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The spleen and thymus of 6-week-old mice contain similar numbers of lymphoid cells. A lethal dose of x-irradiation given to animials whose thymus, midgut, or hindlimbs were shielded at the same time resulted in permanent acceptance of allografts, while a similar dose given to spleen-shielded mice so irradiated resulted in a normal rejection pattern. The return of immunological competence was related to the state of the lymphoid organs with different types of shielding.
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Joshua E. Miller (1966) studied this question.
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