The factor that primarily affects the amount of radiation dose received by a patient during a radiographic procedure is?

The amount of radiation dose received by a patient during a radiographic procedure is primarily influenced by the milliamperes (mA) setting. mA controls the quantity of radiation produced during the exposure; a higher mA setting results in a greater amount of x-ray photons being generated. This increase in the number of photons directly correlates with the amount of irradiation the patient receives.

In practical terms, an increase in mA leads to a stronger radiation beam that can penetrate tissues more effectively, thus producing a more diagnostic image but also increasing the radiation dose to the patient. Therefore, while exposure time, kilovoltage peak (kVp), and source-to-image distance (SID) all play significant roles in the quality of the image and the exposure received, the mA setting is the most critical factor directly linked to radiation dose during the actual image acquisition.