Acute Inhalational, Oral, and Intraperitoneal Toxicity of Trichloroethylene in Mice

In the course of investigating the toxicity of methyl chloroform, it became apparent that the usual practice of estimation of LD50 could be improved by recording the electrocardiogram (see Part I, Chapter 3). More specifically, there was a dose-dependent decrease in heart rate and in QRS potemial and a prolongation of the PR interval and QRS duration. It was concluded that lethality was correlated with these electrocardiographic changes brought about by methyl chloroform administered by the inhalational, oral, and intraperitoneal route. The present study on trichloroethylene (TCE) was designed to compare its electrocardiographic effects with those of methyl chloroform.