Summary: Toxicology

Read the summary and the most important questions on Toxicology

• Introduction to Toxicology (TOX 1)

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• What happened during the antiquity?

  • There were already a lot of poisonous plants and animals. 
    
  • The first medical papyrus was written around 1500 BC in Egypt. This is called Ebers Papyrus. 
    
  • Hippocrates lived around 400 BC
  • The chalice of Socrates was poisoned with Hemlock. Hemlock contains alkaloids that block acetylcholine receptors and suffocation occurs.

• What happened during the enlightment?

  • Percival Pott (1714-1788) discovered a relationship between soot and scrotum cancer. He developed occupational toxicology and prevention.
  • Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853) was the founder of modern toxicology, he did autopsies and analytical chemistry.

• What happened during the renaissance?

  • Paracelsus (1493-1541), Luther of medicine, said: "everything is poisonous, only the dose makes something not being a poison." His points of departure were: experimenting is essential, there should be distinguished between poisonous and therapeutic properties but this is not always possible, and compounds may have specific effects.

• What happened during the industrial revolution?

  Durning the industrial revolution there was a lot of occupational toxicology and environmental pollution.

• What happened in the twentieth century?

  There was a lot of welfare (traveling - new diseases), scandals and disasters, and regulation.

• How can toxic effects be classified?

  • Rate; acute or chronic
  • Possibility for repair; reversible or irreversible
  • Site of action. Local effect at site of first contact or systemic effect

• Bacterial toxins (TOX 2)

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• What are natural toxins?

  • Bacteria
    
  • Fungi
  • Algaea
  • Cyanobacteria
  • Animals
  • Plants

• Why do plants produce toxins?

  To prevent being eaten.

• What are the two reasons animals can make toxins?

  • Protection to predation (poisonous)
  • To attack (and kill) other animals (venomous)

• What is the biggest difference between a food infection and a food poisoning?

  A food infection is caused by a microorganism, a food poisoning by a toxin.