Effects of prenatally exposed diclofenac sodium on rat heart tissue: a stereological and histological study

Background/aim: Diclofenac sodium (DS) can cross the placental barrier and affect the fetus, and its consumption during pregnancy may cause developmental malformation of embryos. This study investigates the effect of prenatally applied DS on the quantitative morphology of the adult rat heart. Materials and methods: Pregnant rats were divided into three groups (control, sham, and test). The rats in the test group were injected with DS; the control group received physiological saline (1 mL; 1 mg/kg, i.m.) from the 5th to the 20th day of pregnancy; and the rats in the sham group were not injected at all. At the 20th postnatal week, all the offspring were euthanized under deep anesthesia and tissue samples were obtained by perfusion fixation. After routine histological procedures, the paraffin sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and examined stereologically and histologically. Results: The volume of the cardiac ventricle wall of each offspring rat was estimated using Cavalieri's principle. The volume of the ventricle walls of the test group was found to be significantly less than that of the controls. Conclusion: Further studies are required to determine how DS has this effect, by reducing the number of myocytes and decreasing the size of these cells affecting the connective tissue.