Pseudonormal thymocytes--a unique reaction of the lymphoid elements of the thymic cortex to high doses of ionizing radiation

The method of electron microscopy was used to study the phenomenon of "paradoxical resistance" of thymocytes to very high radiation doses (40 and 200 Gy). The formation of "pseudonormal" thymocytes, which represented a peculiar form of radiation death of these cells, was shown to be a function of radiation dose and time after irradiation.