Ch 7-9 Flashcards
Branch of biology concerned with the effects of ionizing radiation on living systems
Radiation biology
3 areas of study included in radiation biology
Sequence of events occurring after the absorption of energy from ionizing radiation Action of the living system to make up for the consequences of this energy assimilation Injury to the living system that may be produced
Damages living systems by ionizing the atoms comprising the molecular structure of these systems
Ionizing radiation
Biologic damage begins with the ionization produced by various types of radiation such as (5)
X-rays Gamma rays Alpha particles Beta particles Protons
________ will not bond properly in molecules
Ionized atoms
3 things that vary among the different types of radiation and determine the extent to which different radiation modalities transfer energy (harm/damage) into biologic tissue
Charge Mass Energy
3 important concepts that help us understand the way ionizing radiation causes injury and how the effects may vary in biologic tissue
Linear energy transfer Relative biologic effectiveness Oxygen enhancement ratio
The average energy deposited per unit length of track by ionizing radiation as it passes through and interacts with a medium along its path A very important factor in assessing potential tissue and organ damage from exposure to ionizing radiation
Linear Energy Transfer (LET)
What is the unit of LET?
keV/μm
2 radiation categories according to LET
Low-linear energy transfer radiation High-linear energy transfer radiation (more damage)
What is the rate of energy from ionizing radiation used for diagnostic purposes to soft biologic tissue?
About 3 keV/μm
When low-LET radiation interacts with tissue it causes damage to a cell primarily through an _______ action that involves the production of molecules called __________ (bad for you)
Indirect, free radicals
2 examples of low LET radiation
X-rays Gamma rays
6 examples of high LET radiation
Alpha particles Beta particles Protons Ions of heavy nuclei Charged particles released from interactions between neutrons and atoms Low-energy neutrons
High LET = _______ RBE
High
Because low-LET radiation generally causes sublethal damage to DNA, ______________ can usually reverse the damage
Repair enzymes
The LET for alpha particles is ______ times the LET of electrons
1000
High LET radiation is of greatest concern when _______________ is possible
Internal contamination
4 examples of internal contamination, that is when a radionuclide has been:
Implanted Ingested Injected Inhaled
Describes the relative capabilities of radiation with differing LETs to produce a particular biologic reaction
Relative biologic effectiveness (RBE)
The ratio of the radiation dose required to cause a particular biologic response of cells or organisms in any oxygen-deprived environment to the radiation dose required to cause an identical response under normal oxygenated conditions
Oxygen enhancement ratio (OER)
What is the OER of x-rays and gamma rays when the radiation dose is high?
3.0
What is the OER of x-rays and gamma rays when the radiation dose is below 2 Gyt?
2.0
Oxygenated state
Aerobic
Low oxygen
Anoxic
When irradiated in an aerobic state, biologic tissue is more sensitive to radiation than when it’s exposed to radiation under anoxic conditions
Oxygen effect
Without oxygen, damage produced by the indirect action on a biologic molecule may be repaired, but when damage occurs through an oxygen-mediated process, the end result is permanent/fixed
Oxygen fixation hypothesis
In living systems, biologic damage resulting from exposure to ionizing radiation may be observed on 3 levels
Molecular Cellular Organic
Any visible radiation-induced injuries of living systems at the cellular or organic level always begin with damage at this level Results in the formation of structurally changed molecules that may impair cellular functioning
Molecular level
If radiation damages the germ cells, the damage may be passed on to future generations in this form
Genetic mutations
2 classifications of ionizing radiation interaction on a cell
Direct action (e.g., in DNA) Indirect action (e.g., in H2O)
Biologic damage occurs as a result of ionization of atoms on essential molecules that may potentially cause these molecules to become inactive or functionally altered
Direct action
The effects produced by free radicals that are created by the interaction of radiation with water molecules Essentially all effects of irradiation in living cells result from this action
Indirect action
Why do essentially all effects of irradiation in living cells result from indirect action?
Because the human body is composed of 80-85% water and less than 1% DNA
Ionization of water molecules Production of free radicals, undesirable chemical reactions and biologic damage, and cell-damaging substances Organic free radical formation The final result of the interaction of radiation with water is the formation of an ion pair (H+ and OH–) and two free radicals (H* and OH*)
Radiolysis
Ionizing radiation interacts with DNA macromolecule, transfers energy, and ruptures one of the molecule’s chemical bonds possibly severing one of the sugar-phosphate chain side rails Repair enzymes are often capable of reversing this damage
Single-strand break Point mutation
Further exposure of the affected DNA macromolecule to ionizing radiation can lead to additional breaks in the sugar-phosphate molecular chain(s) Breaks may also be repaired but are not repaired as easily as single-strand breaks If repair does not take place, further separation may occur in the DNA chains, threatening the life of the cell
Double-strand break
Double-strand breaks occur more commonly with densely ionizing (_____-LET) radiation
High
3 effects of ionizing radiation on DNA
Single-strand break Double-strand break Mutation
In general, interaction of high-energy radiation (high-LET) with a DNA molecule causes either a loss of or change in a nitrogenous base on the DNA chain (double-strand) Direct consequence of this damage is an alteration of the base sequence May not be reversible and may cause acute consequences for the cell If cell remains viable, incorrect genetic information will be transferred to one of the two daughter cells when the cell divides to future generations
Mutation
The concept of radiation damage resulting from discrete and random events; may be used to explain cell death and nonfatal cell abnormalities caused by exposure to radiation
Target theory
Molecule that maintains normal cell function that is believed to be present in every cell and is vital to the survival of the cell
Master/key molecule
What is the master/key molecule presumed to be?
