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toxicity
Sign in to saveToxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. 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). Sometimes the word is more or less synonymous with poisoning in everyday usage.
Toxicity refers to how much harm a chemical substance can cause to living organisms, whether affecting the whole organism or just specific parts like cells or organs. It's a measure scientists use to understand how dangerous a chemical is, and the term is often used similarly to "poisoning" in everyday conversation.
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Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Toxicity
- Medical condition (new).image
- Skull and crossbones.svg
- Medical condition (new).width
- 150px
- Medical condition (new).caption
- The skull and crossbones is a common symbol for toxicity.
via Wikipedia infobox
~18 min read
Article
22 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Types
- Measuring
- Classification
- Health hazards
- Acute toxicity
- Other methods of exposure and severity
- Other categories
- Environmental hazards
- Common types of environmental hazards
- Occupational hazards
- Hazards for small businesses
- Hazards from medical waste and prescription disposal
- Hazards in the arts
- Mapping environmental hazards
- Aquatic toxicity
- Factors influencing toxicity
- Alternatives to dose-response framework
- See also
- References
- External links
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. 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). Sometimes the word is more or less synonymous with poisoning in everyday usage.
A central concept of toxicology is that the effects of a toxicant are dose-dependent; even water can lead to water intoxication when taken in too high a dose, whereas for even a very toxic substance such as snake venom there is a dose below which there is no detectable toxic effect. Toxicity is species-specific, making cross-species analysis problematic. Newer paradigms and metrics are evolving to bypass animal testing, while maintaining the concept of toxicity endpoints.