Theory of radiation dose-survival curves for the case where organism lethality is defined as loss of reproductive capacity

Abstract

Loss of reproductive capacity is the lethal mechanism most sensitive to radiation, and consequently the controlling mechanism of the dose-survival curve, for a wide range of organisms. A simple model of an organism consistent with this fact is used with two postulates concerning the statistical nature of the radiation damage to develop a general expression for the dose-survival curve controlled by this mechanism. The analysis leads to a number of deductions concerning the shape of survival curves and indicates how the radiation sensitivity may be considered as the product of two terms; one dependent on the organism alone and the other on the type of radiation. The general formula is expanded in terms of poisson distributions to give an expression which should be applicable to cells. A number of tables are included to illustrate this case numerically.