NEUTRON EFFECTS ON ANIMALS 107 



lower initial protein concentration, than for chicken 22, to a point high 

 above the original value. This in turn was followed by a gradual drop, 

 greater and more prolonged for chicken 24 than for chicken 22, to a point 

 somewhat above the initial value. Instead of remaining at these levels, 

 however, the protein concentrations for both chickens continued to fluc- 

 tuate, but with diminishing amplitude and freciuency, throughout the 

 period of observation. 



The graphs for chickens 22 and 24 in Figs. 3 and 4 show that the drop 

 in protein concentration during the four days following irradiation was the 

 resultant of diminished concentrations of each of the three groups of plasma 

 constituents. For the concentrations of albumin and of alpha globulin 

 plus beta globulin, however, the subsequent rise was about equal to the 



40 



O 



ALBUMIN 



days- 

 Fig. 4. Changes in the composition of chicken plasma following neutron irradia- 

 tion. Ordinates: concentrations expressed in refractive increments X 10^. Ab- 

 scissae: days after irradiation. Chicken 22: D; chicken 24: O; chicken 27: A; 

 Upper graphs: concentration of albumin. Lower graphs: concentrations of alpha 

 globulin plus beta globulin. 



initial drop, and later changes were small. On the other hand, as shown in 

 Fig. 3, the fluctuations of the total protein content were paralleled, and 

 to a large extent determined, by the fluctuations in the concentrations of 

 fibrinogen plus gamma globulin. 



During the three weeks immediately following irradiation, the plasma 

 samples for chicken 27 were obtained at times intermediate between those 

 for chickens 22 and 24 in order to follow more closely the pattern of change. 

 The high variability of the protein concentrations, however, necessitates 

 separate consideration of each chicken. 



Like chickens 22 and 24, chicken 27 experienced a drop in protein con- 

 centration following irradiation; but no overcompensating increase was 

 detected. Since the data for chickens 22 and 24 strongly indicate a mini- 

 mum concentration at about four days, and a maximum concentration at 



