OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to determine and quantify the influence of nicotine, applied subcutaneously, in the lungs of rats. METHODS: Twenty Wistar rats weighing 235±35g were randomly separated in two groups. The group I (n=10) received nicotine ( 2 mg/Kg body mass/day) during 20 days and the group II (n=10) received placebo subcutaneously. RESULTS: The results illustrate that in the group I resulted bronchopneumonia in 3 (30%) rats, alveolar leucocitosis in 10 (100%), septal leucocitosis in 7 (70%) and atelectasia was found in 2 (20%). Transformed in scores, the data totalized 52 points. The scores of the lesions observed in the lungs of group II rats reached 11 points (p <0,05). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate and conclude that the use of nicotine subcutaneously can be implicated in significant lung lesions in rats, when compared with controls.
Nicotine; Subcutaneous use; Lungs
