The effect of irradiation on blood flow through rabbit submandibular glands.

Microspheres labelled with radioactive isotopes were used to study blood flow through irradiated rabbit submandibular glands before and after injection of pilocarpine. The blood flow through the submandibular glands was measured by the microsphere technique with satisfactory accuracy. A single radiation dose of 13.1 Gy at 3 months of age reduced blood flow through the whole gland significantly 4 months later, and even more at 10 months after irradiation. However, the relative blood flow (per gram of gland tissue) was almost unaffected at both 4 and 10 months post-irradiation with 13.1 Gy because of the simultaneous reduction of gland parenchyma.