A bibliographical review on the concept of biological effects of ionizing radiation in Brazilian publications

Abstract

At the end of the nineteenth century, with the use of ionizing radiation for the benefit of humanity in various sectors of society, its effects on human health became evident. In this way, it is necessary to clarify the population about the main aspects related to the ionizing radiation applications, in order to better understand the concepts regarding their effects on health. And one of its main effects, within the area of radiological protection and medical physics, is called by Biological Effects. This is because ionizing radiations, due to their energy range, have the property of interacting with matter, and can alter the structure of cells by ionizing their atoms. Once it reaches the cells, ionizing radiation can produce damage, especially in DNA. This may occur either by the action of the radiation itself (direct mechanism) or by toxic radicals formed by the hydrolysis (indirect mechanism). These effects, over time, were identified and described, mainly from situations in which the man was acutely exposed (by accidents or medical use). In this sense, this paper proposes a bibliographic review of some concepts and definitions found in the literature on Biological Effects, mainly in Brazilian publications. With the purpose of not presenting a definitive theoretical model, but rather demonstrating the range of existing concepts, the objective of this paper is generating a debate about the variety aspects that may be related to the subject, reaffirming the importance of the topic for the area of radiation protection.