RT Book, Section
A1 Roberts, Kenneth B.
A1 Decker, Roy
A1 Rockwell, Sara
A2 Grippi, Michael A.
A2 Elias, Jack A.
A2 Fishman, Jay A.
A2 Kotloff, Robert M.
A2 Pack, Allan I.
A2 Senior, Robert M.
A2 Siegel, Mark D.
SR Print(0)
ID 1122361109
T1 Radiation Pneumonitis
T2 Fishman's Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders, 5e
YR 2015
FD 2015
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-179672-9
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1122361109
RD 2024/04/18
AB The  discovery  of  X-rays  by  Roentgen  in  1895  and  of  radium  by  the  Curies  in  1898  revolutionized  medicine  at  the  turn  of  the  20th  century.  Roentgen’s  first  paper  on  X-rays  illustrated  the  power  of  diagnostic  imaging  with  a  remarkably  detailed  radiographic  image  of  Frau  Roentgen’s  hand.  As  researchers  around  the  world  built  vacuum  tubes  and  acquired  radioactive  sources  for  their  studies,  it  rapidly  became  apparent  that  these  invisible  radiations  could  produce  dangerous,  and  even  lethal,  injuries.1–3  Erythema,  chronic  dermatitis,  ulceration,  loss  of  hair,  and  eye  injuries  were  soon  reported  in  patients  who  received  large  doses  of  radiation  during  prolonged  fluoroscopy  procedures.  Even  greater  injuries  were  reported  among  the  physicians,  technicians,  and  scientists  who  performed  diagnostic  procedures  or  laboratory  studies  using  unshielded  X-ray-generating  equipment  and  highly  radioactive  sources.  The  development  of  these  radiation  injuries  suggested  that  radiation  might  be  useful  in  the  treatment  of  cancer;  indeed,  patients  with  cancer  were  treated  with  radiation  therapy  as  early  as  1896.1–3