Acute Necrosis and Malformation of Developing Mammalian Brain Caused by X-Ray. ∗

Abstract

Summary

Irradiation of pregnant rats and mice with 200 to 600 r to the whole body resulted in acute necrosis of the rapidly growing parts of the brain, spinal cord and retinas of their fetuses. This developed within a few hours, was highly selective for the central nervous system, and was often severe and extensive at 200 to 600 r. At 150 r damage was less, and was followed in two days by malformations in the neuroblastic zones. Fetuses allowed to go to term and sacrificed after days or weeks showed severe maldevelopments of corpus callosum, hippocampus, striatum and cerebral cortex. Extra-neural lesions were absent below 200 r, rare at 400 r. Below 100 r no destructive lesions occurred.