TOX 201 Midterm

In the video, Environment - Health - You, they spoke briefly about the formation of the US Environmental Protection Agency and laws protecting our environment and health.  During what decade did these changes begin?

1970

In the 1940s, what pesticide came into use that was often used to kill mosquitoes and increase crop yield?

DDT

What is the difference between a toxin and a toxicant?

toxins are chemicals of biological origin where as toxicant is a broader term that includes all chemical and physical agents causing adverse effects

What is toxicology?

the study of the adverse effects of chemical or physical agents on biological systems.

Approximately how many new chemicals (chemical compounds) enter the market each year?

500

What is environmental toxicology?

the study of the harmful effects of various chemical, biological, and physical agents on living organisms. The effects of chemicals on flora and fauna. important because it helps us understand how chemicals will impact the environment and our bodies.

What is medical toxicology?

The study of chemicals in drugs, food, and pesticides. Important because it allows us to make safer drugs for humans and animals as well as safer food without the risk of insects.

what is behavioral toxicology?

the study of how toxic chemicals can affect behavior in animals. This is important because it is a relatively new field and therefore not understood well. There could be a lot of chemicals in our society that are making us behave abnormally.

What is forensic toxicology?

The application of toxicology to legal matters. Used to determine the presence and effects of drugs and toxins in biological samples.

What is analytical toxicology?

The study of identifying and quantifying toxic substances in biological samples. Helps in determining the cause of poisoning, assessing drug abuse, and ensuring safety in various settings.

What is biochemical toxicology?

The effects of toxic substances on living organisms at a molecular level. It focuses on understanding how toxins interact with biological systems.

A mutagen is

A substance that causes changes in the genetic material or DNA

The consumption of small amounts of poison to build tolerance or immunity is commonly referred to as

the Mithridatic method

Georgi Markov died after an assassin using an umbrella gun injected him with

Ricin

How were aniline dye workers in watch factories in the 1880's contaminated with radium?

They licked their brushes to get a finer point and ingested radium.

How did ancient man determine the toxicity of plants or substances?

by trial and error (sometimes resulting in the death of another person) then passing the knowledge to others via stories

Who was the Bulgarian native who was poisoned with ricin?

Georgi Markov

he protein, ricin, is the main toxic protein in which of the following?

castor bean

True or False: Union Carbide was responsible for the death of thousands of citizens of Bhopal, India due to the release of methyl isocyanate.

True

Socrates was executed using an extract from which tree?

hemlock

Viktor Yushchenko was reportedly poisoned during dinner by which of the following compounds?

dioxin

Russell Bliss and the Northeastern Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company (NEPACCO) became famous during the late 1970's because they:

were responsible for dioxin contamination in Times Beach, MO

What is the difference between an exposure dose and an absorbed dose?  Can these doses ever be the same?  If so, under what circumstances might that occur?

An exposure dose is the amount of a toxin that a person/animal comes into contact with. An absorbed dose is the amount of the toxin that enters the body. These doses could be the same if the toxin is consumed orally or intravenously.

What tissue is lead poison stored in?

bone

What tissue is Cadmium poison stored in?

kidney

What tissue is Organochlorines poison stored in?

adipose tissue

What tissue is Organophosphates poison stored in?

nervous tissue

T or F: Acetaminophen overdose is one of the most common poisonings worldwide.

True

The absorption of most toxicants in the gastrointestinal tract occurs in the

small intestines

What is the term describing the time-dependent processes related to toxicants and their interaction with living organisms?

toxicokinetics

T or F: As little as 2 mg of fentanyl can be considered a potentially fatal dose.

True

Why do opioid users continually need higher doses to achieve the same effect?

They build a tolerance to the drug

Fentanyl is what type of drug?

synthetic opioid

Which type of toxicity is characterized by a long continuous exposure to a toxic compound and most often results in irreversible cell damage?

chronic toxicity

What is the name of the former transformer facility in Raleigh, which has been declared a Superfund Site?

Ward

T or F: If something is polar, it is attracted to water.

True

What is the difference between an exposure dose and an absorbed dose?  Can these doses ever be the same?  If so, under what circumstances might that occur?

An exposure dose is how much of a substance a person/animal comes into contact with in the environment. An absorbed dose is the amount of a substance that is actually absorbed into the body. These can be the same if the substance is injected or implanted into the body. 

Viktor Yushchenko exhibited increased thickening of which of the following tissue layers following his exposure to dioxin?

stratum corneum

Which portion of the gastrointestinal tract absorbs the most nutrients and drugs?

duodenum (small intestines)

Which is NOT a factor affecting absorption

time of day in which exposure occured

What contaminant is found at the Ward Transformer Site?

PCBs

In which tissue of our bodies is the toxic pesticide DDT stored?

fat

What structure is responsible for the large surface area of the intestine?

villi

T or F: Cell membranes are composed of tightly packed phospholipids, but may also contain proteins, cholesterol, and carbohydrate chains.

True

Storage

accumulation of toxicants in specific tissues or binding to circulating proteins.

Excretion

removal of toxicants from the blood and their return to the external environment

Distribution

movement of a toxicant away from the site of absorption

Circulatory System

the fluid system of the body composed of the lymphatic system and the cardiovascular system

Volume of distribution (Vd)

the concentration of a toxicant in a given tissue based on the blood flow to that tissue

T or F: Some studies suggest that BPS exposure may be particularly dangerous to individuals with underlying conditions such as coronary heart disease or those with high blood pressure.

True

Which organ receives the largest percent of cardiac output?

Kidney

Respiratory toxicants entering through the alveoli are carried to which of the following organs first?

