ABSTRACT
Critical ingestion of heavy metals in different animal species

Enrique Bergqvist A.1, Roberto Parada N.2 y lván Palavicino H.3
 
A bibliography revision was done in arder to establish the critical ingestion of heavy metals (Cu, Mo,Zn, Cd, Pb) and metaloids in different animal species (sheep, cattle, equids, swine and poultry).Through the information gathered, it can be deduced that animals are susceptible to metal excess intheir diets, being even possible to cause death if the ingestion is too high.However, not all animals exhibit a similar response to excessive metal ingestion and not all metalicelements are similarly toxic.The relative susceptibility scale for different species, in decreasing arder is the following: sheep, cattle,equids, swine and poultry.
Key words: heavy metals, metaloids, critical ingestion, relative susceptibility scale.
1Estación Experimental La Platina (INIA), Casilla 439, Correo 3,Santiago, Chile.2Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Mayor, AvenidaVespucio Sur 357, Santiago, Chile.3Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad deChile, Casilla 2, Correo 15, Santiago.