“Everything is poison, there is poison in everything. Only the dose makes a thing not a poison.”
~ Paracelsus, “the father of toxicology”, 1493-1541
How can we determine the effects that a substance has on living things? Will it cause someone to develop a rash, or affect their nervous system, or injure their lungs, or have no effect at all? Can someone die from it? How much of it is needed to cause an effect, and over what time period? Will it work that way for everyone who is exposed, or will some have more intense reactions? Or less intense?
Toxicology is the study of the effects of toxic substances on living things. In this unit, we will discuss ideas of model organisms, acute vs chronic, dose-response relationship, LD50, and ADI and RfD. We will also look at several common environmental contaminants. (J. Mitchell)
Image source: Pixabay.com
Found a broken link? Want to suggest a resource?
Email the Library's general mailbox or email the guide owner to provide feedback for this Library guide. Guide owner information is on the "Getting Started" page of each guide.
You may also want to...