LRA 211 Week 2 Key Terms (Ch 6. & 7)

1. Penetration: The ability of the x-ray beam to pass through materials, including body tissues, to reach the image receptor. 2. Primary Beam: The x-ray beam as it exits the x-ray tube and collimator, before any interaction with the patient or other objects. 3. Remnant Beam: The x-ray beam that exits the patient, consisting of transmitted and scattered radiation. This beam creates the image on the detector or film. 4. X-ray Emission Spectrum: A graphical representation of the overall energy distribution of an x-ray beam, combining the continuous spectrum of bremsstrahlung photons with the discrete lines of characteristic photons produced in the x-ray tube. 5. Absorption: The process by which x-ray photons are taken up by matter, particularly body tissues, leading to a decrease in the number of photons in the beam that can reach the image receptor. 6. Classical Interaction: Also known as coherent scattering or Thomson scattering, it occurs with low-energy x-ray photons (generally less than 10 keV). 7. Compton Electron: The electron ejected from an atom during a Compton interaction, where a moder- ate-energy incident x-ray photon collides with an outer electron, ionizing the atom and changing the photon's direction and energy. 8. Compton Scattering: A prevalent interaction in diagnostic radiography involving moderate-energy x-ray photons (20-40 keV), where the incident photon ejects an outer-shell electron and is deflected at a lower energy. 9. Differential Absorption: he ditterence in absorption rates of x-ray photons by various tissues in the body, which creates the contrast in a radiographic image. 10. Main-Chain Scission: A radiation ettect on macromolecules where the primary structure of the molecule is broken, potentially leading to functional changes in the molecule and biological damage. 11. Occupational Exposure: The exposure to radiation received by radiographers and other healthcare workers as a result of performing their job duties