PHCT

• Toxicology is the study of the harmful effects of xenobiotics (alien/outside substances)
• Hemlock is the state poison of Greece and Socrates died because of it
• Aconite was used by the Chinese as arrow poison
• Opium was exported by China
• Lead and arsenic are also substances of historical significance in toxicology
• Socrates died by the use of Hemlock
• Cleopatra committed suicide using the venom of an Egyptian asp
• Shen Nung is associated with the "Pen T'sao" (Encyclopedia of Herbal products)
• King Mithridates VI experimented on prisoners and himself, introducing poison resistance/tolerance
• Dioscorides is known for "De Materia Medica" (#Aiko'sFav)
• Maimonides/Mosen Ben Maimon wrote about "Poisons & Antidotes" and introduced the idea of Bioavailability using butter and milk
• Paracelsus stated, "All things are poison, it just depends on the dose"
• Mathieu Orfila wrote "Traites des Poisons" and is considered the Father of Modern Toxicology
• Richard Mead provided a mechanical account of poisons in several essays
• Bernardino Ramazini wrote “De Marbis Artificum Diatriba” (Disease of Workers)
• Percival Pott is associated with the term “Chirurgical” related to surgery
• Claude Bernard introduced the idea of Homeostasis and studied the toxicology of plant substances like Opium, Nicotine, and Strychnine
• Toxicology is important in the biomedical field, hazard recognition, and regulation
• Areas of toxicology include medical technology, hazard recognition, and regulation
• Special areas of toxicology include forensic toxicology, environmental toxicology, clinical toxicology, and occupational toxicology
• Terminologies in toxicology include ADR (Adverse Drug Reaction), ADE (Adverse Drug Effects), Clastogenesis, Hapten, Mutagenesis, Selective toxicity, Teratogenicity, Tumorigenicity, Risk, Hazard, Threshold limit values, Intoxication, Poisoning, Overdose, Poisons, Toxin, Toxicodynamics, Toxicokinetics, LD50/Median Lethal Dose, and Toxidromes
• Types of poisoning include Acute and Chronic based on severity and duration/frequency, as well as Local, Remote, and Combined actions
• The Principle of Toxicity states that exposure to a toxic substance is directly proportional to toxicity and severity