Effect of Radiation on the Population Kinetics of the Snail Australorbis glabratus: Age at Exposure and Immediate and Late Effects of X-Rays

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Abstract
Radiation damage in Australorbis glabratus is directly related to the developmental stage, as reflected by age at the time of irradiation. Variations in sensitivity to radiation damage could be adequately explained on this basis. The degree of growth retardation or the time course of recovery (catching up in growth) decreased with increasing age, and increased with radiation dose. Radiosensitivity was relatively stable throughout the first 3 months of the snail''s life. With increase of radiation doses above 6000 r, radiosensitivity varied according to age at exposure and reached a peak in newborn animals. Body size was a sensitive index of radiation damage in snails. No new types of abnormalities of growth were produced by the irradiated germ cell in the first generation of offspring.