Abstract
BACTERIAL invasion of the blood-stream is a marked feature of the acute radiation syndrome in the mammal following exposure to mid-lethal and supra-lethal doses of ionizing radiation1–6. It is generally considered that the bacteria are enteric in origin and that they gain access to the blood-stream through failure of the host defence mechanism, following the radiation insult, that is, ulceration of the gastro-intestinal tract, and leucopænia1,7. According to Bennett et al. 3 death attributable to such infection of the blood-stream in dogs is always associated with leucopænia, and Cronkite and Brecher6 consider that the body of evidence available appears to establish a firm correlation between granulocytopænia and susceptibility to infection in radiation injury.
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PRESTON, A. Leucocytosis in Response to Bacteræmia as a Feature of the Acute Radiation Syndrome in the Plaice. Nature 183, 832–833 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/183832b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/183832b0
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