Regeneration of Gastrocnemius Muscle and State of Immune System in γ-Irradiated Rats under the Influence of He-Ne Laser

We studied the influence of a low-energy He-Ne laser on the regeneration of the transected gastrocnemius muscle and state of the thymus and bone marrow in adult mongrel rats irradiated at 6 Gy using the histological, morphometric, and cytogenetic methods. The laser influence on both rat hind limbs (at total doses of 9.0–10.8 J/cm²) enhanced the regenerative capacity of the viradiated traumatized skeletal muscle, and reduced cytogenetic damage in the bone marrow and thymus cells. The changes in the thymus mass and histostructure suggest that the functional load on the thymus increased under studied the experimental conditions.