DNA
Ionizing radiation can adversely affect the cell; damage to the cell’s nucleus reveals itself in one of the following 7 ways
Instant death Reproductive death Apoptosis, or programmed cell death (interphase death) Mitotic, or genetic, death Mitotic delay Interference with function Chromosome breakage
The human body is composed of different types of cells and tissues, which _____ in their degree of radiosensitivity
Vary
4 examples of radiosensitive cells
Basal cells of the skin Blood cells such as lymphocytes (white blood cells) and erythrocytes (red blood cells) Intestinal crypt cells Reproductive germ cells
3 examples of radioinsensitive cells
Brain cells Muscle cells Nerve cells
As LET increases, the ability of the radiation to cause biologic effects also generally ________ until it reaches a maximal value
Increases
Oxygen enhances the effects of ionizing radiation on biologic tissue by _________ tissue radiosensitivity
Increasing
The radiosensitivity of cells is directly proportional to their reproductive activity and inversely proportional to their degree of differentiation True for all types of cells in the human body The most pronounced radiation effects occur in cells having the least maturity and specialization or differentiation, the greatest reproductive activity, and the longest mitotic phases
Law of Bergoiné and Tribondeau
Equal doses of ionizing radiation produce ________ degrees of damage in different kinds of human cells because of differences in cell radiosensitivity
Different
The more mature and specialized in performing functions a cell is, the ________ sensitive it is to radiation
Less
Ionizing radiation adversely affects blood cells by depressing the number of cells in the peripheral circulation; therefore, the use of blood tests for purposes of dosimetry is not valid
Hematologic depression
A whole-body dose of what delivered within a few days produces a measurable hematologic depression?
0.25 Gyt
The higher is the radiation dose received by the bone marrow, the _______ is the severity of the resulting cell depletion
Greater
Precursors of red blood cells are among the most sensitive of human tissues; mature red blood cells are much less radiosensitive
Erythrocytes
Depletion of red cells is not usually the cause of death in high-dose irradiation; what is?
Infection
Signifies the whole body dose of radiation that can be lethal to 50% of the exposed population within 30 days Quantitative measurement that is fairly precise when applied to experimental animals LD 50 for humans may require more than 30 days for its full expression
LD 50/30
What is the lethal dose of human beings usually given as and why?
LD 50/60 because a human’s recovery is slower than that of laboratory animals, and death may still occur at a later time following a substantial whole-body exposure
What is the estimated lethal whole-body dose for humans?
3.0-4.0 Gyt
What is the most radiosensitive blood cells in the human body?
Lymphocytes
Another kind of white blood cell that play an important role in fighting infection, a decrease in the number of these cells brought on by radiation exposure also increases a person’s susceptibility to infection (ex: radiation therapy)
Neutrophils
What radiation dose is sufficient to noticeably depress the number of lymphocytes present in the circulating blood?
A dose as low as 0.25 Gyt
What is the normal white blood cell count for an adult?
Ranges from 5,000-10,000/mm^3 of blood
At the dose level of what does complete blood cell recovery occur shortly after irradiation?
0.25 Gyt or less
When a higher dose range of whole body radiation of what is received, the lymphocyte count decreases to zero within a few days (full recovery generally requires a period of several months after this level of exposure)?
0.5-1 Gyt
Scavenger type of white blood cells that fight bacteria; if they’re affected by radiation, they can’t fight bacteria
Granulocytes
Initiate blood clotting and prevent hemorrhage If affected by radiation, your blood won’t clot so you won’t stop bleeding if you cut yourself
Thrombocytes/platelets
2 prime candidates for chromosome aberrations in circulating lymphocytes
Patients for whom high-level fluoroscopy was employed Patients for whom very long fluoroscopic exposure times occurred (ex: cardiac catheterization and other specialized invasive procedures)
Biologic effects of radiation that occur relatively soon after humans receive high doses of ionizing radiation Substantial evidence of the consequences of such effects comes from numerous laboratory animal studies and data from observation of some irradiated human populations Not common in diagnostic imaging Produced by a substantial dose of ionizing radiation
Early effects
Ionizing radiation produces the greatest amount of biologic damage in the human body when a large dose of densely ionizing (_______-LET) radiation is delivered to a large or radiosensitive area of the body
High
4 somatic and genetic (hereditary) damage factors
The quantity of ionizing radiation to which the subject is exposed The ability of ionizing radiation to cause ionization of human tissue The amount of body area exposed The specific body parts exposed