Conclusion
Radiation pathology is a general term describing the damage that occurs in tissues after irradiation. After the very low doses, received by the normal working population, no major pathology is seen. There is a hazard of cancer induction if DNA damage that has been inflicted in an individual cell is repaired in such a way that the DNA remains intact but rearranged. This radiation carcinogenesis is however a low risk compared with many chemical carcinogens in the environment and in cancer chemotherapy.
The treatment of cancer by radiation is now commonly accepted as one of the most effective forms of treatment. It can kill tumour cells effectively, but the dose that can be given is limited by the normal tissues that are inevitably included in the beam. Cell function is maintained for some time even after very large doses. However normal tissues show a loss of function and structure because the proliferating subcompartment of each tissue is depleted as the radiation injured cells fail to divide and die. The time at which the cell deficit is detected varies from hours in some tissues to months or years in others. It depends upon the normal rate of cell turnover. The apparent sensitivity of each tissue therefore depends upon the time at which the assessment is made. Lung and kidney would appear very resistant at 1–3 months post irradiation, but would seem very radiosensitive at 6–12 months as their latent damage is expressed.
The ultimate expression of radiation pathology is the death of the whole animal as the essential organ function fails. The time of this death is only comprehensible if the time sequence and the proliferation kinetics of the target cells are taken into account. It must be recognised that it is initial damage to the clonogenic cells, not to the differentiated cells per se that is important.
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Denekamp, J., Rojas, A. Cell kinetics and radiation pathology. Experientia 45, 33–41 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01990450
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01990450