No abstract

No abstract

Hemorrhage is one of the important abnormalities occurring in animals and man exposed to large doses of ionizing radiation delivered over the entire body. Fernau, Schrank, and Zarsicki (1) as early as 1913, reported hemorrhage in rabbits following the injection of one hundred or more electrostatic units of polonium. Death usually occurred before the 12th day, at which time the blood was incoagulable. These observations have been confirmed by Falta (2) and others (3, 4). I n these reports, hemorrhages were extensive and all organs of the body were affected. I t was suggested that the associated thrombocytopenia was the probable cause of the hemorrhagic state.I n the dog exposed to x-irradiation of the entire body many pathologic alterations m a y occur. The most obvious of these are hemorrhage and infection. Hemorrhage is capable in itself of killing the animal, and it m a y appear as a result of exposure to most forms of ionizing irradiation (1-6). The Irradiation Syndrome in DogsThe data comprising this report were obtained from studies on dogs given an x-ray exposure of 450 roentgen units over the entire body. Daily observations were made on each animal whenever possible, including the whole blood clotting times, the prothrombin time, clot retraction, erythrocyte count, leukocyte count, differential leukocyte count, platelet count, hematocrit reading, and sedimentation rate. Daily recordings of the rectal temperatures were made and the physical condition of each animal was noted. The earliest signsof bleeding were usually observed at the points of greatest trauma, especially at the point of needle puncture. Hemorrhages in the mouth, the soles of the feet, and the subcutaneous tissue on the sides of the animal usually appeared first, generally during the 2nd week. The hemorrhagic state progressed and there were spontaneous hemorrhages from the rectum, vagina, and urinary tract. At death, 2 or 3 days later, hemorrhages were the chief findings. They were abundant throughout the gastrointestinal tract and were most marked in the colon and proximal four-fifths of the stomach. They occurred throughout the small bowel but were more prominent in the duodenum and lower ileum. They were almost invariably present in * This paper is based on work performed under Contract No. W-7401 eng-37 with the Manhattan Project for the University of

No abstract