Late Effects of Whole-Body X-Irradiation in the Mouse: Some Gross and Histologic Aspects of the Development of Morbidity Prior to the Terminal State, with Special Reference to the Gonad, Uterus, Heart, Liver, Kidney, and Submaxillary Gland

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Abstract
Mature CAF1 and BALB/c mice were irradiated once with 250 -kvcp X-rays (whole-body exposure; 400 to 799 r, tissue dose). In the CAF1 series, the median age at death (after 7 wks.) was not influenced by sex. That of the controls was 885 days; that of the irradiated animals, 683 days (survival time, 543 days). In the CAF1 hybrid (330 days after exposure; age 490 days) thymus, gonads, and uterus showed a significant net loss of substance. In unirradiated animals, the female thymus was heavier than in the male; in irradiated animals, the reverse was true. In the testes, irradiation increased arteriosclerosis. Very few tumors were detected grossly in the thymus, gonads, and uterus, but microscopically 2/3 of the ovaries showed evidence of neoplasia. The male heart, kidney, and submaxillary gland were smaller than in controls of the same age. The female kidney and submaxillary glands, organs that show sexual dimorphism in the mouse, were unchanged in weight, although masculinized histologically. In the aggregate, a principal result of the above changes was to make the sexes more alike. The incidence of lens opacities was very low, although it increased in proportion to time and dose. The BALB/c strain was examined only at age 490 days, when cumulative mortality had reached about 33%. The findings were similar to those for the CAF1 hybrid. The implications of these findings are discussed. It is suggested that hormone therapy might improve the irradiated animal''s physiological status, although not necessarily affecting survival.

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