REFERENCES 123 



with I 131 and P 32 , radioactive tracer techniques have a wonderful future in 

 medical diagnosis. 



As it does in so many subjects, the National Bureau of Standards, in 

 Washington, periodically publishes reliable definitions of terms, values of 

 universal and experimental constants, and tables and graphs of collated data 

 on radiologically important parameters. The ''Radiological Health Hand 

 Book" is indispensible to further study of this subject, as a quantitative sup- 

 plement to the classic work of Kamen. 5 



PROBLEMS 



5- 1 : (a) What element is formed by the radioactive disintegration of: 

 P~ £- 0' 



P 32 ^ Co 60 ^ p30 1+ 



0- 8- 



Na 24 ^ Ra 226 -^ 



a 8* 



p o 210 _^ Na 22 % 



(b) Is the product radioactive too? 



5-2: (a) Make a graph showing activity (counts per minute) against time, for up- 

 take, utilization, and elimination of I !3! by the thyroid, 

 (b) List five important reasons why I 131 is used in irradiation-therapy of goiter. 



5-3: The 1.70 mev /3-ray of P 32 penetrates about 7 mm into tissue. The half-life is 

 14.3 days. A 1-millicurie (mc) source will deliver about 1 rad (radiation ab- 

 sorbed dose) per minute. 



How long would it take for a 1 mc of NaHP0 4 , composed of P 32 , taken orally 

 as a solution in water, to administer 6000 rads to an organ in which it concen- 

 trates? 



REFERENCES 



1. The Staff, Physics Dept., Univ. of Pittsburgh: "Atomic Physics," 2nd ed., John 



Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, N. Y., 1944. 



2. "Atomic Radiation (Theory, Biological Hazards, Safety Measures, Treatment 



of Injury)," RCA Service Co., Camden, N. J ., 1 959. 



3. "Teaching with Radioisotopes," H. A. Miner, el al., Eds., U. S. Atomic Energy 



Commission, Washington, D. C, 1959. 



4. Scientific American, issue on "Ionizing Radiations," Vol. 201, September, 1959: 



papers by S. Warren, p. 164, and R. L. Platzman, p. 74. 



5. Kamen, M. D., "Tracer Techniques in Biology and Medicine," Academic Press, 



New York, N. Y., 1960. 



