428 CHARLES RUSSELL BARDEEN 



testicle are, however, less affected by irradiation than are the 

 interstitial cells. The modifications produced in the epididymis 

 appear to be secondary to the aspermic condition of the testicles. 



In the ovaries the follicles are far more susceptible than the 

 other tissues to the X rays or radium. The primordial follicles 

 are more susceptible than the older follicles, (Specht, '06; Ber- 

 gonie et Tribondeau, '07). 



In the primordial follicles the first modifications are seen in 

 the nucleus of the ovule the chromatin! of which becomes massed 

 together. The protoplasm retracts and then apparently the 

 epithelial cells act as phagocytes and absorb the ovule and then 

 themselves disappear. In older follicles the effects are similar. 

 The zona pellucida is more resistant than the other parts. (Ber- 

 gonie et Tribondeau.) When female toads with uterine ova are 

 sufficiently exposed to the X rays the ova do not complete the 

 process of maturation and cannot be fertilized (Bardeen, '09). 



The various experiments to test the action of the X rays and 

 radium on the generative cells thus show that irradiation maj' not 

 only produce marked disturbance in the normal process of mul- 

 tiple differential morphogenesis of the sex cells but also may 

 cause retrograde metamorphosis in the sex cells during the period 

 of expansive differential growth, (spermatogonia of the first 

 order, ovarian ova) and may prevent normal maturation. 



Clinically the X rays and radium are utilized for the following 

 physiological purposes: (1) to cause atroph}^ in the apendages of 

 the skin, (glands, hair;) (2) to destroy parasitic organisms in 

 the tissues; (3) to stimulate tissue metabolism; (4) to destroy 

 pathological tissues; and, (5) for their anodyne effect. (Pusey 

 and Caldwell.) 



The cells of the sebaceous glands and the cells of the hair fol- 

 licles seem to be somewhat more susceptible to the rays than are 

 the cells of the deep layers of the epidermis so that atrophy of the 

 sebaceous glands and hair frequently may be produced without 

 serious injury to the epidermis. It is not certain whether or not 

 the increased susceptibility of the cells of the sebaceous glands 

 and hair follicles is due to the greater specific differential morpho- 

 genesis which characterizes these cells, but this seems not improb- 

 able. 



