Cellular and tissual aspects of radiation damage with special reference to radionuclides

Effects of ionizing radiation on the mammalian organism cannot adequately be interpreted without taking into account the multitude of cell families which - in a highly organized and complex fashion - constitute the living body. Every type of tissue is subject to a number of regulatory mechanisms which maintain homeostasis under physiological conditions and provide for appropriate reactions and repair consecutive to radiation damage. The most important effects of external ionizing radiation on cells and tissues are briefly reviewed, and emphasis is then placed on some complex problems relating to radiation hazards caused by radionuclides that have entered the mammalian organism