Effects of whole body irradiation.

Abstract

Radiation through its biologic effects and its use as a tool in research is rapidly spreading in to all facets of science and medicine. Through the medium of the atomic bomb, radiation is extending into the fields of diplomacy, politics, and the social sciences. Since medicine reaps the profits of research in all fields and since newer weapons of warfare increase the heavy burden of the practice of medicine, it is logical and proper that the profession should take an active role in the painful adjustment of society to the realities and potential acute and chronic hazards of nuclear explosions. Accordingly this review will consider the physiologic effects of single whole body radiation on mammals, the modification of the biologic response by variou� agents given before and after irradiation, and the application of these findings to the treatment of casualties in atomic warfare. Papers on cellular physiology and radiation chemistry 3;re only occasionally referred to. Their value for the ultimate understanding of the nature of radiation injury is fundamental. However, to date, the gap between our knowledge of cellular physiology and of the clinical syndrome remains largely unbridged. We have attempted to include primarily those papers which have advanced our present concepts of the clinical manifestations of radiation i' njury. A complete list of references alone would fill the entire aUotted space.