 |
| photo credits: http://library.thinkquest.org/27224/ |
INTRODUCTION:
TOXICOLOGY is the study of the dynamic interaction of chemicals with living systems like people, animals, and the environment. According to the book of Bishop et. al they defined toxicology as the study of poison.
 |
| photo credits: http://www.eoearth.org/topics/view/49498/ |
What is poison?
POISON is any substance that causes a harmful effect on exposure or any chemical agent that has the capacity to produce abnormal, undesirable, or harmful changes to an organism exposed to it.
 |
| photo credits: http://sciencegames.4you4free.com/poisons_toxicology.html |
In toxicology there are four major disciplines: Mechanistic, Descriptive, Forensic and Clinical Toxicology.
- MECHANISTIC TOXICOLOGY - elucidates the cellular and biochemical effects of toxins
- DESCRIPTIVE TOXICOLOGY - uses the results from animal experiments to predict what level of exposure will cause harm in humans
- FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY - primarily concerned with the medicolegal consequences of toxin exposure
- CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY - the study of interrelationships between toxin exposure and disease states
TERMINOLOGY IN TOXICOLOGY
Here are common the words or terms used in toxicology like toxicant, toxin, poison, toxic agent, toxic substance and toxic chemical.
- TOXICANTS - substances that produces adverse biological effects of any nature
- TOXINS - specific proteins produced by living organisms and exhibit immediate effects
- POISONS - toxicants that cause immediate death or illness when experienced in very small amounts
- TOXIC AGENTS - anything that can produce an adverse biological affect
- TOXIC SUBSTANCE - any material which has toxic properties. It can be organic or inorganic in composition.
ORGANIC TOXINS - are substances that were originally derived from living organisms
INORGANIC TOXINS - are specific chemicals that are not derived from living organisms.
I hope you have learned something on my blog, till next time have a nice day take care and God bless! ;)
REFERENCES:
Clinical Chemistry Techniques, Principles, Correlations Sixth Edition, Michael L. Bishop et. al.
