between methylmercury-induced damage and tissue, mercury concentration in cells and their distribution. It seems that it is necessary to explore the distribution and biotransformation of methylmercury in animals by means of a combination of functional and morphological methods. Recently, Garman and other applications of photographic latex histochemistry (PEHM), to study the mercury in the tissue cells