Treatment of a variety of suitably substituted sulfides of N-(o-halobenzy1)-or N-(0- halopheny1) azetidinone (eg, 4 and 8) and-pyrrolidinone (eg, 12 and 14) systems with either tributylstannane or tributyltin deuteride affords, by aryl radical substitution at the sulfur atom, the corresponding tricyclic azetidinones (21 and 26) and pyrrolidinones (38 and 47). The reactions with tributyltin deuteride give, in addition to the cyclized product, products arising ...