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U.S. Army Public Health Center Toxicology Lab technician assessing samples. Toxicology testing, also known as safety assessment, or toxicity testing, is the process of determining the degree to which a substance of interest negatively impacts the normal biological functions of an organism, given a certain exposure duration, route of exposure, and substance concentration.
A drug test (also often toxicology screen or tox screen) is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites.
An early life stage (ELS) test is a chronic toxicity test using sensitive early life stages like embryos or larvae to predict the effects of toxicants on organisms. [1] ELS tests were developed to be quicker and more cost-efficient than full life-cycle tests, taking on average 1–5 months to complete compared to 6–12 months for a life-cycle test.
Medical toxicology is the discipline that requires physician status (MD or DO degree plus specialty education and experience). Clinical toxicology is the discipline that can be practiced not only by physicians but also other health professionals with a master's degree in clinical toxicology: physician extenders ( physician assistants , nurse ...
Risk is a function of exposure and hazard. For example, even for an extremely toxic (high hazard) substance, the risk of an adverse outcome is unlikely if exposures are near zero. Conversely, a moderately toxic substance may present substantial risk if an individual or a population is highly exposed. [2] [3]
Acute toxicity is distinguished from chronic toxicity, which describes the adverse health effects from repeated exposures, often at lower levels, to a substance over a longer time period (months or years). It is widely considered unethical to use humans as test subjects for acute (or chronic) toxicity research.
The fixed-dose procedure (FDP), proposed in 1992 by the British Toxicology Society, is a method to assess a substance's acute oral toxicity. [1] [2]In comparison to the older LD 50 test developed in 1927, this procedure produces similar results while using fewer animals and causing less pain and suffering. [3]
Occupational toxicology is the application of toxicology to chemical hazards in the workplace. It focuses on substances and conditions that people may be exposed to in workplaces, including inhalation and dermal exposures, which are most prevalent when discussing occupational toxicology. These environmental and individual exposures can impact ...