Influence of radiation conditions of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone on the hematopoietic system of bank vole

Abstract

Radiogenic changes in the blood system of Myodes glareolus inhabiting the sites of the 30-km ChNPP zone with different levels of radiation contamination were studied. It is shown that the chronic ionizing radiation exposure results in disorders in the animals' hemopoiesis. The imbalance in all blood cell lineages, especially erythroid one, was revealed. Animals inhabiting highly contaminated areas and exposed to the higher radiation doses had more steady changes in blood parameters, in particular their significant decrease. In all groups of the examined animals, in addition to radiation induced effects, compensatory repair processes were observed. They were manifested in the intensification of organism self-protection by activating the lymphoid components of immune system.

Keywords

• radionuclide contamination
• chronic irradiation
• bank vole
• hematopoiesis system.