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10.1: Introduction to Toxicology

  • Page ID
    485468
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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.

    In this section...

    Topics include:

    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.


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