Radiation Biology - Chapters 1-4, 6 Quizlets

which of the following are required by The Joint Commission for CT?

1. annual education of staff in dose reduction techniques

2. minimum qualifications for medical physicists

3. documentation of CT radiation doses

4. management for CT protocols to minimize radiation dose

1, 2, 3, and 4

the millisievert (mSv) is equal to

a) 1/1000 of a sievert

b) 1/100 of a sievert

c) 1/10 of a sievert

d) 1/10,000 of a sievert

a) 1/1000 of a sievert

consequences of ionization in human cells include…

1. creation of unstable atoms

2. production of free electrons

3. creation of highly reactive free radicals capable of producing substances poisonous to the cell

4. creation of new biologic molecules detrimental to the living cell

5. injury to the cell that may manifest itself as abnormal function or loss of function

1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

the ALARA principle provides a method for comparing the amount of radiation used in various healthcare facilities in a particular area for specific imaging procedures. this information may be helpful to many …

a) regulatory agencies

b) advisory groups

c) radiation standards organizations

d) accrediting bodies

a) regulatory agencies

which of the following radiation quantities is intended to be the best overall measure of the biologic effects of ionizing radiation?

a) exposure

b) effective dose

c) absorbed dose

d) there is no radiation quantity that is intended to be the best overall measure of the biologic effects of ionizing radiation

b) effective dose

the cardinal principles of radiation protection include which of the following?

1. time

2. distance

3. shielding

1, 2, and 3

diagnostic efficacy includes

1. determining if the imaging procedure is justified

2. obtaining images with minimal radiation exposure

3. adhering to radiation safety guidelines

4. revealing the presence or absence of disease in a patient

1, 2, 3, and 4

which of the following statements below is true?

a) the ALARA principle establishes a dose level for radiation-induced malignancy

b) the BERT method establishes a dose level for radiation-induced malignancy

c) the NEXT program and reference values establish a dose level for radiation-induced malignancy

d) it appears that no safe dose level exists for radiation-induced malignant disease

d) it appears that no safe dose level exists for radiation-induced malignant disease

the advantages of the BERT method are

1. it does not imply radiation risk; it is simply a means for comparison

2. it emphasizes that radiation is an innate part of our environment

3. it provides an answer that is easy for the patient to comprehend

1, 2, and 3

which of the following provides the basis for determining whether an imaging procedure or practice is justified?

a) NEXT program

b) BERT method

c) ALARA concept

d) diagnostic efficacy

d) diagnostic efficacy

why should the selection of technical exposure factors for all medical imaging procedures always follow ALARA?

a) so that referring physicians ordering imaging procedures do not have to accept responsibility for patient radiation safety

b) because radiation-induced cancer does not appear to have a dose level below which individuals would have no chance of developing this disease

c) because radiation-induced cancer does have a dose level at which individuals would have a chance of developing this disease

d) so that radiographers and radiologists do not have to accept responsibility for patient radiation safety

b) because radiation-induced cancer does not appear to have a dose level below which individuals would have no chance of developing this disease

what unit is used to measure radiation exposure in the metric international system of units?

a) mSv

b) mGy

c) sievert

d) C/kg

d) C/kg

effective protective measures take into consideration

1. both human and environmental physical determinants

2. technical elements

3. procedural factors

1, 2, and 3

regarding exposure to ionizing radiation, patients who are educated to understand the medical benefit of an imaging procedure are more likely to …

a) cancel their scheduled procedure because they are not willing to assume a small chance of biologic damage

b) assume a small chance of biologic damage but not suppress any radiation phobia they may have

c) suppress any radiation phobia but not risk a small chance of possible biologic damage

d) suppress any radiation phobia and be willing to assume a small chance of possible biologic damage

d) suppress any radiation phobia and be willing to assume a small chance of possible biologic damage

which of the following is a method of explaining radiation to the public?

a) ALARA

b) BERT

c) ORP

d) NEXT

b) BERT

why is a question concerning the amount of radiation a patient will receive during a specific x-ray procedure difficult to answer?

