Acetrizoic acid is a pharmaceutical drug that was used as an iodinated contrast medium for X-ray imaging. It was applied in form of its salt, sodium acetrizoate, but is no longer in clinical use.
water-soluble
In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a substance, the solute, to form a solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form such a solution.
The extent of the solub ...
. The three
iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...
atoms in the molecule readily absorb X-rays and are therefore responsible for its usability as a contrast medium.
History
Acetrizoate was developed by V.H. Wallingford of Mallinckrodt, and introduced in 1950; it was employed as a contrast agent for several radiographic studies, including
pyelography
Pyelogram (or pyelography or urography) is a form of imaging of the renal pelvis and ureter.
Types include:
* Intravenous pyelogram – In which a contrast solution is introduced through a vein into the circulatory system.
* Retrograde pyelogram ...
brain
A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...
cholecystography
Oral cholecystography is a radiological procedure used to visualize the gallbladder and biliary channels, developed in 1924 by American surgeons Evarts Ambrose Graham
Evarts Ambrose Graham (1883–1957) was an American academic, physician, and ...
. It was soon found to be highly toxic to the
kidney
The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
s and
nervous system
In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...
—work urging caution in its administration was published as early as 1959, after reports of adverse reactions ranging from hypersensitivity to brain damage—and was eventually replaced by other agents with higher efficacy and lower toxicity, such as sodium diatrizoate, a closely related compound.
Trade names
Trade names include Urokon, Triurol and Salpix, as well as Gastrografina and Urografina in Portugal.