ANKMJ
Ankyra Medical Journal

Ankyra Medical Journal (AnkMJ), formerly known as the Journal of Translational and Practical Medicine, regularly publishes international quality issues in the field of Medicine in the light of current information.

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Review
Impact of radiaton on human
Abstract
Humans are continuously exposed to radiation from natural sources (notably indoor radon), medical procedures, occupational settings, and occasional nuclear accidents. In this review we discuss the mechanisms of ionizing radiation injury and summarize major clinical syndromes across organ systems. Ionizing radiation deposits energy that directly damages DNA or indirectly generates hydroxyl radicals, producing single- and double-strand breaks and oxidative base lesions; higher linear energy transfer tends to create complex damage that is harder to repair. These lesions activate apoptosis, mitotic catastrophe, and inflammatory cell-death pathways, with tissue responses shaped by dose, irradiated volume, fractionation, oxygenation, and cell-cycle sensitivity. At whole-body doses of roughly 1–8 Gy, hematopoietic ARS causes early lymphopenia followed by neutropenia and thrombocytopenia, increasing risks of infection and bleeding. At approximately 6–15 Gy, gastrointestinal ARS results from intestinal crypt stem-cell loss, leading to severe diarrhea, barrier failure, sepsis, and malnutrition; at very high doses, neurovascular collapse and cerebral edema can be fatal. The skin is also a critical target: cutaneous radiation injury has a threshold near 2 Gy and progresses from erythema to desquamation and ulceration with late fibrosis, and pain may be opioid-resistant. Thoracic exposure can cause pneumonitis progressing to fibrosis, while central nervous system injury includes acute encephalopathy and delayed radionecrosis/cognitive impairment. Practical preparedness includes early triage (time-to-emesis, serial lymphocyte counts, biodosimetry when available) and prevention through justification, optimization, dose limitation, and radon mitigation.

Keywords : Radiaton, human, organs

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Article available in :
Volume 5, Issue 4, 2026
Page : 119-125
https://doi.org/10.51271/ANKMJ-0080
Article Information
Received : 13 May 2026
Accepted : 17 Ağu 2026
Published : 06 Eki 2026
Corresponding Author :

Yaşar Kandur: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Turkiye

[email protected]
Citation : Kandur Y. Impact of radiaton on human. Ank Med J. 2026;5(4):119-125. doi:10.51271/ANKMJ-0080

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