The ultrastructure of the lung after exposure to ionizing radiation as seen by transmission and scanning electron microscopy

Male mice of the BALB/c strain were exposed at an age of 12-14 weeks, to different doses of X-rays, either to the entire thorax or to the right hemothorax. At various times after exposure mice were sacrificed and the lung was examined by transmission or scanning electron microscopy. Radiation symptoms following exposure to 15-20 Gy can be divided into three phases: Early, from a few hours to a few weeks after exposure, changes in capillary permeability and morphological alterations in all types of lung cells are prominent. At intermediate times, from a few weeks to about 7 months after exposure, the symptoms of radiation pneumonitis arise essentially, as a consequence of the action of radiation on the epithelium of the alveoli, and are characterized by a large increase in size, and probably in number of type II epithelial cells. Scanning electron microscopy brings additional arguments that the lesions in the epithelial cells, mainly of type II, are the principal cause of radiation pneumonitis and that capillary damage probably plays a secondary role.