possible since the team arrived the day after her
death. Principal gross findings included fractures
of the 5th, 6th, and 7th ribs and the first lumbar
vertebra with ecchymoses and internal hemor-
thage, atherosclerosis of the heart and aorta, bilat-
eral pulmonary edema, and benign nephrosclerosis. Atrophy of the kidney, liver, and spleen were
noted. Principal findings on microscopic examina-
tion included myocardial fibrosis, aortic athero-
sclerosis, and pulmonary edema. It was believed
that death resulted from trauma and hemorrhage,
possibly from fall. Details of the autopsy findings
are reported in Appendix 6.*
different from that in the unexposed comparison
group. Appendix 5 lists major findings on each
adult examined.
Certain abnormalities such as moderate to
severe arteriosclerosis showed a higher incidence
in the exposed group, but these increases were
probably related to the larger percentage of older
people in the exposed group. In the exposed group
20% of the adults were >65 years of age, compared with 7% of the unexposed adults. Taking
this into consideration, it does not appear that the
abnormalities in the two groups are very different,
and no evidence of any increased incidence of
degenerative diseases or other diseases is apparent
in the exposed group. In the exposed group several
of the older people (No. 57-F, age 107; No. 46-M,
Only 4 people, 2 exposed and 2 controls,
required hospitalization during the past year. Two
cases of hemorrhoids and an anal fistula required
surgical correction; one case of an acute exfolia-
tive type of dermatitis required hospital treatment.
The health aide reported that during the past year
about 20 people on Rongelap developed a sickness
associated with eating improperly prepared arrow-
age 86; No. 55-M, age 82; and No. 28-F, age 75)
showed marked infirmities of old age and presented such findings as arteriosclerotic heart dis-
ease, kyphoscoliosis, osteoarthritis, cataracts, and
blindness. These people had to be assisted to the
examination room, Only two cases in the unexposed group were in this category (No. 862-M,
age 88, and No. 946-M,age 85).
root flour. The sickness was characterized by soreness of the mouth and throat, anorexia, nausea,
OPHTHALMCOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS
to several weeks. Occasional cases of fish poisoning (numbering about 20) occurred during the
In Table 4 the incidence of various ophthalmological findings in the Rongelap people is pre-
vomiting, and diarrhea, and lasted from a few days
past year. They were characterized by the typical
gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms noted
in the past. Fish poisoning is a ubiquitous illness
sented. Pterygia and pingueculae were the most
reported were the usual number of cases of upper
most common in those >40. All lens opacities
in the South Sea Islands. The only other sicknesses
common, occurring in 43% of the exposed adults
and 36.9% of the control group, but these were
not found in individuals <20 years of age and were
respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, and numer-
could be classified as senile, presenile, or congeni-
ous skin conditions.
ADULT EXAMINATIONS
In Table 3 are listed the various physical abnormalities in the adults, except for the ophthalmolog-
ical findings, which are listed and discussed in the
following section. As noted in previous examina-
tions, the incidence of various abnormalities in
the exposed group did not appear to be significantly
“The gross autopsy findings are reported by one of us
(L. M.). We are grateful to Drs. Hans Cottier, W. Calvo,
and V. Alcober of BNL for reporting the histological
findings.
tal. There were 14.5% of the exposed adults and
13.6% of the control group that had senile cataracts. Lenticular opacities (including presenile and
congenital) occurred in 22.9% of the exposed
group and 21.7% of the control group; they were
most commonin those >45 years of age. No opacities were noted characteristic of those induced by
radiation exposure.
Corneal pigmentation could be classified into
two groups, congenital and acquired. There were
20.8% of the exposed and 23.9% of the control
group that had congenital corneal pigmentation
not unlike that seen in all dark-skinned races in
any part of the world. Three cases (6.2% ) in the
exposed group had a noncongenital pigmentation,
consisting of a dark linear streak of pigment ex-
a
12