Buried emanation; the development of seeds for permanent implantation.
OBJECTIVE
To chronicle the development of radioactive sources for permanent implantation.


METHODS
Review of contemporary literature.


RESULTS
The value of ionizing radiation in the treatment of malignancy was appreciated soon after Roentgen's and Becquerel's discoveries. Brachytherapy was developed to treat tumors that were poorly controlled by early X-ray equipment. Sources and techniques for permanent implantation were devised in the first quarter of the 20th century.


CONCLUSIONS
Long before the creation of artificial isotopes, pioneering physicists and clinicians fashioned seeds from naturally occurring radionuclides and ingenuity.
Aronowitz
Jesse N
JN
Departments of Radiation Oncology and Urology, Upstate Medical University, 750 East Adams Street, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA . aronowij@upstate.edu
D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000266:history / Q000532:radiotherapy