Radiation dosimetry: Definitions and basic quantities

Abstract

The discovery of X-rays by Roentgen in 1895 began a new era in medicine. The first uses of ionizing radiation permitted the noninvasive visualization of internal structures of the body, which was quite revolutionary. Later in 1924, de Hevesy and colleagues performed studies of the kinetics of lead-210 ( 210Pb) and bismuth-210 (210Bi) in animals, introducing the idea of the use of radioactive substances to investigate dynamic processes in the body and study physiological, as opposed to only anatomical, information [1]. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.