re previous post - thanks Wikipedia

Japanese girl presenting the effects of radiation sickness.
Classification and external resources
Specialty	Toxicology
ICD-10	T66
ICD-9-CM	990
MedlinePlus	000026
eMedicine	article/834015
MeSH	D011832
[edit on Wikidata]

Acute radiation syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation poisoning, radiation sickness, or radiation toxicity, is a collection of health effects that are present within 24 hours of exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation. The radiation causes cellular degradation due to damage to DNA and other key molecular structures within the cells in various tissues. This destruction, particularly because it affects the ability of cells to divide normally, in turn causes the symptoms. The symptoms can begin within one or two hours and may last for several months.^[1][2] The terms refer to acute medical problems rather than ones that develop after a prolonged period.^[3][4][5]
The onset and type of symptoms depends on the radiation exposure. Relatively smaller doses result in gastrointestinal effects, such as nausea and vomiting, and symptoms related to falling blood counts, and predisposition to infection and bleeding. Relatively larger doses can result in neurological effects and rapid death. Treatment of acute radiation syndrome is generally supportive with blood transfusions and antibiotics, with some more aggressive treatments, such as bone marrow transfusions, being required in extreme cases.^[1]
Similar symptoms may appear months to years after exposure as chronic radiation syndrome when the dose rate is too low to cause the acute form.^[6] Radiation exposure can also increase the probability of developing some other diseases, mainly different types of cancers. These diseases are sometimes referred to as radiation sickness, but they are never included in the term acute radiation syndrome.

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• 1 Signs and symptoms
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• 2 Cause
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• 3 Pathophysiology
• 4 Diagnosis
• 5 Prevention