Introduction to Radiobiology

Radiation is also used in medical diagnosis and in nuclear power stations. In all these fileds, where questions of benefit and detriment arise, the biological effects of the radiation can now be predicted. There are not many walks of life where risk estimates are so firmly founded on quantitative data. This is not only because of the precision with which radiation dose can be measured but also because of the large body of radiobiological observations that have been made since X-rays were discovered. Given some knowledge of physics anmd chemistry, the reader will have no difficulty in understanding both the dry fast processes that initiate the damage in irradiated tissues and the kinetic patterns in which such damage is expressed at the cellular level. These dynamic apsects of radiation biology are described in detail at a level appropriate to readers with a basic knowledge of mammalian cell biology. Standard textbooks are listed for those who need background reading.