Toxicology

From DrugPedia: A Wikipedia for Drug discovery

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Revision as of 08:59, 11 August 2008

Toxicology Definition: Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical or biological agents on living organisms and the ecosystem, including the prevention and amelioration of such adverse effects.

Discussion: Toxicity is the adverse end product of a series of events that is initiated by exposure to chemical, physical or biological agents. Toxicity can manifest itself in a wide array of forms, from mild biochemical malfunctions to serious organ damage and death. These events, any of which may be reversible or irreversible, include absorption, transport, metabolism to more or less toxic metabolites, excretion, interaction with cellular macromolecules and other modes of toxic action. Toxicology integrates the study of all of these events, at all levels of biological organization, from molecules to complex ecosystems. The broad scope of toxicology, from the study of fundamental mechanisms to the measurement of exposure, including toxicity testing and risk analysis, requires an extensively interdisciplinary approach. This approach utilizes the principles and methods of other disciplines, including molecular biology, chemistry (analytical, organic, inorganic and biochemistry), physiology, medicine (veterinary and human), computer science and informatics.[1]