1. because the received dose is specified in a number of different units of measure

2. because the scientific units for radiation dose are normally not comprehensible by a patient

3. because the patient should not receive any information about radiation dose

1 and 2 only

in a team approach to patient care, various participants

1. assume responsibility for their areas of expertise

2. emphasize the importance of communication throughout the team

3. rotate as the person in charge of the team

1 and 2 only

x-rays are a form of which of the following kinds of radiation?

a) non-ionizing

b) environmental

c) internal

d) ionizing

d) ionizing

typically, people are more willing to accept a risk if they perceive that the potential benefit to be obtained is

a) greater than the risk involved

b) equal to the risk involved

c) less than the risk involved

d) typically, people are not willing to accept risk no matter how great the benefit may be

a) greater than the risk involved

the term ALARA is synonymous with the term..

a) BERT

b) EqD

c) diagnostic efficacy

d) ORP

d) ORP

in a hospital setting, which of the following professionals is expressly charged by the hospital administration with being directly responsible for the execution, enforcement, and maintenance of the ALARA program?

a) assistant administrator of the faculty

b) chief of staff

c) student radiologic technologist

d) radiation safety officer

d) radiation safety officer

which of the following is a form of radiation that is capable of creating electrically charged particles by removing orbital electrons from the atom of normal matter through which it passes through?

a) ultrasonic radiation

b) ionizing radiation

c) nonionizing radiation

d) subatomic radiation

b) ionizing radiation

what organization was founded in 2007 that continues their pursuit to raise awareness of the need for dose reduction protocols by promoting pediatric-specified scan protocols to be used for both radiology and non-radiology users of CT?

a) The Joint Commission

b) Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging

c) U.S. Food and Drug Administration

d) American Registry of Radiologic Technologists

b) Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging

if a patient asks a radiographer a question about how much radiation he or she will receive from a specific x-ray procedure, the radiographer can

a) avoid the patient’s question by changing the subject

b) refuse to answer the question and recommend that he or she speak with the referring physician

c) tell the patient that it is unethical to discuss such concerns

d) respond by using an estimation based on the comparison of radiation received from the x-ray to natural background radiation received

d) respond by using an estimation based on the comparison of radiation received from the x-ray to natural background radiation received

radiology departments or individual radiologic technologists can “pledge” to image gently. the pledge includes which of the following?

1. make the image gently message a priority in staff communications each year

2. review the protocol recommendations and when necessary, implement adjustments to practice processes

3. communicate openly with parents

1, 2, and 3

what is the latent period for most radiation-induced cancers?

a) 15 years or more

b) 5 years

c) 1 year

d) 7 years

a) 15 years or more

which of the following radiation quantities use the same unit of measure?

1. effective dose and equivalent dose

2. exposure and effective dose

3. absorbed dose and equivalent dose

1 only

when exposed to high radon levels in the home, which of the following groups of people have the highest risk of developing lung cancer?

a) nonsmokers

b) adults from 20-30 years of age

c) teenagers

d) smokers

d) smokers

what is the half-life of radon-220?

a) 54.5 seconds

b) 1622 years

c) 8 days

d) 2 years

a) 54.5 seconds

what is the common unit of measure of equivalent dose?

a) mSv

b) mGy

c) micro-sievert

d) C/kg

a) mSv

as a result of technologic advances since the 1970s and strict regulations imposed within the U.S. by the FDA regarding consumer products containing radioactive material, the radiation exposure of the general public from such procedures may now be considered..

a) substantial

b) negligible

c) very slight

d) moderate

b) negligible

through which of the following routes can radon enter houses?

