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Reproductive toxicity of fluoride

Perfluorochemicals are compounds in which all the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by fluorine atoms. Because of their high capacity to dissolve oxygen, perfluorochemicals have been used as artificial oxygen carriers in organ perfusions. Previous experiments suggested that perfluorochemicals failed to support testosterone secretion by rat testes. We hypothesized that fluoride ions in the perfusion medium may have been the toxic factor. We tested this hypothesis by adding sodium fluoride to perf