Content area
Full text
Toxicology-literally, the study of poisons -causes a lot of confusion to a lot of people. The term toxicology itself is derived from a Greek word referring to the poison in which arrows were dipped. Mythology and history indicate the growth of toxicological knowledge had an early emphasis on ways to poison people. Kings and queens had official "tasters" in a bid to avoid poisoning of their food; attempts to poison unsuspecting heroes and heroines are referenced in the familiar fairy tales Sleeping Beauty and The Wizard of OZ.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, is credited with discovering lead toxicity in the mining industry around 400 B.C. Romans used lead water pipes to distribute their drinking water; slave labor miners extracting lead in the Spanish mines around 1 A.D. were viewed as dispensable, and their sentences usually meant shortened lifespans, according to Galleon. Agricola, a German physician, also wrote about miners and toxic effects of their work in the 16th century. Around the same time, a Greek physician named Paracelsus described acute and chronic effects of mercury.
Rammazzini, the father of occupational medicine, was first to publish a comprehensive book on occupational medicine including the toxic effects of silica, lead, and gases on miners; eye hazards to glassblowers; and other occupational hazards. Another occupational link to a toxic material was discovered by Sir Percival Pott in England, when he established a link between soot exposure and cancer of the scrotum in chimney sweeps.
In today's environment, toxicology is a potential concern both occupationally and environmentally. The environmental exposure of the public including children and the elderly to compounds such as lead in paint, radon, asbestos, and pesticides has received much attention and is heavily regulated. Toxicology involves many disciplines, including chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, pathology, immunology, physics, engineering, and statistics. Medical professionals have training in establishing critical doses of medicine for both effectiveness and undesired toxic side effects; industrial hygienists are also trained in toxicologic principles surrounding occupational exposures to potentially unhealthy situations. Most pharmaceutical and chemical industries perform or have independent laboratories perform toxicological tests on new drug and chemical formulations.
All chemicals can be considered toxic-even water, salt, sand, or welding fumes-depending on the dose and the response of the biological...