Radiobiology

Radiobiology (also known as radiation biology) is a field of clinical and basic medical sciences that involves the study of the action of ionizing radiation on living things.

Ionizing radiation is generally harmful and potentially lethal to living things but can have health benefits in radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer and thyrotoxicosis. Its most common impact is the induction of cancer with a latent period of years or decades after exposure. High doses can cause visually dramatic radiation burns, and/or rapid fatality through acute radiation syndrome. Controlled doses are used for medical imaging and radiotherapy. Some scientists suspect that low doses may have a mild hormetic effect that can improve health.

Some effects of ionizing radiation on human health are , meaning that their probability of occurrence increases with dose, while the severity is independent of dose.Radiation-induced cancer, teratogenesis, cognitive decline, and heart disease are all examples of stochastic effects. Other conditions such as radiation burns, acute radiation syndrome, chronic radiation syndrome, and radiation-induced thyroiditis are deterministic, meaning they reliably occur above a threshold dose, and their severity increases with dose. Deterministic effects are not necessarily more or less serious than stochastic effects; either can ultimately lead to a temporary nuisance or a fatality.

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