Comparative effects of prenatal gamma radiation and x-irradiation on the reproductive system of the rat

¹ Western Biological Laboratories, Culver City, California

Experiments were undertaken to determine the comparative effects of prenatal x-irradiation and gamma radiation from a cesium-137 source on the development and morphology of the reproductive system of the young rat. Findings indicate that a sex difference in response occurred. The male offspring of rats exposed to either 300 r x-irradiation (administered as a single dose at the rate of 17.92 r/min.) on the 18th day of pregnancy or to 300 r gamma radiation administered continuously from the 13th to 20th day of pregnancy (at a dose rate slightly less than .03 r/min.) exhibited a significant degree of gonadal injury. In female offspring, the ovaries were normal in size and appearance in the case of rats whose mothers were administered x-irradiation, but were significantly reduced in size and contained neither follicles nor corpora lutea when the mother rats received gamma radiation.