What are radiation effects that are limited to the exposed population referred to as?

Radiation effects that are limited to the exposed population are referred to as somatic effects. These effects occur in the individuals who are directly exposed to radiation and can impact their health, leading to conditions such as radiation burns, acute radiation syndrome, or longer-term risks like cancer. Somatic effects do not affect future generations; instead, they manifest in the tissues and organs of the individual who has been exposed to the radiation.

This concept is crucial in understanding how radiation exposure impacts an individual directly, distinguishing it from genetic effects, which involve changes to reproductive cells that can affect offspring, or embryological effects that focus on impacts on developing embryos. Non-stochastic effects reference a relationship where the severity of the effect increases with the dose, but these terminology nuances are secondary to understanding the direct implications of somatic effects for the exposed population.