1. crawl spaces under living areas

2. floor drains and sump pumps

3. porous cement block foundations

1, 2, and 3

the mass of an alpha particle is approximately,

a) eight times the mass of a hydrogen atom and a positive charge four times that of an electron

b) six times the mass of a hydrogen atom and a negative charge of minus one

c) two times the mass of a hydrogen atom and a negative charge of minus 2

d) four times the mass of a hydrogen atom and a positive charge twice that of an electron

d) four times the mass of a hydrogen atom and a positive charge twice that of an electron

if ionizing radiation from natural sources grows larger because of accidental or deliberate human actions such as mining radioactive elements, the sources are termed…

a) extraterrestrial sources

b) artificial sources

c) manmade sources

d) enhanced natural sources

d) enhanced natural sources

terrestrial radiation includes which of the following sources?

a) the sun and beyond the solar system

b) airport surveillance systems and electron microscopes

c) radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons tests in which detonation occurred above ground

d) long-lived radioactive elements such as uranium-238, radium-226, and thorium-232 that are present in variable quantities in the crust of the earth

d) long-lived radioactive elements such as uranium-238, radium-226, and thorium-232 that are present in variable quantities in the crust of the earth

which of the following helps shield the global population from exposure to essentially all high-energy, bombarding cosmic rays?

a) clouds

b) atmosphere and magnetic field of the earth

c) fog

d) smog

b) atmosphere and magnetic field of the earth

what is the total average annual radiation equivalent dose for estimated levels of radiation exposure for humans?

a) 2.0 mSv

b) 3.2 mSv

c) 9.6 mSv

d) 6.3 mSv

d) 6.3 mSv

of the two sources of ionizing radiation listed below, which source remains fairly constant from year to year?

a) natural

b) manmade

a) natural

when spread over the inhabitants of the U.S., fallout from nuclear weapons tests and other environmental sources along with other manmade radiations contributes

a) a dose of approximately 1.5 mSv to the equivalent dose of each person

b) a dose of approximately 3.2 mSv to the equivalent dose of each person

c) dose of approximately 6.3 mSv to the equivalent dose of each person

d) only a small portion of 0.1 mSv to the equivalent dose of each person

d) only a small portion of 0.1 mSv to the equivalent dose of each person

the first decay product of radium is

a) strontium

b) x-ray

c) radon

d) cesium

c) radon

which of the following are forms of electromagnetic radiation?

1. microwaves

2. visible light

3. x-rays

4. gamma rays

5. ultraviolet radiation

1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

which of the following is considered by the EPA to be the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.?

a) cosmic ray exposure

b) radon exposure

c) annual PA and lateral chest radiographic images

d) a fluoroscopic examination of the upper GI tract

b) radon exposure

the EPA recommends that action be taken to reduce elevated levels of radon in homes to a concentration less than

a) 135 pCi/L

b) 47 pCi/L

c) 4 pCi/L

d) 200 pCi/L

c) 4 pCi/L

which of the following statement concerning the 1979 nuclear reactor accident at TMI-2 is not true?

a) during the time of the accident, if persons living within a 100-mile radius of the nuclear power plant received an average radiation exposure of 15 microgray, and this dose is used as the population dose, then no more than 2 additional resulting cancer deaths can be predicted in the exposed inhabitants as a consequence of radiation exposure

b) the average dose received by the exposed population living within a 50-mile radius of the TMI nuclear power station at the time of the accident was determined to be 0.08 mSv, which is well below the average annual background level

c) no melt-through of the reactor vessel resulted during the accident

d) many excess cancer death have been predicted to occur in the 2 million people living within 50 miles of the plant at the time of the accident

d) many excess cancer death have been predicted to occur in the 2 million people living within 50 miles of the plant at the time of the accident

electromagnetic radiation travels or propagates through space in the form of a wave but can interact with matter as a particle of energy called a photon. this dual nature is referred to as

a) wave-particle interchange ability

b) wave attenuation capability

c) wave-particle duality

d) wave-particle phenomena

c) wave-particle duality

a flight on a typical commercial airline results in an equivalent dose rate of…

a) 0.005 to 0.01 mSv/hr

b) 0.05 to 0.09 mSv/hr

c) 0.02 to 0.04 mSv/hr

d) 0.001 to 0.005 mSv/hr

a) 0.005 to 0.01 mSv/hr

in the electromagnetic spectrum, higher frequencies are associated with…

a) longer wavelengths, higher energies

b) shorter wavelengths, lower energies

c) longer wavelengths, lower energies

d) shorter wavelengths, higher energies

d) shorter wavelengths, higher energies

which of the following sources of radiation is manmade?

