ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to summarize the status of knowledge about the potential health effects of Depleted uranium (DU) based on cellular and animal studies. Studies have been conducted using cultured cells and animal models and have attempted to answer questions relating to toxicity, carcinogenicity, and involvement of radioactivity. Uranium was discovered in the mineral pitchblende in 1789 by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth. Uranium does not exist in pure metallic form in nature because it is quickly oxidized in air. Toxicology studies of natural uranium partially relevant to understanding DU health effects are numerous, beginning with the first reported observations of uranium-induced kidney abnormalities in the mid-1800s. The neurophysiological effects of uranium exposure have been investigated for many decades. Among the early findings was the observation that uranyl ions potentiate the twitch response of frog sartorious muscles by prolonging the active state of contraction.
