Hemopoiesis in pregnant beagles following low-dose total-body irradiation and surgery.

Hemopoietic perturbations were observed in gravid beagles subjected to whole-body ionizing radiation during midpregnancy followed by the additional trauma of surgery, with alterations in peripheral blood hemogram parameters, bone marrow morphology, and concentration of marrow-derived granulocytic- and erythrocytic-committed stem cells. However, the trauma of surgery combined with irradiation had no apparent effects on the contralateral uterine horn with the remaining pups, with no indications of miscarriage, absorption of pups, or other complications of pregnancy.