Abstract
The theory of nuclear Compton scattering is reformulated with explicit consideration of both virtual and real pionic degrees of freedom. The effects due to low-lying nuclear states, to seagull terms, to pion condensation and to the Delta dynamics in the nucleus and their interplay in the different energy regions are examined. It is shown that all corrections to the one-body terms, of diffractive behaviour determined by the nuclear form factor, have an effective two-body character. The possibility of using Compton scattering as a complementary source of information about nuclear dynamics is restressed.