BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Clinical research of drugs is a researching step subsequent to the preclinical studies in experimental animals. The aim of our research was to evaluate animal model of wound healing process after the burn inducement and effects of the ointment containing natural plants on the process of burn healing. MATERIAL AND METHODS Burn wounds were experimentally induced in two species of experimental animals which were treated with topically applied herbal preparation with concomitant monitoring of the healing process. Experimental groups (1) of 15 animals each (mice and rats), while control group (2) of 10 animals each (mice and rats) that were not being treated with herbal ointment. After the hair removal, burn was induced on the back of animals by heated brass seal. Different clinical symptoms including oedema of surrounding tissue, redness, exudation, size of the burn surface, histological and microbiological findings were monitored on the days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21. A statistically significant difference was observed throughout descriptive statistics and paired Student's t-test. CONCLUSION Physiological healing processes of the acute burn wound following the topical application of herbal preparation can be monitored on the utilized animal model. A three-week treatment resulted in the 90% of completed epithelization in both animal species, indicating the effectiveness of topically applied herbal preparation.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the changes in composition of the mammary gland volume unit through all phases of lactation in rats subjected to lead acetate administration via drinking water during the first pregnancy and lactation. Stereological analysis was performed on serial slices of the organs. The point of support for our study was the fact that lead, apart from being a poison of wide range, is mostly poisonous for gonads and to their supervisory neuroendocrine structures and the mammary gland, in morpho-functional sense, should be admitted as their integral part. On the 7th day of lactation there was significant difference of the alveolar and ductal epithelium phase, which was significantly reduced in animals treated by lead. In the same animals there were larger lumens of the alveoli and ducti, more abundant connective tissue and greater number of the adipocytes but these differences in comparison to control group were not significant. On the 14th day of lactation there was significantly greater presence of the adipocytes phase and stromal tissue while the volume of the epithelium of alveoli and ducti was significantly reduced in study group. There was also an increase of the alveoloductal lumen phase but this was not significant. On the 21st day of lactation there were significant difference in epithelial and stromal tissue phases in two groups, having a significant decrease in the epithelium, and significant increase of stromal tissue in glands of lactating rats treated by lead acetate. There were non-significant differences as far as the presence of the adipocytes and alveoloductal lumen volume were concerned although the values for both phases in study group were above the control values. On the basis of given results we concluded that lead changes the quantitative characteristics of the mammary gland, i.e. the composition of the volume unit of the organ through all phases of lactation.