[Combined action of weightlessness and ionizing radiation on the body of rats (based on data from morphological...

The combined effect of weightlessness and ionizing radiation (24 hour exposure to Cs-137 at a total dose of 800 rad) was investigated morphologically in Cosmos-690 flight, synchronous and vivarium rats. Irradiation-induced lesions prevailed in both groups of rats. Comparative study of changes in flight and control rats showed that weightlessness and other space flight factors did not induce any new, previously unknown effects as compared with the exposure on the Earth; they did not exert a significantly aggravating effect on the development of radiation-induced lesions.