Ocular Effects Produced by High-Intensity X-Radiation

One of the outstanding features of radiation damage is the difference between embryonic and adult tissues and their reactions and the manner in which these reactions are manifested (Hicks*; Russell⁴; Wilson and Karr⁵; Wilson, Jordan, and Brent,⁶and Warkany and Schraffenberger⁷). The sequence of x-ray-induced developmental abnormalities and a strict timetable of their genesis have been established in rats and mice by Hicks.³He demonstrated a certain resistance of the embryonic tissue toward x-ray doses in the range of 100-200 r during the first eight days of gestation. No measurable damage resulted, and the newborn rat appeared normal. Doses ranging from 300-400 r and administered to the rats during the first eight days either destroyed the embryos or resulted in normal newborn rats. The same doses applied at a later time led to definite developmental defects. In Anderson's textbook of "Pathology,"⁸the lymphoid tissues,