A brief overview is provided of the history of the development of internal dose methods for use in nuclear medicine. Basic methods of internal dosimetry and the systems that have been developed for use in nuclear medicine are described. The development of the MIRD system and the International Radiopharmaceutical Dosimetry Symposium series is outlined. The evolution of models and tools for calculating dose estimates is reviewed. Current efforts in developing more patient-specific methods, particularly for use in therapy calculations, development of small scale and microdosimetry techniques, and of relating internal radiation doses to observed biological effects are described and evaluated.