title: Dose-effect relationships in total body irradiation on the healing of cutaneous wounds.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the effects of dosages of total body irradiation on the healing process of cutaneous wounds and to observe the changes of wound area at different periods after injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  The entire body irradiation from a (60)Co gamma-ray source was performed on Wistar rats. The single dosage varied from 1 to 8 Gy. Within 1 h after irradiation, two whole thickness circular cutaneous wounds corresponding to 2.5% of total body surface area (Phi = 22 mm) were produced on the back of the animals (combined injury groups). Same wounds were produced on rats with no irradiation (single wound group). Wound healing was observed at different points after injury.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After total body irradiation with the dose of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 Gy, the wound healing was obviously retarded as the dosages increased. The wound area remained was larger in the large dosage groups than in the small dosage groups. Seven days after injury, there was 33.5% wound surface left unhealed in the single wound group, whereas in the combined injury groups, 35.4%, 38.1%, 41.6%, 48.8%, 53.9%, 63.7%, 69.2% and 73.9% of the wound surfaces remained unhealed, respectively. Statistical analysis showed marked correlations between the various times after total body irradiation and various dosages to the percentage of unhealed wound surface. Nine dose-effect relation formulae were deduced according to the statistical results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In soft tissue trauma combined with radiation injury, the delay of wound healing is related to the dose of radiation inflicted. It is also related to the time between injury and time of observation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Combined Injuries, School of Preventive Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China. Ranxz@btamail.net.cn
authors.forename: Xinze
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ran
authors.forename: Tianmin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Jifu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Duhu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Guoping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ai
authors.forename: Guohe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Wenchang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Rufu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors; D014916:Whole-Body Irradiation; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000528:radiation effects*