Effect of accelerated iron ions on the retina.

The eyes of rats were exposed to doses of 0.1 and 2.5 Gy of 450-MeV/amu 56Fe particles (LET approximately 195 keV/microns). The beam axes were oriented perpendicular to the central retina of the animals. Retinas were harvested immediately (less than 10 min), 24 h, 15 days, 136 days, and 186 days after the experiment. The retinas of animals of equivalent ages were sampled at the same intervals. By Day 15, the spatial densities of the pigment epithelial, photoreceptor, and bipolar cells in retinas irradiated with 2.5 Gy were 15 to 20% lower than those of the controls. The cellular density of the pigment epithelium returned to the control level by Day 186 while photoreceptor and bipolar cell numbers remained depressed. One and fifteen days after irradiation, the choroidal vessels showed signs of radiation damage. Exposure to 0.1 Gy did not affect the cellular density within the retina at the interval examined (186 days). None of the retinas showed evidence of track-specific injury that could be interpreted as microlesions or tunnel lesions.