Lu's Basic Toxicology

Fundamentals, Target Organs, and Risk Assessment, Seventh Edition

Byung-Mu Lee, Sam Kacew, Hyung Sik Kim

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781315391687
• Edition: 7
• Topic: Medizin
• Subtopic: Pharmakologie

Continuing a long tradition, Lu's Basic Toxicology, Seventh Edition, provides guidance on principles of toxicology and testing procedures for toxicities as well as a concise yet detailed mechanism of both target organ and non-target organ toxicities. The book also addresses the toxic effects of chemicals and risk assessment, giving students and practicing toxicologists, the tools to enhance their practice. This edition includes new chapters on Systems Toxicology, Chemicals and Children, Toxicology of Reproductive Systems, providing the essentials of these topics in the same style as other chapters in the book. Separate subject and chemical indexes make this a useful, quick shelf reference.

oneGeneral principles of toxicology

oneHistory of toxicology

Byung-Mu Lee

What is toxicology?

Mutiple fields of toxicology and applications

History of toxicology in early stage

History of toxicology in modern stage

Human poisonings and progress in toxicology

Toxicity versus other considerations

Toxicology in the future

Development and validation of a toxicity test system

Adverse outcome pathways

About the book

Appendix 1.1U.S. laws that have a basis in toxicology

Appendix 1.2Examples of outbreaks of mass poisoning in humans

References

What is toxicology?

Toxicology (toxicos; poisonous + logy; science) also called toxicological science is the fusion of sciences based on biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy, physiology, pathology, psychology, zoology, pharmacology, genetics, biochemistry, statistics, and mathematics. Toxicology is traditionally defined as the science of poisons which are also termed as toxicants, toxic substances, toxins, xenobiotics, or stressors. A more descriptive definition of toxicology is the study of the nature and mechanisms underlying toxic effects exerted directly or indirectly by substances such as biological, chemical, physical, genetic, or psychological agents on living organisms and other biological systems. Toxicology also deals with quantitative or qualitative assessment of the adverse effects in relation to the concentration or dosage, duration, and frequency of exposure of the organisms.

The assessment of health hazards of industrial chemicals, environmental pollutants, and other substances represents an important element in the protection of the health of workers and members of communities. In-depth studies of the nature and mechanism of the effects of toxicants are invaluable in the development of specific antidotes and other ameliorative measures. Along with other sciences, toxicology contributes to the development of safer chemicals used as drugs, food additives, and pesticides, as well as many useful industrial chemicals used for the fabrication of computers, cellular phones, televisions, and electronic equipment. Even the adverse effects per se are exploited in the pursuit of more effective insecticides, anthelmintics, antimicrobials, antivirals, and warfare agents. The purpose of toxicology is to protect humans or ecosystems from exposure to hazardous substances. Therefore, to ensure human safety, risk assessment which evaluates human safety based upon toxicological data and human exposure levels, in order to set human safe limits, may be considered one of the most important goals of toxicology (Song et al., 2013).

Mutiple fields of toxicology and applications

Toxicology is a fusion science composed of multiple fields and has a broad scope. It deals with toxicity studies of substances used

1. In medicine for diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic purposes.
2. In the food industry as direct and indirect additives.
3. In agriculture as pesticides, growth regulators, artificial pollinators, and animal feed additives.
4. In the chemical industry as solvents, components, and intermediates of plastics, components of electronic devices and many other types of chemicals. It is also concerned with the health effects of metals (as in mines and smelters), radiation, petroleum products, paper and pulp, flame retardants, toxic plants, and animal toxins. Overall, toxicology covers general safety issues in our lives and ecosystem.

Depending on the specific areas of toxicological application, toxicology can be subdivided into analytical toxicology, clinical toxicology, forensic toxicology, occupational toxicology, environmental toxicology, regulatory toxicology, and so forth. For example, a person may be exposed, accidentally or otherwise, to excessively large amounts of a toxicant and become severely intoxicated. If the identity of the toxicant is not known, analytical toxicology will be called upon to identify the toxicant through analysis of body fluids, stomach contents, suspected containers, and so forth. Those engaged in clinical toxicology administer antidotes, if available, to counter some specific toxicity, and take other measures to ameliorate the symptoms and signs and hasten the elimination of the toxicant from the body. There may also be legal implications, which is the task of forensic toxicology.

Intoxication may occur as a result of occupational exposure to toxicants. This may result in acute or chronic adverse effects. In either case, the problem is in the domain of occupational toxicology. The general public is exposed to a variety of toxicants, via air, water, and soil, or contact with skin as well as from food containing additives, pesticides, and contaminants, often at low levels that may be harmless acutely but may have long-term adverse effects. In pregnancy, the fetus is exposed via the maternal ci...