Diseases of aging untreated virgin female RFM and BALB/c mice

Diseases of untreated, virgin female barrier-maintained RFM and BALB/c mice used as controls in a large radiation aging experiment were necropsied after natural death. The spectrum and incidence of neoplastic and nonneoplastic diseases were somewhat different in the two strains. Both strains show a high incidence of neoplasma (largely reticulum cell sarcomas and lung tumors) and of glomerulosclerosis. A wide variety of other diseases was noted in much lower incidence. The findings in the RF were briefly compared with those in earlier experiments with that strain in this laboratory.