Heart

Which organ receives the highest percentage of cardiac output and blood flow and is therefore at greater risk for exposure to toxicants?

Kidney

What is the most probable order for the storage of lipid soluble compounds in the tissues?

adipose>liver>kidneys>>bone

Which of the following is not a component of the Lymphatic System?

adrenal glands

T or F: According to Dr. Vom Saal who was interviewed on the EHP podcast on BPA, BPA is taken up and removed similarly in mice, rats and humans.

True

T or F: The location of toxicant absorption affects distribution.

True

After studies found BPA to be potentially toxic, it was replaced with a different chemical, whose safety has also been called into question.  Which chemical am I referring to?

BPS

toxicology

he study of adverse effects of chemical or physical agents on biological systems

poison

A substance that causes injury, illness, or death, especially by chemical means

toxin

A poisonous substance especially a protein, that is produced by living organisms or cells and is capable of causing disease

toxic

Of or caused by a toxin or another poison, capable of causing injury or death, especially by chemical means; poisonous

• A toxic chemical or other substance

toxicant

a poison or poisonous agent

xenobiotic

Foreign to the body or to living organisms (usually a chemical compound such as a pesticide)

carcinogen

a cancer causing substance or agent

(asbestos, lead, chemical solvents, etc)

mutagen

A substance that causes changes in genetic material (DNA) or physical rearrangement of the chromosome

teratogen

A substance that prevents the normal development of a fetus

exposure

Receiving a dose of a substance, contact with a chemical substance

acute exposure

single large dose

chronic exposure

repeated exposure over time

dose

A specific amount, measure of exposure expressed as an amount per unit of body weight

LD₅₀

The dose lethal to 50% of the animals being tested

Shen Nung

father of Chinese medicine

wrote the treatise “On Herbal Medical Experiment Poisons”

Elbers Papyrus

oldest well-preserved medical document from ancient Egypt

Gula

Gula is a Sumerian female deity associated with charms, spells, and poisons. AKA “The Goddess of Healing,” or “The Great Physician”

Homer

wrote of the use of arrows poisoned with venom

Socrates

Charged with religious heresy and corrupting the morals of local youth. Sentenced to die using hemlock. Active chemical used was the alkaloid conline which causes paralysis, convulsions, and death when ingested

Hippocrates

Greek physician known as the father of modern medicine and is regarded as the greatest physician of his time

• Named cancer using the Greek word karkinos (Crab) because of the creeping, clutching crab-claw appearance of cancerous tissue spreading into other tissue areas

Mithridates

Systematically studied how to prevent and counteract poisons. Used both himself and prisoners as “guinea pigs” to test his poisons and antidotes

• Consumed mixtures of poisons to try and build his tolerance “mithridatic”

Cleopatra

experimented with strychnine and other poisons on prisoners and the poor

• Committed suicide with an Egyptian Asp

Lucretius

Often reffered to taking love potions in his poems

Dioscorides

• Philosopher, scholar and scientist

• Served as a surgeon for Neros army 

• Wrote many works, including De Materia Medica, the precursor to all modern pharmacopeias

• Describes how wine made from mandragora can induce anesthesia and advocated using this during the performance of surgery

Sulla

• Stern and ruthless Roman dictator 

• Put almost 4000 citizens and nobles to death using poison

• Issued a law against poisoning people including prisoners

  • Made it impossible for most Romans to buy, sell, or possess poisons

Galen

• Trained in biology, medicine and philosophy

• believed that physicians should not profit from their devotion to healing

• Studied anatomy while serving as a surgeon to gladiators

• Wrote many works on health and treatment of illnesses that served as the cornerstone of medicine for almost 1000 years

Abu al-Qasim Al-Zahrawi

• Known for his surgical skills and development of surgical instruments

• Pioneered the preparation of medicines by sublimation and distillation to increase their potency

• His work Liber Servitoris provided recipes on how to prepare complex drugs generally used

Moses Ben Maimon

• Wrote Poisons and their Antidotes on the treatment of poisonings from insects, snakes, and wild dogs

• Advanced the theory of availability and noted that milk, butter, and cream slowed gut absorption

• Also helped alchemists perfect a fermented product that yielded 60% ethanol

Saint Albertus Magnus

Isolated arsenic in 1250

Venetian Council of 10

Italian society of assassins who perfected the art of poisoning

Cesare Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, Lucretia Borgia

• Family of Italian nobles

• Wealth and power gained through the use of arsenic

Toffana (Naples) and Hieronyma Spara (Rome)

• Toffana made arsenic-laced cosmetics and instructed women on their use

• Spara organized group instruction in the homicidal uses of arsenic for a number of young married women who wanted to better their station in life by becoming wealthy young widows

• Reports of death by cosmetics containing arsenic continued through the 20th century 

Leonardo da Vinci

• In an effort to increase the potency of a poison, he used a method known as “passages” 

• This entailed feeding the organs of poisoned animals to other animals to increase the concentration of the poison (similar to bioconcentration)

Paracelsus

Initiated the treatment of syphilis by prescribing taking mercury in small doses

Catherine de Medici

• As Queen of France, she often used poisoning as a political tool

• Often experimented on the sick and poor to refine and develop new poison formulas

William Shakespeare

Often made reference to poisoning in his plays

King Louis XIV

Forbid apothecaries from selling arsenic or poisonous substances to anyone who was not well known to them

Sir Percivall Pott

First scientist to demonstrate that cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen

Carl W. Scheele

One of the first chemists to isolate and characterize many important chemicals and poisons

Friedrich Wilhelm Serturner

isolated morphine

Francois Magendie

Detailed absorption and distribution of various compounds in the body

John Hill

Linked tobacco to cancer