The Effects of Alcohol on Birth Weight and Litter Size in the Albino Rat

Abstract

A study of birth weight and litter size in normal and alcoholized albino rats during 10 generations. Litters of alcoholic parentage are more uniform in birth weight than those derived from nonalcoholic parents. Interpreted on the basis that alcohol is acting as a selective agent, these results are in accordance with statistical expectations. If the germ cells are being eliminated by the alcohol, the range of variability from which the treated young are produced is a more limited one than when such elimination does not take place, making for greater uniformity. The experiment taken as a whole fails to show that a modification in the variability of litter size was induced. The methods and results of other investigators are discussed.