10 Charles Russell Bardeen 



changes in the connective tissue is the primary result of the action 

 of the rays, the epitheHum being only secondarily affected. While 

 there is little doubt but that the deepest layer of the epidermis is 

 affected primarily by the Roentgen and radium rays, as shown by 

 Scholtz,** the recent work of Scholtz,^^ Halkin,^" and others, has 

 proved that exposure to radium rays, at least, also has a primary 

 effect on the intima of the blood vessels. Whether the effect on 

 the collagen of the connective tissues described by Unna,^^ and 

 others, is secondary to the vascular changes or is a primary effect 

 of the rays cannot at present be conclusively answered. 



Exposure to Roentgen or radium rays has a marked effect not 

 only on the blood vessels but also upon the blood and especially 

 upon the blood-forming organs. Baermannand Linser^^ found no 

 changes in the blood exposed to Roentgen rays. The irradiation 

 of serum caused, however, a decrease of haemolytic power toward 

 blood corpuscles not exposed. Milchner and Mosse^^ found red 

 blood corpuscles resistant to the Roentgen rays. London^* noted 

 a darkening of the arterial blood, and Griinbaum^^ haemolysis of the 

 red corpuscles after exposure to the radium rays. 



In the spleen, lymphatic glands and bone marrow the results of 

 irradiation are more marked than in the blood. Milchner and 

 Mosse^^ found in the bone marrow of irradiated rabbits degenera- 

 tion of lymphoid and myeloid leucocytes but no destruction of the 

 red corpuscles. Heinecke" exposed rabbits, white mice, guinea 

 pigs and dogs to the Roentgen and radium rays and found an 

 elective action on the lymphoid elements of the spleen, lymphatic 

 glands and bone marrow. These organs ultimately become much 

 reduced in cell content. Warthin^^ began independently and 



■^Scholtz: Op. cit. 



■^'Scholtz: Deutsche med. Wochenschrift, xxx, s. 94, 1904. 



^•Halkin: Arch. f. Dermatologie u. Syphilis, Ixv, s. 201, 1903. 



"'Unna: Deutsche med. Zeitung, 1898. 



^^Baermann and Linser: Op. cit. 



^^Milchner and Mosse: Berliner klin. Wochenschrift, xli, s. 1267, 1904. 



"^London, Berliner klin. Wochenschrift, xl, s 523, 1903. 



^^Griinbaum. (Cited by Obersteiner.) 



*®Milchner and Mosse: Op. cit. 



^'Heinecke: Deutsche med. Wochenschrift, 1903, 1904. 



^'Warthin: International Clinics, 1906. 



