The text provides ample information on opportunities to minimise doses, and therefore the risk from diagnostic uses of radiation. This objective may be reached by avoiding unnecessary (unjustified) examinations, and by optimising the procedures applied both from the standpoint of diagnostic quality and in terms of reduction of the excessive doses to patients. Optimisation of patient protection in radiotherapy must depend on maintaining sufficiently high doses to irradiated tumours, securing a high cure rate, while protecting the healthy tissues to the largest extent possible. Problems related to special protection of the embryo and fetus in the course of diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radiation are presented and practical solutions are recommended.