Know About Toxicology

Toxicology (from the Greek words toxicos "poisonous" and logos) is a branch of biology, chemistry and medicine, concerned with the study of adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms. It is the study of symptoms, mechanisms, treatments and detection of poisoning, especially the poisoning of humans. Toxicology is the study of how natural or man-made poisons bring about undesirable effects in living organisms. Toxicology addresses a variety of questions. For example, in agriculture, toxicology determines the possible health effects from exposure to pesticides or herbicides, or the effect of animal feed additives, such as growth factors, on people. Toxicology is also used in laboratory experiments on animals to establish dose-response relationships. It also deals with the way chemicals and waste products affect the health of an individual. The relationship between dose and its effects on the exposed organism is of high significance in toxicology. The chief criterion regarding the toxicity of a chemical is the dose, i.e. the amount of exposure to the substance. All substances are toxic under the right conditions.

The field of toxicology can be further divided into the following sub-disciplines or sub-specialties

Environmental Toxicology is concerned with the study of chemicals that contaminate food, water, soil or the atmosphere. It also deals with toxic substances that enter water bodies such as lakes, streams, rivers and oceans. This sub-discipline addresses the question of how various plants, animals, and humans are affected by exposure to toxic substances.

Occupational (Industrial) Toxicology is concerned with the health effects from exposure to chemicals in the workplace. This field has grown out of a need to protect workers from toxic substances and to make their work environment safe.

Regulatory Toxicology gathers and evaluates existing toxicological information to establish concentration-based standards of “safe” exposure. The standard is the level of a chemical that a person can be exposed to without any harmful health effects.

Food Toxicology is involved in delivering a safe and edible supply of food to the consumer. During processing, a number of substances may be added to food to make it look, taste or smell better. All of these additives are studied to determine if and at what amount, they may produce adverse effects. In addition, toxic substances such as pesticides may be applied to a food crop in the field, while lead, arsenic, and cadmium are naturally present in soil and water, and may be absorbed by plants. Toxicologists must determine the acceptable daily intake level of these substances.

Clinical Toxicology is concerned with diseases and illnesses associated with short term or long term exposure to toxic chemicals. Clinical toxicologists 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.

Descriptive Toxicology is concerned with gathering toxicological information from animal experimentation. These types of experiments are used to establish how much of a chemical would cause illness or death.

Forensic Toxicology is used to help establish cause and effect relationships between exposure to a drug or chemical and the toxic or lethal effects that result from such an exposure.

Mechanistic Toxicology makes observations on how toxic substances cause their effects. The effects of exposure can depend on a number of factors, including the size of the molecule, the specific tissue type or cellular components affected and whether the substance is easily dissolved in water or fatty tissues. All these factors are important when trying to determine the way a toxic substance causes harm, and whether effects seen in animals can be expected in humans.