Abstract: Objective To observe ultra-structural pathological changes of materiality viscera of rats poisoned by different dose of tetramine and to study the toxic mechanism. Methods Acute and subacute tetramine toxicity models were made by oral administration with different dose of tetramine. Brain, heart, liver, spleen and kidney were extracted and observed by electromicroscopic examination. Results The injuries of brain cells, cardiocytes and liver cells were induced by different dose of tetramine. These were not obviously different of the injuries of the kindy cells and spleen cells of rats poisoned by different dose of tetramine. Ultra-structural pathological changes were abserved including mitochondria slight swelling and neurolemma′s array turbulence in the brain cells, mitochondria sweeling or abolish and rupture of muscle fiber in the heart cells, mitochondria swelling and the glycogen decreased in the liver cells. Conclusion The toxic target organs of tetramine are the heart, brain and liver.

Key words: tetramine, poisoning, toxicologic pathology, ultra-structural pathological changes, tranmission electron microscope