Prevention of Intestinal Radiation Death by Removal of the Irradiated Intestine

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The role of the intestine in the later stages of the so called acute intestinal radiation death was investigated. Rats were subjected to X-irradiation in the range 2200 to 4000 r, delivered in a single exposure to the whole body, abdomen, or portion of the exteriorized intestine. In the last group, surgical resection of the irradiated portion was performed in some cases. Survival times and intestinal pathology were studied. Mean survival times of whole-body and abdomen-irradiated animals were 3.2 and 3.5 days, respectively. Animals with only 20% of the intestine irradiated lived about 12 days. Exposure of 50 or 80% of the exteriorized intestine produced death in about 5.5 days, with no animal living longer than 7.4 days. Histological changes were qualitatively similar in all groups, although denudation of the intestinal epithelium was slower in "intestine-irradiated" animals. Surgical removal of the exposed portion in "intestine-irradiated" animals provided indefinite survival in one-third of the animals. Since animals could be saved by removing the irradiated portion as late as 96 hours after exposure, it is assumed that the irradiated intestine must remain in the animal almost the entire life expectancy in order to cause death.

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: