EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION Dnpagan ote etd 207 * S4 ) s deposition. For example, clinical studies have shownthat following radiumdepositionin bone, atypical osseous tissue is formed in cancellous bone. These formations appear as areas of increased density in roentgenograms (8). It is difficult to interpret the anomalyin the pig, described above, and the dense trabecular bone in both the pig and chicken. No normal controls are available for comparison with these animals, and the history of the animals fromthe time of exposure to the time of collection is not known. Severe dietary changes and disease also produce changes in the pattern of deposition of osseoustissue, and such changesare often indistinguishable from changes produced by exposure to radiation. 5.44 Pathology Sections of lung, liver andtibia, as well as thyroid and other endocrine organs of most of the fowl] and pigs dying spontaneously or sacrificed, were prepared. A few pathological changes were found including an aplastic marrow none duck. However, none of the changes could definitely be ascribed to radiation. Sec- tions of bone examined by Lisco at the ANL also indicated no detectable pathological changes. 5.45 > on é. f oe Figure 5.3.—Autoradiograph of tibia and femur of baby chick sacrificed 46 days post-detonation (ANL). Egg Production in Chickens In birds, extraordinary demands are made on the calcium metabolism in the production of egg shell. It was, therefore, of particular interest to observe, during the process of egg production, the metabolism of those internally deposited radioelements which are metabolically similar to calcium. Forty-four days after detonation, a group of hens from Rongelap began laying eggs for the first time since their collection. During the next month and a half, 319 eggs were laid by 13 hens. All of the eggs were normal, except for two eggs from one hen which were laid without shells. The shells were complete, smooth and of normal shape. The weights of the eggs ranged from 30 grams to 64 grams,