Changes in whole-body metabolic parameters associated with radiation.

Continuous irradiation of experimental animals is an appropriate model for the research in space radiobiology. The onset and recovery of radiation injury can be estimated on the basis of the concentration/content of glycogen in liver, the phospholipid content in thymus and other radiosensitive organs and the triacylglycerol concentration in bone marrow. Further, the picture of the metabolism in irradiated organism may be completed by the analysis of serum glucocorticoid and thyroid hormone levels.