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The effect of prenatal irradiation was studied in organotypic cultures of hippocampus, prepared from newborn rats that had been exposed to whole-body irradiation of 1 Gy from a 60Co-source at day 13 of pregnancy. Light and electron microscopic observations showed remarkable damage to neuronal mitochondria accompanied by extensive swelling, vacuolation of the Golgi complex, and formation of multilamellar bodies and vesicles of the lysosomal type. In contrast to neuronal alterations, no delay in synaptogenesis or onset of myelination was observed based upon the absence of significant morphological changes in synapses and myelin sheaths. Using this tissue culture model it could be confirmed that prenatal exposure to irradiation, even at low doses, induces specific morphological changes in the brain.

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