122 



NEUTRON EFFECTS ON ANIMALS 



irradiation and the withdrawal of blood for electrophoresis is illustrated 

 by the scanning diagrams shown in Fig. 3c and 3d for the plasmas of rabbits 

 Nos. 8 and 9, respectively. Both rabbits were irradiated together (receiv- 

 ing 275 n in five 55 n/day doses), but rabbit No. 8 was sacrificed one day, 

 and rabbit No. 9 four days, after irradiation ceased: the blood for electro- 

 phoresis was obtained at these times. That the percentages of the plasma 

 constituents varied with increasing time after irradiation may be seen by 

 comparing the sizes of the peaks in the diagrams. 



Rabbits Nos. 6 and 1 of Table IV, given 495 and 814 n, respectively, 

 yielded plasmas which were still more abnormal but which also exhibited 

 lowered 7-globulin and albumin, and increased a-globulin, /3-globuUn and 

 fibrinogen contents. 



10 n/doy doses. The plasmas of rabbits administered neutron irradiation 

 at the rate of 10 n/day gave relatively normal electrophoresis diagrams 

 up to 2 weeks after cessation of irradiation, except foi an luimistakable 



TABLE III 



Percentages of Elecirophoretic Components in Plasrnas of Normal Rabbits 



drop in the proportions of 7-globulin during the irradiation period. The 

 lowest concentrations of 7-globulin observed were of the same order as 

 those for animals given larger neutron doses per day. Subsequently, the 

 7-globulin percentage leturned to, and then gieatly exceeded the normal, 

 while, concomitantly, the percentage of albumin diminished. These find- 

 ings aie demonstrated by a comparison of the data in Table IV for rabbits 

 Nos. 29, 30, and 31 with those shown in Table III for the normal protein 

 distribution in the plasma of the same rabbits. Typical of the electro- 

 phoresis diagrams corresponding to these slightly abnormal, and more 

 definitely abnormal, protein distributions are those shown in Fig. 3 for 

 plasma samples from rabbit No. 29: 3e shows the diagram obtained immedi- 

 ately after, and 3f that obtained 6 weeks after, the cessation of 290 n 

 irradiation. The extent of the abnormalities may be seen l)y comparing 

 these diagrams with that in Fig. 3a, which shows the electrophoresis diagram 

 for the plasma of rabbit No. 29 before irradiation. 



