The Mechanism of Death Following Whole Body Radiation

Abstract

During the period of the radiation syndrome, the changes in the blood, however dramatic, are probably not basic to the mechanism of death, but are an inevitable secondary consequence. Death, at the critical stage, may be precipitated by haemorrhage or anoxia, or by the occurrence of bacteraemia. The prime cause of death must surely be the exhaustion of one or more stem cell types from the reticulum. Individual differences in quality or quantity of this cell factor determine the individual sensitivity of the subject. Hibernation will postpone, but not prevent, the train of events. But replacement of this factor sufficiently early in the post-irradiation period can prevent the diverse changes. It would seem to be of the utmost importance to find the function or the identity of this cell type. This would not only give us a real understanding of the mechanism and treatment of total body irradiation, but might also enable us to understand some of those diseases of the reticuloendothelial system in which bone marrow failure is a characteristic termination.