Functional Studies of the Calf Adrenal Cortex Following Total-Body Exposure to a Single Lethal Dose of Gamma-Radiation; Research Report NM 01 02 00.02.03

Pages 685-700. Footnotes. Tables. References. Stamp of previous owner and some notations/marks on the cover. Cover has some wear and soiling. This was issued For Office Use which we understand was a temporary control as this paper had been accepted for publication in the American Journal of Physiology. This investigation was financially supported by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Office of Naval Research. The influence of a lethal dose of whole-body -radiation (600 r) on adrenocortical function was investigated by removing the adrenals of irradiated calves and perfusing the exposed and control glands with an oxygenated artificial medium. The functional capacity was evaluated in three ways: 1) maximum 2-hour corticoid output, 2) maximum output/gm adrenal tissue and 3) maximum output/kg body wt. The irradiated glands revealed increases in these indices of 64, 48 and 71%, respectively. Their biosynthetic capacity declined to normal levels by about the 4th day before increasing again preterminally. The absence of an abnormal biogenetic pattern in response to maximal corticotrophic stimulation and of a differential depletion in any of the specific biosynthetic enzymatic systems examined demonstrated that adrenocortical dysgenesis did not occur despite the development of generalized sepsis, toxemia, hemorrhage, anemia and the other severe disturbances associated with radiation sickness death.…