Somatic effects manifest in:

• A. The person who has been irradiated
• B. The next generation
• C. Newborns
• D. Imaging technologists

Answer: (A)

Somatic effects are changes that occur in the body of the person who has been exposed to radiation. They result from direct damage to the irradiated individual's tissues and cells and are not passed on to offspring. That’s why the best answer is the person who has been irradiated—the effects manifest in the exposed individual, not in future generations.

The next generation would involve genetic effects, which are inherited and appear in offspring, not as somatic changes in the irradiated person. Newborns could reflect fetal exposure, but the general concept of somatic effects centers on the person who was actually irradiated. Imaging technologists could be the ones exposed, but the key idea is who experiences the effects—the irradiated person.