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Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. [1] Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell (cytotoxicity) or an organ such as the liver (hepatotoxicity).
This type of adverse effect that results from pharmaceutical drug exposure is commonly due to interactions of the drug with its intended target. In this case, both the therapeutic and toxic targets are the same. To avoid toxicity during treatment, many times the drug needs to be changed to target a different aspect of the illness or symptoms.
A toxicologist working in a lab (United States, 2008)Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms [1] and the practice of diagnosing and treating exposures to toxins and toxicants.
The Amanita muscaria mushroom, an iconic toxic mushroom. A toxin is a naturally occurring poison [1] produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. [2] They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. [3] The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), [4] derived from toxic.
Developmental toxicity is any developmental malformation that is caused by the toxicity of a chemical or pathogen. It is the structural or functional alteration, reversible or irreversible, which interferes with homeostasis , normal growth , differentiation , development or behavior.
A mode of toxic action is a common set of physiological and behavioral signs that characterize a type of adverse biological response. [1] A mode of action should not be confused with mechanism of action, which refer to the biochemical processes underlying a given mode of action. [2]
In pharmacology, biological activity or pharmacological activity describes the beneficial or adverse effects of a drug on living matter. [1] [2] When a drug is a complex chemical mixture, this activity is exerted by the substance's active ingredient or pharmacophore but can be modified by the other constituents. Among the various properties of ...
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.