Irradiation of the G.I. tract: compensatory response of stomach, jejunum and colon

Abstract

Proliferative cellularity in the stomach, jejunum and colon was measured following irradiation with 200, 500 and 1,000 R. A depression in cellularity was observed in all three tissues reaching a nadir at about 24 hours after exposure. This was followed, in the jejunum and colon, by an exposure-dependent overshoot in cell proliferation which reached a peak at three to four days in the former and five days in the latter. In contrast, no appreciable overshoot in proliferative cellularity in the stomach was observed. At 24 hours after irradiation, an unusual dose-effect relationship for cellularity was noted, which, along with the compensatory responses described, may have radiotherapeutic implications.