Pathological Studies on an Atomic-Bomb Radiation Case

The cause of the death due to the atomic-bomb radiation is yet unknown definitely and the same can be said of shock brought about by the atomic-bomb. It cannot be said with certainity that infection of pathogenic bacteria concerns in the mortality, for even minor injuries did not often escape bacterial invasion from any part of the whole body. In this case the progress was same to a symptom of agranulocytosis, namely collapse, chill, fever, red throat or ulcerative stomatitis and from the reason of the heavily infected tonsils, although cultures were not made, there are reasons to consider it as agranulocytosis angina. The interpretation of the histologic changes observed in this patient, is rendered difficult not only by the factor of infection, but by the possible influence of one damaged organ upon another. From the histological changes there were the destruction of the epithelium of the gastro-intestinal organs, the atrophy of the testis and the necrosis of the tonsils, but the most noteworthy was the changes in the bone-marrow. The hyperplasia of the reticulum cells, the disappearance of the hematopoetic foci, and the great quantity of mitotic figures in the myeloid cells observecl in this case are found in many of the atomic-bomb victims died approximately one month after the exposure. This is a case of the death caused by aplastic anemia with infective complication or in orther words symptomatic agranulocytosis caused by the atomic-bomb radiation with sepsis.