An effect that may occur in the offspring of the exposed individual is called?

• A. Genetic Effect
• B. Somatic Effect
• C. Stochastic Effect
• D. Deterministic Effect

Answer: (A)

Effects seen in the offspring of an irradiated individual are genetic effects: inherited changes caused by mutations in germ cells (sperm or ova). These changes can be passed to future generations, unlike somatic effects, which occur in the irradiated person and do not get transmitted to offspring. The terms stochastic and deterministic describe how effects show up in the irradiated individual—whether they occur by chance (stochastic, often with no clear threshold) or have a threshold with severity increasing with dose (deterministic). Since the question specifies offspring, the appropriate category is genetic.