Erythropoietic Recovery of Chronically Radiated Rats. 11. Response to Phenylhydrazine

Summary

Administration of phenylhydrazine during chronic irradiation of rats with 70 R per day stimulates red cell production markedly and results in final hemoglobin levels comparable to those of untreated radiated controls, even though the PH administration itself produces a significant initial anemia. There is a marked increase in splenic normoblasts in the PH treated animals in spite of continuous irradiation. The data are interpreted as evidence for the ability of irradiated erythroid cells to respond to strong stimuli, although they are unraqmnsive to the lesser degrees of stimulation which lead to automatic correction of mild degrees of anemia in normal animals.