EFFECT OF TRANSPLANTATION OF BONE MARROW INTO IRRADIATED ANIMALS

Abstract

SINGLE dose roentgen irradiation to the whole body has been noted to produce conspicuous alteration in the hematopoietic system.¹ Chief of these alterations is the damage incurred to the bone marrow. The mechanism whereby this damage is incurred is the subject of a great deal of study, but it is well established that it results from the direct effects of irradiation.² Since such damage to the hematopoietic tissues leads to severe disability and frequently to death, it becomes important to direct therapeutic measures that will offset or correct the derangements. The studies incorporated in this report were made primarily to determine what benefits, if any, may be derived from the transplantation of normal bone marrow in animals that have suffered damage to their bone marrow as the result of single dose roentgen irradiation. Precise evidence for definite favorable results from transplantation of bone marrow is lacking. Neuhof³