10.1: Introduction to Toxicology
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Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
- Define toxicology and identify adverse effects.
- Recognize the history of toxicology.
- Explain how dose determines whether a substance is a remedy or a poison.
- Differentiate between toxic agents and toxic substances.
What We've Covered
In this section, we covered several important concepts:
- Toxicology is the study of adverse effects of chemicals and physical agents on living organisms.
- A xenobiotic is a foreign substance taken into the body.
- A toxic agent is any chemical, physical, or biological agent that can produce an adverse biological effect.
- Toxic substances can be systemic toxicants, which affect the entire body or multiple organs, or organ toxicants, which affect a specific organ or tissues.
- The dose of a substance is the most important determinant of toxicity.
Coming Up...
In the next section, we will explore the concept of dose and its importance to toxicology in greater detail.