Relation of Adrenal Cortical Volume to Survival after X-Irradiation

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Adrenalectomized rats and rats containing regenerating enucleated adrenals or homotransplanted adrenals were irradiated with 600 r of X-rays. The volumes of regenerated adrenal cortical tissue were measured at various times after enucleation, and these volumes were correlated with the 30-day lethality of adrenal-enucleated rats irradiated at the same time period. There was no statistically significant difference between survival of control animals and of animals irradiated 6 days after enucleation. At this time, the regenerated adrenals contained about 45% of the control volume of adrenal cortical tissue. Rats containing progressively larger volumes of adrenal tissue had a progressively lower mortality rate. It appears that a volume of adrenal cortical tissue of 45 to 55% of the control volume is sufficient to maintain rats through the critical 3- to 4-period after 600 r of X-irradiation when most deaths occur in adrenalectomized rats.