[Radiation exposure of the embryo and the fetus: real risks or unjustified fears?].

The authors discuss the problem of radiation damage to the individual developing in utero, and summarize the information available in the literature on the subject. Additional risks induced by ionizing radiations are classified with reference to gestational age and dose absorbed by the fetus. Such risks concern the possibility of mental retardation from the 8th to the 15th gestational week, and of developing a malignant disease from the 3rd to the 15th gestational week.