1. atmospheric fallout from nuclear weapons testing

2. cosmic radiation from the sun and beyond the solar system

3. nuclear power plant accidents as a consequence of natural disasters

1 and 3 only

cosmic radiation occurs in which two forms?

a) solar and galactic

b) solar and manmade

c) natural and artificial

d) artificial and galactic

a) solar and galactic

acute melting of the uranium dioxide fuel of a nuclear reactor core requires how great a temperature?

a) less than 500 degrees F

b) 2000 degrees F

c) greater than 5000 degrees F

d) at least 1000 degrees F

c) greater than 5000 degrees F

which of the following particles is considered to be a form of antimatter?

a) x-ray photon

b) electron

c) positron

d) scattered x-ray photon

c) positron

although coherent scattering is most likely to occur ______, some of this unmodified scattering occurs throughout the diagnostic range and may result in small amounts of radiographic fog.

a) between 30 keV and 60 keV

b) between 60 keV and 90 keV

c) at less than 10 keV

d) above 100 keV

c) at less than 10 keV

during the process of coherent scattering, an incident low-energy x-ray photon interacts with

a) an atom and may transfer its energy by causing some or all of the electrons of the atom to momentarily vibrate and radiate energy in the form of electromagnetic waves

b) a scattered photon of less energy, annihilating it

c) a single inner-shell electron, ejecting it from its orbit

d) a single outer-shell electron, ejecting it from its orbit

a) an atom and may transfer its energy by causing some or all of the electrons of the atom to momentarily vibrate and radiate energy in the form of electromagnetic waves

which of the following interactions results in the conversion of matter into energy?

a) classical scattering

b) modified scattering

c) annihilation reaction

d) photoelectric absorption

c) annihilation reaction

which of the following are by-products of photoelectric absorption?

a) low-energy scattered x-ray photon and characteristic photon

b) low-energy scattered x-ray photon and compton-scattered electron

c) photoelectron and compton-scattered electron

d) photoelectron and characteristic photon

d) photoelectron and characteristic photon

which of the following interactions between x-ray photons with matter involve a matter-antimatter annihilation reaction?

a) pair production

b) photoelectric absorption

c) coherent scattering

d) compton scattering

a) pair production

annihilation radiation is used in which of the following modalities?

a) positron emission tomography

b) computed tomography

c) digital mammography

d) computed radiography

a) positron emission tomography

the x-ray photon energy required to initiate pair production is

a) 1.022 keV

b) 0.511 MeV

c) 1.022 MeV

d) 0.511 keV

c) 1.022 MeV

what is the effective atomic number of compact bone?

a) 7.6

b) 13.8

c) 5.9

d) 7.4

b) 13.8

which of the following refers to the radiation that occurs when an electron spontaneously drops down from an outer shell of an ionized atom to fill a vacancy in an inner shell of that atom?

a) primary radiation

b) photoelectric radiation

c) characteristic photon, or characteristic x-ray

d) bremsstrahlung

c) characteristic photon, or characteristic x-ray

in photoelectric absorption, to dislodge an inner-shell electron from its atomic orbit, the incoming x-ray photon must be able to transfer a quantity of energy

a) equal to or greater than 1.022 MeV, regardless of the energy that holds the electron in its orbit

b) 10 times as great as the energy that holds the atom together

c) less than the energy that holds the atom together

d) as large as or larger than the amount of energy that holds the electron in its orbit

d) as large as or larger than the amount of energy that holds the electron in its orbit

x-ray are carriers of

a) fluorescent properties that make them visible

b) manmade electromagnetic energy

c) electrons

d) disease

b) manmade electromagnetic energy

the probability of occurrence of photoelectric absorption ____ as the energy of the incident photon decreases and the atomic number of the irradiated atoms ____.

