Forensic Toxicology Flashcards
What is forensic toxicology?
study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms, organ system, individual organs, tissues and cells
Name 6 toxic compound groups
gases
volatile organic compounds
drugs
metals
pesticides and persistent organic pollutants
anions
Define a toxic compound
all substance are poisonous, there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy.
Define Dose
the amount of a substance at a certain time
perceived as the total amount of poison administered
Define dose rate
better definition than ‘dose’
amount of substance administered to an organism during a defined time span
What is exposure dose?
amount in soil, water, air, food
What is ingested/applied dose?
dose or dose rate
what is absorbed dose?
amount in the body
what is dose is tissue?
dose at tissue level
what is biologically effective dose?
concentration of compound at target molecule
what is analytical toxicology
use of physiochemical techniques for analysis of foreign compounds
what is forensic toxicology in applied toxicology?
determining causes of death and injuries
what is occupational toxicology in applied toxicology
risk at work
what is clinical toxicology in applied toxicology
toxic induced diseases and antidotes
what is developmental toxicology in applied toxicology
teratogenesis, induced malformations in embryos or foetuses
what is environmental toxicology in applied toxicology
pollutants in air, water and soil as well as animals
What is descriptive toxicology
identify and describe the toxicological profile
what is mechanistic toxicology
identify and describe how the toxic compounds exert their toxic effects
what is regulatory toxicology
risk assessment and risk management
determination of risk based on descriptive and mechanistic toxicology to develop safety regulations
what is clinical toxicology
when toxicological and analytical techniques and methods are applied to identify the compound responsible for an acute/chronic poisoning for the purpose of treatment
what is the main purpose for clinical toxicology
keep a poisoned person alive
what is the main purpose for forensic toxicology
to verify if a crime could be behind an acute/chronic poisoning
what are 5 important questions in forensic toxicology
was this person poisoned due to a crime?
What is the poison?
How was the poison administered?
What effect did the poison have?
Harmful/deadly dose of the poison?
what is accidental poisoning
results from an accident, error, carelessness, or an unexpected situation in the working environment
what is experimental poisoning
results from self-medication or experimentation with drugs of abuse
what in intentional poisoning
someone is intoxicated on purpose, either by self-administration or by someone else
what is strychnine
extremely painful death due to suffocation
symptoms 10-20 mins after administration
