bestrahlten

Bestrahlen is a German verb meaning to expose something to radiation or to bathe it in light. The form bestrahlten is the past participle used as an adjective before a noun (for example, der bestrahlte Tumor, die bestrahlte Probe) and also appears in passive constructions such as Der Patient wurde bestrahlt. As an adjective, bestrahlten adjusts its ending according to gender, number, and case.

In usage, bestrahlen covers several contexts. In medicine, radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to damage cancer cells, and tissues or patients may be described as bestrahlt during treatment. In physics and materials science, irradiation is employed to study effects or to modify material properties; here objects are described as bestrahlte Proben or bestrahlte Oberflächen. In everyday language, bestrahlen can also refer to illumination by light, though scientific contexts usually imply ionizing radiation.

Grammatically, bestrahlten is the declined form used before a noun in certain cases. Examples include: der bestrahlte Tumor (nominative masculine singular), die bestrahlte Probe (nominative feminine singular), die bestrahlten Proben (nominative plural). The participle can also occur in other cases with appropriate endings, such as den bestrahlten Patienten (dative plural) or die bestrahlten Bereiche (accusative plural).

Etymology-wise, bestrahlen derives from strahlen (to beam or radiate) with the prefix be-, which in German often marks a transitive or intensive action. The word is thus connected to concepts of radiation, illumination, and exposure in scientific and medical discourse.