Toxicology

Toxicology sounds like something involving poisons. In a way, that is true. Actually, anything can be considered a poison if given an overdose. Toxicology is the study of the bad effects of chemicals in the body. 

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Toxicology comes from the Greek word toxicos which means "poisonous". The man considered as the father of toxicology is Mathieu Orfila (full name: Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila). He devised ways on testing chemicals to detect arsenic on a murdered victim.







Branches of toxicology:

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1. Drug Abuse Screening (DAS):
 To screen for drug use, to monitor someone with a substance abuse problem, or to detect and evaluate a drug overdose. Involves drugs that are addictive and can lead to dependence.


2. Emergency toxicology:
Sort of what to do in case someone ingests poisons



3. Therapeutic drug monitoring:
The amount of a drug which will help a patient


4. Industrial Toxicology:
This involves production of drugs, pesticides, and others


5. Forensic Toxicology:
Using toxicology along with other chemistry branches to help any medical or legal investigation of death, poisoning, and drug use

source: www.all-about-forensic-science.com

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6. In vitro Toxicology:
testing the effects of toxic chemicals on cultured bacteria or animal cells