photoreactivation

1. a proceeding outward from a common center.

2. a structure made up of parts that go outward from a center, especially a tract of the central nervous system made up of fibers that go out in different dfirections.

3. energy carried by waves or a stream of particles. One type is electromagnetic radiation, which consists of wave motion of electric and magnetic fields. The quantum theory is based on the fact that electromagnetic waves consist of discrete “packets” of electromagnetic radiation, called photons, which have neither mass nor charge and have an energy inversely proportional to the wavelength of the wave. In order of increasing photon energy and decreasing wavelength, the electromagnetic spectrum is divided into radio waves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, and x-rays. 

Another type is the radiation emitted by radioactive materials. alpha particles are high-energy helium-4 nuclei consisting of two protons and two neutrons, emitted by radioisotopes of heavy elements such as uranium. beta particles are high-energy electrons emitted by radioisotopes of lighter elements. gamma rays are high-energy photons emitted along with alpha and beta particles and also emitted alone by metastable radionuclides, such as technetium-99m. Gamma rays have energies in the x-ray region of the spectrum and differ from x-rays only in that they are produced by radioactive decay rather than by x-ray machines.

Radiation with enough energy to knock electrons out of atoms and produce ions is called ionizing radiation and includes alpha particles, beta particles, x-rays, and gamma rays. This kind of radiation can produce tissue damage directly by striking a vital molecule, such as DNA, or indirectly by striking a water molecule and producing highly reactive free radicals that chemically attack vital molecules. The effects of radiation can kill cells, make them unable to reproduce, or cause nonlethal mutations, producing cancer cells or birth defects in offspring. The radiosensitivity of normal tissues or cancer cells increases with their rate of cell division and decreases with their rate of cell specialization. Highly radiosensitive cells include lymphocytes, bone marrow hematopoietic cells, germ cells, and intestinal epithelial cells. Radiosensitive cancers include leukemias and lymphomas, seminoma, dysgerminoma, granulosa cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma of the gastric epithelium, and squamous cell carcinoma of skin, mouth, nose and throat, cervix, and bladder.

The application of radiation, whether by x-ray or radioactive substances, for treatment of various illnesses is called radiation therapy or radiotherapy.

Three types of units are used to measure ionizing radiation. The roentgen (R) is a unit of exposure dose applicable only to x-rays and gamma rays. It is the amount of radiation that produces 2.58 × 10⁻⁴ coulomb of positive and negative ions passing through 1 kilogram of dry air. The rad is a unit of absorbed dose equal to 100 ergs of energy absorbed per 1 g of absorbing material; the absorbed dose depends both on the type of radiation and on the material in which it is absorbed. The rem is a unit of absorbed dose equivalent that produces the same biologic effect as 1 rad of high-energy x-rays. For beta and gamma radiation, 1 rem is approximately equal to 1 rad; for alpha radiation, 1 rad is approximately 20 rem.

Previously, doses administered in radiation therapy were commonly specified as measured exposure doses in roentgens. The current practice is to specify the absorbed dose in the tissue or organ of interest in rads. Many personnel monitoring devices read out in rems. Eventually, the rad and rem may be replaced by the new SI units, the gray and sievert; 1 gray equals 100 rad, and 1 sievert equals 100 rem.

corpuscular radiation particles emitted in nuclear disintegration, including alpha and beta particles, protons, neutrons, positrons, and deuterons.

electromagnetic radiation energy, unassociated with matter, that is transmitted through space by means of waves (electromagnetic waves) traveling in all instances at 3×10¹⁰ cm or 186,284 miles per second, but ranging in length from 10¹¹ cm (electrical waves) to 10⁻¹² cm (cosmic rays) and including radio waves, infrared, visible light and ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays.

extrafocal radiation radiation that arises from a source other than the focal spot of the x-ray tube.

infrared radiation the portion of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths between 0.75 and 1000 μm; see also infrared.

interstitial radiation energy emitted by radium, radon, or some other radiopharmaceutical inserted directly into the tissue; see also radiation therapy.

ionizing radiation corpuscular or electromagnetic radiation that is capable of producing ions, directly or indirectly, in its passage through matter. See also radiation.

optic radiation either of two large fan-shaped fiber tracts in the brain extending from the lateral geniculate body on either side to the striate cortex

primary radiation that coming directly from a source, such as a radioactive substance or an x-ray tube, without interactions with matter.

pyramidal radiation fibers extending from the pyramidal tract to the cortex.

scatter radiation (secondary radiation) that generated by the interaction of primary radiation with matter. See illustration.

striothalamic radiation a fiber system joining the thalamus and the hypothalamic region.

tegmental radiation fibers radiating laterally from the nucleus ruber.

thalamic r's fibers streaming out through the lateral surface of the thalamus, through the internal capsule to the cerebral cortex.

ultraviolet radiation the portion of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths between 0.39 and 0.18 μm; see also ultraviolet rays.