Mental Subnormality

Abstract

Prenatal IrradiationThe dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki provided a horrible opportunity to study the effects of irradiation on the outcome of pregnancy. Plummer⁷⁴ reports that 7 microcephalic infants were born to 11 women who were within 1200 meters of the hypocenter during the first trimester of pregnancy. No such cases occurred in 194 women who were outside this area. In Nagasaki⁷⁵ 1 case of microcephaly was found among 7 women with major signs of radiation injury in the first trimester of pregnancy. An additional 9 mothers were exposed in the latter part of pregnancy, and . . .