a) stays the same; increases

b) increases markedly; increases

c) increases markedly; decreases

d) decreases markedly; increases

b) increases markedly; increases

which of the following is not a type of interaction between x-radiation and biologic matter?

a) Compton scattering

b) pair production

c) bremsstrahlung

d)photoelectric absorption

c) bremsstrahlung

particles associated with electromagnetic radiation that have neither mass nor electric charge are

a) negatrons

b) positrons

c) ions

d) x-ray photons

d) x-ray photons

when an inner electron is removed from an atom in a photoelectric interaction, thus causing an inner-shell vacancy, the energy liberated when this vacancy is filled can be transferred to another electron of the atom, thereby ejecting that electron, instead of emerging from the atom as characteristic radiation. what is this electron called?

a) compton electron

b) edison electron

c) sievert electron

d) auger electron

d) auger electron

since the density of air is approximately _____ than that of soft tissue, a given volume of air will interact with far fewer x-ray photons than adjacent regions of soft tissue, thereby permitting more radiation to reach the IR.

a) 1000 times smaller

b) 1000 times larger

c) 100 times smaller

d) 100 times larger

a) 1000 times smaller

which of the following results in all-directional scatter?

a) photoelectric interaction

b) classical interaction

c) coherent interaction

d) compton interaction

d) compton interaction

what is the term for the number of x-rays emitted per inner-shell vacancy during the process of photoelectric absorption?

a) characteristic absorption

b) modified pair absorption

c) fluorescent yield

d) classical gain

c) fluorescent yield

compton scattering is synonymous with

a) incoherent scattering

b) photodisintegration

c) coherent scattering

d) photoelectric absorption

a) incoherent scattering

fluorescent radiation is also known as

a) compton scattering

b) characteristic radiation

c) coherent scattering

d) unmodified scattering

b) characteristic scattering

if two anatomic structures have the same density and atomic number but one is twice as thick as the other, the thicker structure will abosrb

a) the same number of x-ray photons

b) eight times the number of x-ray photons

c) twice as many x-ray photons

d) four times the number of x-ray photons

c) twice as many x-ray photons

which two interactions between x-radiation and matter may result in the production of small-angle scatter?

a) coherent scattering and compton scattering

b) photoelectric absorption and compton scattering

c) photoelectric absorption and pair production

d) coherent scattering and pair production

a) coherent scattering and compton scattering

which of the following is not another term for coherent scattering?

a) characteristic

b) unmodified

c) classical

d) elastic

a) characteristic

the symbol Z indicates

a) atomic number of an atom

b) atom weight of an atom

c) the number of vacancies in an atomic shell

d) fluorescent yield

a) atomic number of an atom

0.2 Gy equals

a) 20 mGy

b) 2000 mGy

c) 2 mGy

d) 200 mGy

d) 200 mGy

which of the following units of measure are not SI units?

1. roentgens

2. C/kg, grays, sieverts

3. rads and rems

1 and 3 only

which of the following types of ionizing radiation produce virtually the same biologic effect in body tissue for equal absorbed doses?

a) x-rays, neutrons, gamma rays

b) x-rays, alpha particles, and fast neutrons

c) alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays

d) x-rays, beta particles, and gamma rays

d) x-rays, beta particles, and gamma rays

which of the following are early tissue reactions of ionizing radiation that were experienced by early radiation workers?

