introduction to general toxicology

Toxicology: toxico = poison
Logy = science
Is the study of the adverse effects of xenobiotics on living systems; or simply it can be defined as the science that deals with poisons.

The toxicologist is trained to examine the nature of these adverse effect &the probability of their occurrence
Classification of toxicology (the different areas of toxicology)

The activities of toxicologist can be classified in to:
1. Descriptive toxicologist: concerned directly with toxicity testing. The appropriate toxicity test in experimental animals are designed to yield information that can be used to evaluate the risk posed to man &the environment by exposure to specific chemicals.
2. Mechanistic toxicologist: concerned with elucidating the mechanism by which chemicals exert their toxic effect on living organisms.
3. Regulatory toxicology: has responsibility of deciding (on the basis of data provided by the descriptive toxicologist) whether or not a drug or chemical has a low enough risk to be marketed for described purpose.
4. Forensic toxicology: it aids in establishing the cause of death &elucidating its circumstances in a postmortem investigation.
5. Clinical toxicology: concerned with diseases caused by or associated with toxic substances.
6. Environmental toxicology deals with the effects of chemical pollutants in the environment on nonhuman biological organisms, such as fish, birds.
7. Developmental toxicology is the study of adverse effects on the developing organism that occur any time during the life span of that organism that may result from exposure to chemical or physical agents. Teratology is the study of defects induced during development between conception and birth.
8. Reproductive toxicology is the study of the occurrence of adverse effects on the male or female reproductive system that may result from exposure to chemical or physical agents.