[A case of radiation cataract resulting from accidental irradiation of radioisotope].

We studied light and electron microscopic findings in one case of cataract resulting from accidental radioisotope irradiation. A 53-year-old male, a radiographer, was irradiated by Ga-citrate which dropped accidentally into his left eye during a radioisotope procedure. Subsequently opacity appeared in the posterior and anterior subcapsular area of the left lens and increased in intensity. Intracapsular cataract extraction was performed one and a half years after the accident. The extracted lens was studied by light and transmission electron microscopy. Epithelial cells showed frequent stratification in some sites and disappeared in others in the equatorial region. Wedl cells and vacuoles were also seen in the posterior subcapsular area. Degeneration of lens fibers, including multilayered whorls, were observed in the cortex.