Toxicology Basics and Principles of Management

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the basics of toxicology, common poisons, clinical manifestations, syndromes, and specific management principles including antidotes.

Toxicology

The study of poisons.

Poisons

Substances that can cause harm, injury, or death.

True poison

A substance that causes harm regardless of the dose, such as snake venom.

Toxicokinetics

The study of what the body does to a toxin.

Toxicodynamics

The study of what a toxin does to the body.

Toxin

A naturally occurring poisonous substance.

Toxicant

A synthetic or man-made poisonous substance.

Lex Cornelia

The first laws about poisoning, introduced by Sulla.

Mathieu Bonaventure Orfila

Commonly known as the Father of Modern Toxicology.

Paracelsus

The historical figure associated with the concept that the dose makes a poison.

Therapeutic Index (TI)

A relative margin of safety calculated by the formula $TI = \frac{TD_{50}}{ED_{50}}$.

Narrow TI Drugs

Drugs requiring Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) including Phenytoin, Lithium, Digoxin, Theophylline, and Warfarin.

LD50

The dose that produces a lethal effect; a lower value indicates higher lethality.

Forensic Toxicology

The branch of toxicology dealing with medicolegal aspects and investigations, distinguishing between intentional overdose and accidental poisoning.

Risk

The expected frequency that something bad will happen.

Hazard

The inherent ability of a substance to cause harm.

Wilson's disease

A genetic disorder of copper ($Cu$) transport causing cirrhosis, encephalopathy, and Kayser-Fleischer rings; treated with Penicillamine.

Varenicline

A medication used for smoking cessation that decreases $DA$ release in the mesolimbic pathway.

LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide)

A hallucinogen also known as "acid" that acts on $5HT_{2A}$ receptors, causing depersonalization and hypersensory awareness.

Phencyclidine

Also known as "Angel dust," it is an NMDA antagonist that causes paranoia and aggressiveness.

Lacrimators

Substances that cause excessive tears, such as Organophosphates (Malathion, Parathion).

Carbon monoxide

A colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is the #1 cause of death due to poisoning; it causes a left shift in the Hgb-O2 dissociation curve.

Cherry red skin

A classic clinical manifestation to watch for in carbon monoxide poisoning.

Sugammadex

The reversal agent used specifically for neuromuscular blockers ending in "-curium" (NCR-are).

Dantrolene

The drug of choice (DOC) for treating malignant hyperthermia caused by Succinylcholine.

Tetanospasmin

A toxin from $Clostridium\,tetani$ that inhibits GABA in the brain, causing symptoms like opisthotonos and trismus.

Strychnine

A toxin from $Strychnos\,nux\,vomica$ that inhibits Glycine in the spinal cord, leading to spasms.

Coagulative necrosis

The type of tissue death caused by acids, leaving the tissue structure relatively intact.

Liquefactive necrosis

Also known as colliquative necrosis, the type of tissue death caused by bases (alkalies).

Aflatoxin

A carcinogenic toxin produced by $Aspergillus\,sp.$ found in peanuts, leading to liver cancer.

Thalidomide

A teratogen formerly used for hyperemesis gravidarum that causes phocomelia.

Epstein anomaly

A teratogenic effect on the heart's tricuspid valve caused by Fetal Lithium exposure.

AVPU scale

A mnemonic for assessing responsiveness: Alert, Verbal stimulus, Painful stimulus, Unresponsive.

Toxidromes

Groups of signs and symptoms associated with specific toxins or poisons.

DUMBBELSS

Mnemonic for parasympathetic overstimulation: Diarrhea, Urination, Miosis, Bradycardia, Bronchoconstriction, Emesis, Lacrimation, Salivation, and Sweating.

Activated charcoal

A decontaminant from wood pulp that adsorbs toxins; avoided in cases involving fluoride, iron, bases, or ethylene glycol.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC)

The specific antidote for Paracetamol and Carbon tetrachloride toxicity.

Protamine

The specific antidote for Heparin toxicity.

Flumazenil

The specific antidote for Benzodiazepine (BZD) overdose.

Cyanide

A toxin that inhibits cytochrome oxidase, resulting in bright red venous blood and a bitter almond odor breath.

Arsenic

A metal historically known as "inheritance powder" that causes garlic odor breath and Mees' lines on the nails.

Itai-itai disease

A condition caused by cadmium ($Cd$) poisoning, characterized by bone softening and severe joint pain.

Burton's line

A blue-black line appearing on the gums characteristic of lead ($Pb$) poisoning.

Minamata disease

A condition caused by methylmercury from contaminated seafood, resulting in ataxia, vision loss, and hearing loss.

Tetrodotoxin

A toxin found in pufferfish and poisonous octopuses that blocks sodium ($Na^+$) channels, causing flaccid paralysis.

Saxitoxin

A toxin from dinoflagellates causing Red Tide, leading to paralytic shellfish poisoning by blocking $Na^+$ channels.

Amatoxin

A toxin from $Amanita\,phalloides$ (death cap) that inhibits RNA polymerase II, leading to acute liver failure.