Dose Health Dictionary

A term used to refer to the amount of a drug taken at a particular time, or to the amount of radiation an individual is exposed to during a session of radiotherapy. Drug dose can be expressed in terms of the weight of its active substance, the volume of liquid to be drunk, or its effects on body tissues.

The amount of radiation absorbed by body tissues during a session of radiotherapy is expressed in units called millisieverts (see radiation units).

n. a carefully measured quantity of a drug that is prescribed by a doctor to be given to a patient at any one time. The median effective dose (ED50) is the dose of a drug that produces desired effects in 50% of individuals tested. See also LD50.