What does mA control in the context of manual exposure controls?

In the context of manual exposure controls, mA (milliamperes) primarily regulates the quantity of radiation produced during an x-ray exposure. This means that a higher mA setting will result in a greater number of x-rays being generated, thus increasing the overall intensity of the radiation that reaches the image receptor. This is crucial in determining the density and quality of the resulting image; a higher mA typically leads to a darker film.

While factors such as speed and duration of exposure are important in imaging, they are controlled by different parameters. For instance, exposure duration is managed by timing settings, while beam quality is influenced by kVp (kilovoltage peak) adjustments, which affect the penetration power of the x-ray beam. In summary, understanding that mA directly influences the quantity of radiation affirms its role in achieving the desired image characteristics.