Fig. 5.

Effect of lethal radiation exposure (210 Gy, Protocol 3b) on morphology. In all images, anterior is to the top. a Morphology of a control animal (e eyes, de developing egg, t testes, o ovaries). b, c From the second week, animals started to acquire an abnormal morphology. During this time, the gut detached from the surrounding tissue and lesions (LUC) filled with liquid became detectable. b, e Note the abnormal morphology of testes and ovaries (TST, OVAR). c Several worms showed a continuous curling movement (CRL). d, h During week 3, the epidermis became notched (NOT, open arrowheads), and blisters (BLI) accumulated along the lateral sides. Lesions (LES) covered the entire body (black arrowheads). f–h Subsequently, the rostrum regressed (RGRS). Finally, animals showed eye abnormalities (EYE), completely disintegrated and died within 1 month. When animals died, they completely disintegrated within 1 day and tissue remnants could not be observed. Bars 100 µm