206 ATOMIC MEDICINE dermatitis and cancer of the skin. Such effects on the skin are discussed in Chapter 12. 9,2.2.3 Injuries from absorption of radioactive materials. Absorption of radioactive materials include long-termeffects such as leukemia and cancer of the bone. Such effects are discussed in Chapter 11. 9.3 Acute Illness from Total Body Exposure to Penetrating Radiations. This illness may be produced by exposure to a single type or a combina- tion of different types of radiation (x-ray, gamma rays, or fast neutrons). It will be a rare occurrence in civil lifeand for practical purposes will not be seen short of industrial accidents and atomic warfare. The syndrome in fulminating form was observed in the Japanese (appropriately termed “atombombendisease” by them) following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, and was seen also, in mild form, in the Marshallese exposed to fallout radiations in 1954. In Japan, accurate clinical observatious and laboratory studies were scanty during the first 3 weeks after the bombings. In the fallout accident involving the Marshallese, extensive clinical and laboratory observations were made, providing extensive data in the sublethal range. A number of industrial and laboratory accidents have occurred in avhich human beings have received relatively large doses of x-ray, gamma, or neutron irradiation, and these incidents have been reviewed and summarized (Hayes, 1956, and 1957). Some of the more serious accidents have provided extensive data on humanbeings exposed to both whole body and partial body radiation in the near-lethal to lethal dose ranges [Andrewset al.; Mathé et al.; Hemplemann; Howland, ef al., 1961). In addition, patients have been exposed extensively to whole body radiation, either for radiotherapy of malignancies or to depress the Immune response in connection with bone marrowor other tissue transplantation (Miller, Fletcher and Gerstner; Gerstner; Thomas, Lochte, and Ferrebee, Haurani, Repplinger, and Tocantius; Merrill, Murray, Harrison, Friedman, Dealy and Damin). Although con- siderable data on human beings has thus been provided, the information is far from complete. One or more of the following difficulties has obtained in each instance: incomplete dosimetrie information; range of doses inadequate; number of patients small; exposed individuals have serious underlying disease; observations, for varying reasons, were not madein sufficient detail or with sufficient frequency; course of the disease was altered by necessary treatment. Thus manyinferences for man with respect to dose- s od evitos, Finer3 eet 3 Csi response relationships, survival time, mortality rate and svmptomatology still are based on animal experimentation. Initially, therefore, the response of different species of animals to whole bodyirradiation will be considered.