Toxicology

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Toxicology and
poison
Toxicology (Forensic) - Toxinology
History of poison
(ICD-10 T36-T65, ICD-9 960-
989)

Concepts

Poison - Venom - Toxicant -

Antidote
Acceptable daily intake - Acute
toxicity
Bioaccumulation -
Biomagnification
Fixed Dose Procedure - LD50 -
Lethal dose
Toxic capacity - Toxicity Class

Toxins and venoms

Neurotoxin - Necrotoxin -
Hemotoxin
Mycotoxin - Aflatoxin -
Phototoxin
List of fictional toxins

Incidents

Bradford - Minamata - Niigata

Alexander Litvinenko - Bhopal
2007 pet food recalls
List of poisonings

Poisoning types

Elements
Toxic metal (Lead - Mercury - Cadmium
- Antimony - Arsenic - Beryllium - Iron -
Thallium) - Fluoride - Oxygen
Seafood
 Shellfish (Paralytic - Diarrheal - Neurologic
Amnesic) - Ciguatera - Scombroid
Tetrodotoxin
Other substances
Pesticide - Organophosphate -
Food
Nicotine - Theobromine -
Carbon monoxide - Vitamin -
Medicines
Living organisms
Mushrooms - Plants - Animals

Related topics

Hazard symbol - Carcinogen

Mutagen - List of Extremely
Hazardous Substances -
Biological warfare
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Toxicology (from the Greek words toxicos and logos) is the study of the adverse effects
of chemicals on living organisms.[1] It is the study of symptoms, mechanisms, treatments
and detection of poisoning, especially the poisoning of people.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 History
• 2 Relationship between dose and toxicity
• 3 Toxicity of metabolites
• 4 Chemical toxicology
• 5 See also
• 6 Footnotes
• 7 References

• 8 External links

[edit] History
Mathieu Orfila is considered to be the modern father of toxicology, having given the
subject its first formal treatment in 1813 in his Traité des poisons, also called Toxicologie
générale.[2]

Theophrastus Phillipus Auroleus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493 - 1541) (also referred
to as Paracelsus, from his belief that his studies were above or beyond the work of Celsus
- the Roman physician from the first century) is also considered "the father" of
toxicology.[3] He is credited with the classic toxicology maxim, "Alle Dinge sind Gift und
nichts ist ohne Gift; allein die Dosis macht, dass ein Ding kein Gift ist." which translates
as, "All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not
a poison." This is often condensed to: "The dose makes the poison".

[edit] Relationship between dose and toxicity

Toxicology is the study of the relationship between dose and its effects on the exposed
organism. The chief criterion regarding the toxicity of a chemical is the dose, i.e. the
amount of exposure to the substance. Almost all substances are toxic under the right
conditions as Paracelsus, the father of modern toxicology said, Sola dosis facit venenum
(only dose makes the poison). Paracelsus, who lived in the 16th century, was the first
person to explain the dose-response relationship of toxic substances. The term LD50 refers
to the dose of a toxic substance that kills 50 percent of a test population (typically rats or
other surrogates when the test concerns human toxicity). LD50 estimations in animals are
no longer required for regulatory submissions as a part of pre-clinical development
package.[citation needed]

[edit] Toxicity of metabolites

Many substances regarded as poisons are toxic only indirectly. An example is "wood
alcohol," or methanol, which is chemically converted to formaldehyde and formic acid in
the liver. It is the formaldehyde and formic acid that cause the toxic effects of methanol
exposure. Many drug molecules are made toxic in the liver, a good example being
acetaminophen (paracetamol), especially in the presence of alcohol. The genetic
variability of certain liver enzymes makes the toxicity of many compounds differ
between one individual and the next. Because demands placed on one liver enzyme can
induce activity in another, many molecules become toxic only in combination with
others. A family of activities that engages many toxicologists includes identifying which
liver enzymes convert a molecule into a poison, what are the toxic products of the
conversion and under what conditions and in which individuals this conversion takes
place.

[edit] Chemical toxicology

Chemical toxicology is a scientific discipline involving the study of structure and
mechanism related to the toxic effects of chemical agents, and encompasses technology
advances in research related to chemical aspects of toxicology. Research in this area is
strongly multidisciplinary, spanning computational chemistry and synthetic chemistry,
proteomics and metabolomics, drug discovery, drug metabolism and mechanisms of
action, bioinformatics, bioanalytical chemistry, chemical biology, and molecular
epidemiology.
[edit] See also
• Aquatic toxicology
• Certain safety factor
• Ecotoxicology
• Entomotoxicology
• Environmental toxicology
• Enzyme inhibition
• In vitro toxicology
• Indicative limit value
• Important publications in toxicology
• Pollution
• Toxicity

[edit] Footnotes
1. ^ "What is Toxicology" -Schrager, TF, October 4, 2006
2. ^ [1] U.S. National Library of Medicine, Biography of Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure
Orfila (1787–1853)
3. ^ http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Paracelsus-Dose-ToxicologyOct01.htm

[edit] References
• Amdur MO, Doull J, Klaassen, CD. 1993. Cassarett and Doull's Toxicology: The
Basic Science of Poisons. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
• Gilbert SG. A Small Dose of Toxicology – The Health Effects of Common
Chemicals. CRC Press, Boca Raton, February 2004, p 266.
• Hodgeson E, Levi PE. 1987. A Textbook of Modern Toxicology. New York:
Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
• Critical Reviews in Toxicology, A peer-reviewed academic research journal
covering all aspects of toxicology, edited by Dr. Roger O. McClellan.

[edit] External links

Look up Toxicology in
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Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links.
• A Small Dose of Toxicology - information on health effects of commmon
chemicals
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Society of Toxicology
• American College of Toxicology
• American College of Medical Toxioclogy
• European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals
• Toxicity and hazard data on industrial chemicals
• International Conference on Harmonisation
• International Toxicity Estimates for Risk Database
• The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists
• Department of Health and Human Services National Toxicology Program (NTP)
• NLM ToxSeek - a meta search engine for Environmental Health & Toxicology
• NLM TOXNET - Databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental
health, and toxic releases.
• NLM Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program
• Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit
• American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC)
• ToxicologySource
• Food, Agriculture and Natural Science Careers : Toxicologist
• Environmental Toxicology Education
• Society of Toxicological Pathology
• [2] - American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Toxicology
• [3] - Chemical Research in Toxicology,