1. diffuse redness of skin

2. blood disorders

3. organ atrophy

4. intestinal disorders

1, 2, and 4 only

in the SI system, an energy absorption of 1 J/kg of matter in the irradiated object equals which of the following?

a) 10 Sv

b) 5 C/kg

c) 1 Gy

d) 1 mSv

c) 1 Gy

the total kinetic energy released in a unit mass (kg) of air and expressed in metric units of J/kg is

a) equivalent dose

b) air kerma

c) effective dose

d) absorbed dose

b) air kerma

cataract formation, fibrosis, reduced fertility and sterility are classified as

a) early tissue reactions of ionizing radiation

b) stochastic effects of ionizing radiation

c) hereditary effects of ionizing radiation

d) late tissue reactions of ionizing radiation

d) late tissue reactions of ionizing radiation

which of the following formulas is used to calculate effective dose?

a) EfD = (D x WR)1 + (D x WR)2 + (D x WR)3

b) EfD = D x WR x WT

c) EfD = D / WR x WT

b) EfD = D x WR x WT

among physicians, cancer deaths attributed to x-ray exposure were reported as early as

a) 1937

b) 1945

c) 1930

d) 1910

d) 1910

in therapeutic radiology, what SI units are now routinely used to specify absorbed dose?

a) Sv and mSv

b) Gy and cGy

c) air kerma and microgray

d) C/kg and roentgen

b) Gy and cGy

who discovered x-rays on November 8, 1895?

a) Clarence Madison Dally

b) Thomas A. Edison

c) Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

d) Louis Harold Gray

c) Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

which of the following is the SI unit of electric current?

a) Erg

b) Sv

c) C/kg

d) ampere

d) ampere

what theory relates the ionization produced in a small cavity within an irradiated medium or object to the energy absorbed in that medium as a result of its radiation exposure?

a) air kerma

b) bragg-gray

c) tissue kerma

d) committed dose

b) bragg-gray

who was the first american radiation worker to die from radiation-induced cancer in October of 1904?

a) Wilhelm C. Roentgen

b) Marie Curie

c) Clarence Madison Dally

d) Thomas A. Edison

c) Clarence Madison Dallyy

alpha particles have a radiation weighting factor (WR) that is numerically equal to

a) 10

b) 5

c) 20

d) 1

c) 20

1 gray equals

a) 100 cGy

b) 1000 cGy

c) 100 J/kg

d) 10 J/kg

a) 100 cGy

how is dose area product usually specified?

a) in subunits of mSv

b) in units of mGy-cm²

c) in ergs per gram

d) in C/kg

b) in units of mGy-cm²

what do radiation weighting factors take into consideration?

1. the overall risk of exposure to humans from ionizing radiation

2. both the internal and external dose measurements

3. the fact that some types of radiation are more efficient at causing biologic damage than other types of radiation for a given dose

3 only

the whole-body TEDE regulatory limit for exposed personnel is ____ and ____ for the general public.

a) 0.5 Sv; 0.1 Sv

b) 0.15 Sv; 0.015 Sv

c) 0.25 Sv; 0.025 Sv

d) 0.05 Sv; 0.001 Sv

d) 0.05 Sv; 0.001 Sv

as the intensity of x-ray exposure of the air volume increases, the number of electron-ion pairs produced

a) remains the same

b) also increases

c) decreases considerably

d) decreases slightly

b) also increases

if 400 people receive an average effective dose of 0.25 Sv, what is the collective EfD?

a) 100 person-Sv

b) 1600 person-Sv

c) 800 person-Sv

d) 200 person-Sv

a) 100 person-Sv

what instrument can be calibrated to read air kerma?

a) voltmeter

b) amp meter

c) coulomb counter

d) standard, or free-air ionization chamber

d) standard, or free-air ionization chamber

for x-ray and gamma ray photons with energies up to 3 million electron volts (MeV), which of the following radiation quantities may be defined as the measure of the total electric charge of one sign, either all pluses or all minuses, per unit mass that these two types of radiation generate in dry air at standard temperature and pressure (760 mmHg or 1 atm at sea level and 22 C)

a) collective dose

b) absorbed dose

c) exposure

d) equivalent dose

c) exposure

beta particles are actually…

a) high-speed electrons

b) protons

c) x-rays

d) gamma rays

a) high-speed electrons

which of the following is essentially the sum total of air kerma over the exposed area of the patient’s body surface?

a) dose area product

b) equivalent dose

c) absorbed dose

d) effective dose

a) dose area product