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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Radiation Event Medical Management (REMM)

Chromosome Aberrations: Dicentric Chromosomes - Illustration
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                        dicentric chromosome
  • Significant exposure to radiation will result in disruption of chromosomes
  • Increasing exposure dose will produce increasing numbers of abnormal chromosomes
  • Techniques have been described for measuring the number of dicentric chromosomes in peripheral blood lymphocytes
  • The number of dicentric chromosomes is correlated with and can be used to estimate exposure dose
  • Counting the number of dicentric chromosomes is part of clinical biodosimetry, but it is time consuming and highly technique dependent.