Hiroshima Bombing Research Paper

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August 6, 1945, during World War II, an American B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion took out 90 percent of the city and killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would die later of radiation exposure. Within hours after the explosion, nausea and vomiting were reported by the Japanese. It had subsided by the next morning, for some it continued for two or three days. Vomiting was not infrequently reported and observed during the following symptoms, although at the time infection was associated with the cause. Diarrhea of varies degrees of severity had also been reported and observed. In the more severe cases, frequently bloody stool was also reported. For reasons that were not clear, diarrhea …show more content…

The appearance of the epilated was typical. The crown of the head was more affected than the sides. In extreme cases, the hair was totally lost. In some instances, re-growth of hair had begun within 50 days after the bombing. Petechiae and other hemorrhagic manifestations were also reported. Bleeding started from the gums and in the more severely affected soon evident from every possible source. Petechiae appeared on the limbs and pressure points. Large ecchymoses (hemorrhages under the skin) developed about needle punctures, and wounds partially healed broke down and bled freely. Retinal hemorrhages occurred in many of the patients. The bleeding time and the coagulation time were prolonged. The platelets (coagulation of the blood) were characteristically reduced in numbers. Among the long-term effects suffered by atomic bomb survivors, the most deadly was leukemia. An increase in leukemia appeared about two years after the attacks and peaked around four to six years later. Children who represent the population that was affected most severely. Attributable risk—the percent difference in the incidence rate of a condition between an exposed population and a comparable unexposed one — reveals how great of an effect radiation had on leukemia incidence. The Radiation Effects Research Foundation estimates the attributable risk of leukemia to be 46% of bomb

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