Radiation Dosage to Female Gonads During Diagnostic Roentgenographic Procedures

There is, at present, no practical way to determine routinely the exact ovarian x-ray dosage delivered to each patient as she is examined. The greatest opportunity for reduction of such dosage lies in strict evaluation of the need for roentgenographic investigation of the gastrointestinal tract, the gallbladder, and the lumbar region of the spine in young women and of repeated roentgenographic examination in the handling of hip disease in young girls. Shields can be used to advantage to protect the ovary from the direct beam. Similar shielding can almost completely eliminate significant irradiation of the male gonads.