Quantitative changes in the goblet cells of the rat small intestine after irradiation.

In order to evaluate the process of cell differentiation in the crypt of the rat small intestine the goblet cells were quantitatively studied in controls and after irradiation of the abdomen. The effect of a single dose, administered at 4 different times of the day, and multiple daily fractionations (MDF) of 6 and 12 Gy with different doses per fraction and different time intervals, were compared. Both regimens caused an initial increase of the goblet cells (both in absolute and relative terms), followed by a decrease and finally return to nearly control levels. After MDF the increase was more marked and the return to a normal level occurred earlier than after the single dose.