Investigation of the Lethal Effect of X-Irradiation on the Young Axolotl (Siredon mexicanum)

The extensive literature concerning the lethal effect of X-irradiation consists mainly of investigations of this problem in mammals. For instance, the papers of Ellinger and Barnett (1, 2), Henshaw (3), Quastler (4), and Tullis and co-workers (5) may be mentioned. In order to understand the basic biological actions of X-irradiation it is important to investigate the lethal effect in various animal groups. The use of amphibia in these investigations is desirable because they are convenient laboratory animals very suitable for histological investigation. The most important contributions concerning this problem in amphibia are the works of Rugh (6-10), Sheremetieva (11), and Steamer (12). In spite of the fact that these papers give some very important data, the problem of lethality of irradiation is not yet completely resolved, and investigations in this direction are important. The first specific problem considered in this paper is the comparison of the effects of total-body and partial-body irradiation. The second specific problem is correlation of tissue damage with lethality.