Review on some heavy metals toxicity on freshwater fishes [electronic resource]

Includes bibliographic reference

Heavy metals contamination is a serious problem in the aquatic environment. Some of them are very important,
having biological roles for aquatic organisms, and called essential heavy metals. In contrast, other heavy
metals are considered harmful even at low concentrations. The toxic levels of heavy metals may be of agricultural,
industrial and mining activities. This will cause water pollution and changes in the physicochemical characteristics
of the aquatic environment. This pollution has deleterious toxic effects on fish and raises concerns over its potential
impact on human health. The most common heavy metals are arsenic, chromium, lead and mercury, which affect human health
and are considered systemic toxicants. These metals induce organ damage even at low levels of exposure and according to
the US Environmental protection agency and international agency for research on cancer, they classified as carcinogens.
For all the above reasons, this review was written to contribute to heavy metals' role in the environment, toxic mechanism
and toxic effects on fish.

Summary in Arabic