TOXICOLOGY Flashcards
study of how natural or man-made toxicants cause adverse effects in
living organisms.
toxicology
those that are
damaging to either the survival or normal function of the individual
harmul or adverse effect
describes the degree to which a substance is
poisonous or can cause injury
toxicity
depends on a variety of factors: dose, duration and route of exposure, shape and structure of the chemical
itself, and individual human factors.
toxicity
This term relates to poisonous or deadly effects on the body by
inhalation (breathing), ingestion (eating), or absorption, or by direct contact with a
chemical
toxic
any chemical that can injure or kill humans, animals,
or plants; a poison.
toxicant
used when talking about toxic substances
that are produced by or are a by-product of human-made activities.
toxicant
usually is used when talking about toxic substances
produced naturally
toxin
any poisonous substance of microbial (bacteria or other
tiny plants or animals), vegetable, or synthetic chemical origin that reacts with specific
cellular components to kill cells, alter growth or development, or kill the organism
toxin
This term includes any feeling or sign indicating the
presence of a poison in the system.
toxic symptom
This term refers to the health effects that occur due to
exposure to a toxic substance; also known as a poisonous effect on the body.
toxic effects
means that a chemical will produce
injury to one kind of living matter without harming another form of life, even though the
two may exist close together.
selective toxicity
a substance must come
into contact with a body surface such as skin, eye or mucosa of the digestive or
respiratory tract.
how toxicity develop
s important when discussing how “toxic” a substance can be.
The dose of the chemical, or the amount one comes into contact with
actual amount of a chemical that enters the body.
dose
received may be due to either acute (short) or chronic (long-term) exposure
dose
occurs over a very short period of time, usually 24 hours
acute exposure
occur over long periods of time such as weeks, months, or years.
chronic exposure
it will determine the toxic effect
amount of exposure and the type of toxin
relationship between exposure and
health effect, that can be established by measuring the response relative to an
increasing dose
dose-response
relies on the concept that a dose, or a time of exposure (to a
chemical, drug, or toxic substance), will cause an effect (response) on the exposed
organism.
dose response
Given the idea of a dose-response, there should be a
dose or exposure level below which the harmful or adverse effects of a substance are
not seen in a population.
threshold dose
This dose is
also referred to as the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL), or the no effect level
(NEL).
threshold dose
These terms are often used by toxicologists when discussing the relationship
between exposure and dose.
threshold dose
substance causing cancer
carcinogens
This term describes the differences in types of responses to hazardous substances, between people
individual susceptibility
Each person is unique,
and because of that, there may be great differences in the response to exposure.
individual susceptibility
describes those persons who are more at risk from illness due to exposure to hazardous substances
than the average, healthy person
sensitive sub-population
These persons usually include the very young, the chronically ill, and the very old. It may also include pregnant women and women of
childbearing age
sensitive sub-population
used in laboratory experiments on animals to establish dose-response relationships
toxicology
deals with the way chemicals and waste products affect the health of an individual
toxicology
concerned with the study of chemicals that contaminate
food, water, soil, or the atmosphere
environmental toxciology
deals with toxic substances that enter bodies of waters such as lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans
environmental toxicology
This sub-discipline addresses the question of how various plants, animals, and humans are affected by exposure to toxic substances
environmental toxicology
concerned with health effects from exposure to chemicals in the workplace
Occupational (Industrial) Toxicology
This field grew out of a need to protect workers from toxic substances and to make their work environment safe.
Occupational (Industrial) Toxicology
gathers and evaluates existing toxicological information to establish concentration-based standards of “safe” exposure
Regulatory Toxicology
The standard is the level of
a chemical that a person can be exposed to without any harmful health effects.
Regulatory Toxicology
involved in delivering a safe and edible supply of food to the
consumer
Food Toxicology
concerned with diseases and illnesses associated with short
term or long term exposure to toxic chemicals
clinical toxicology
include emergency
room physicians who must be familiar with the symptoms associated with exposure to a
wide variety of toxic substances in order to administer the appropriate treatment
clinical toxicologists
concerned with gathering toxicological information from
animal experimentation
Descriptive Toxicology
used to help establish cause and effect relationships between
exposure to a drug or chemical and the toxic or lethal effects that result from that
exposure.
forensic toxicology
identifies the toxicant through analysis of body fluids, stomach
content, excrement, or skin.
analytical toxicology
makes observations on how toxic substances cause their
effects.
mechanistic toxicology
