SURVIVAL TIME AND INCAPACITATION IN SUPRALETHALLY IRRADIATED DOGS

Abstract

Incapacitation and resultant times of death have been studied with dogs following supralethal doses of either 60Co gamma or pulsed TRIGA reactor radiations. The nominal doses delivered were 4500, 9000, 13,500, or 18,000 rad. The exposure rates were 190.25 R/min from the 60Co sources and 3.4 - 11.5 x 10 to the 7th power rad/min from the TRIGA reactor. The two lower doses (4500 and 9000 rad) produced gastrointestinal deaths, with survival times ranging from 67 - 97.5 hours. These animals first exhibited signs of incapacitation at 48 - 72 hours. The two high doses (13,500 and 18,000 rad), on the other hand, produced central nervous system deaths, with survival times of 16 - 90.5 hours. With the exception of one animal, all dogs receiving 18,000 rad died within 29 hours. The dogs exposed to 13,500 rad had a much greater spread in survival times, indicating that doses in this range may cause either a gastrointestinal or central nervous system syndrome in dogs. All dogs in these two dose groups were incapacitated by 100 minutes. There was no evidence in the dogs of any recovery after the initial signs of incapacitation. The rate and severity of incapacitation was generally related to dose; the lower doses produced a slower onset and gradual incapacitation, while the higher doses caused a more rapid, severe clinical syndrome. Of the comparable exposures to either 60Co gamma or pulsed reactor radiations, no differences in clinical response were noted. Thus, in the dog, under these experimental conditions, no differences in clinical response were seen with regard to the type of radiation, and no exposure-rate dependency was observed for either incapacitation or survival times.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 28, 1968
Accession Number
AD0675780

Entities

People

  • Earl J. Ainsworth
  • James F. Taylor
  • Peter C. Block

Organizations

  • Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cardiovascular System
  • Cells
  • Central Nervous System
  • Dose Rate
  • Dosimeters
  • Dosimetry
  • Fission Neutrons
  • Gamma Rays
  • Leukocytes
  • Measurement
  • Medical Personnel
  • Nervous System
  • Optical Materials
  • Radiation
  • Radiation Sickness
  • Seizures
  • Three Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Nuclear and Radiation Engineering.