Abstract
Summary
1. Thymus rudiments obtained from 12 to 13 day mouse embryos were irradiated with 250, 500 or 1000 R X-rays and their subsequent morphogenesis studied both in vitro and by transplantation into irradiated host animals.
2. Although irradiation had a marked effect on total growth of rudiments, the differentiation of lymphoid cells did not appear to be inhibited.
3. Both on the basis of morphology in histological preparations and by size analysis, lymphocytes formed after irradiation were indistinguishable from lymphocytes produced by unirradiated rudiments.
4. The results suggest that a significant portion of lymphoid precursor cells of the early embryonic rudiment of the thymus are radiation resistant.
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