1008 RADIATION BIOLOGY 



effects. The products of irradiated water, mainly oxidants, are probably 

 responsible for a number of radiobiological responses; oxygen deprivation 

 during exposure and certain reductants such as cysteine have been shown 

 to diminish acute toxicity. Organic molecules are believed to be altered, 

 e.g., oxidized, reduced, depolymerized, or denatured, by direct ionization 

 and excitation as well as by interaction with the products of irradiated 

 water. While this is in accord with effects on simple systems, the nature 

 of the biochemical targets is poorly understood. It is assumed that the 

 early events involve molecules that are concerned with regulatory 

 mechanisms, e.g., enzymes or genes, as well as molecules whose integrity 

 ensures the structural stability of the nuclear material and the ability of 

 the cell to divide normally. Cytological damage, the earliest recognizable 

 effect, apparently leads to deficiencies that are manifest first in areas of 

 rapid cell turnover, the most critical of which are the hematopoietic and 

 intestinal tissues. The essential features of the acute radiation syndrome 

 presented diagrammatically in Fig. 15-1, can be largely explained on this 

 basis. 



REFERENCES 



(Information regarding availability of government reports indicated by an asterisk 

 may be obtained from the Office of Technical Services, Department of Commerce, 



Washington, D.C.) 



Abderhalden, R. (1939) Further studies in the appearance of known organic specific 

 proteinases in urine after roentgen-ray treatment. Fermentforschung, 16: 

 215-220. 



Abelson, P. H., and P. G. Kruger (1949) Cyclotron-induced radiation cataracts. 

 Science, 110:655-657. 



Abrams, R. (1951) Effect of X-rays on nucleic acid and protein synthesis. Arch. 

 Biochem., 30: 90-99. 



Adams, W. S., and J. S. Lawrence (1947) The negative effect of folic acid on irradia- 

 tion leukopenia in the cat. USAEC Report MDDC-1538. * 



Allen, J. G., and L. O. Jacobson (1947) Hyperheparinemia; cause of the hemorrhagic 

 syndrome associated with total-body exposure to ionizing radiation. Science, 

 105: 388-389. 



, P. E. Moulder, and D. M. Enerson (1951) Pathogenesis and treatment of 



the postirradiation syndrome. J. Am. Med. Assoc, 145: 704-711. 

 -, M. Sanderson, M. Milham, A. Kirschon, and L. O. Jacobson (1948) Hepari- 



nemia (?) An anticoagulant in the blood of dogs with hemorrhagic tendency 



after total-body exposure to roentgen rays. J. Exptl. Med., 87: 71-86. 

 Altman, K. I., J. Richmond, and K. Saloman (1951) A note on the synthesis of 



fatty acids in bone marrow homogenates as affected by X-radiation. USAEC 



Report UR-169.* 

 Anderson, E. A. (1951) Influence of total-surface beta irradiation on the gross 



metabolic pattern of rats, in Biological effects of external beta radiation, R. E. 



Zirkle, ed. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, National Nuclear 



Energy Series, Div. IV, Vol. 22E, Chap. 8 

 Ane, J. N., and G. E. Burch (1941) Effects of roentgen irradiation upon linear rate 



of flow in cutaneous lymphatics of humans. Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 48: 



471-473. 



