In a recent recommendation, the International Commission on Radiological Protection substituted the effective dose equivalent, H(E), with a similar quantity-the 'effective dose,' E-changing both the set of organs considered and the respective weighting factors. To quantify the impact of these changes, calculations of E and H(E) were performed for various photon energies and external irradiation geometries using a Monte Carlo code and mathematical anthropomorphic phantoms to which an esophagus was introduced for this purpose. For energies >15 keV, E < H(E), the difference depending on photon energy and exposure geometry.