Histological changes in rat duodenum mucosa after whole-body gamma irradiation.

In order to understand the mechanisms of intestinal injuries due to ionizing radiation, various groups of rats have been whole-body irradiated by gamma-rays at two dose rates (1 Gy/min and 1 Gy/hr), three doses (1, 2 and 4 Gy) and two post-irradiation times (24 and 48 hr). Duodenum samples of the animals were prepared for light microscopy, according to classical methods for histology and TUNEL reaction. A small number of morphological differences were observed within the mucosa between the two dose rates used.