Which statement about the timing of somatic effects is most accurate?

Which statement about the timing of somatic effects is most accurate?

• A. They appear in offspring
• B. They appear during the lifetime of the exposed individual
• C. They appear before exposure
• D. They never appear

Answer: (B)

Somatic effects are changes that occur in the person who receives the radiation. They are not passed to offspring. After exposure, these effects manifest in the irradiated individual and can appear at various times during that person's life, depending on the dose and tissue involved. That makes the statement that they appear during the lifetime of the exposed individual the most accurate. The other ideas don't fit because effects in offspring would be genetic, not somatic; effects cannot happen before exposure; and somatic effects can and do occur, though often after a latency period.

Somatic effects are changes that occur in the person who receives the radiation. They are not passed to offspring. After exposure, these effects manifest in the irradiated individual and can appear at various times during that person's life, depending on the dose and tissue involved. That makes the statement that they appear during the lifetime of the exposed individual the most accurate. The other ideas don't fit because effects in offspring would be genetic, not somatic; effects cannot happen before exposure; and somatic effects can and do occur, though often after a latency period.