[Content of trace elements and steroid hormones in blood and tissues of internal organs of rats during an inflammatory process in the bronchi].

Prolonged interrupted inhalation of nitrogen dioxide in a dose of 36.0 +/- 2.2 mg/m3 was attended by definite morphological signs of inflammation in the lungs of rats (hyperplasia of goblet cells, thickening of the basilar membrane, differentiation of ciliated epithelium, etc.), reduction of the zinc content in all studied tissues and testosterone levels in blood. Intramuscular injection of 1% testosterone propionate normalized the blood level of the hormone and influenced the synthetic processes in the cells of the bronchial epithelium and the rate of its regeneration. To raise the efficacy of the correction of the pathological process in the lungs it is suggested that hormonal therapy should be combined with correction of zinc deficiency in the organism.