Deck 2: Development of the Field of Toxicology

Question 1

Why did Paracelsus believe that everything was poisonous?

Answer 1

He discerned that anything given in excess in poisonous. It is the dosage that determines what effect a chemical will have on an organisms.

Question 2

How did the Pure Food and Drug Act open the way for the field of toxicology in the U.S.?

Answer 2

The isolation of the substances that had pharmacological and toxicological properties were investigated as adulteration of foods, medicines and cosmetics had led to many untoward effects (morbidity and mortality).

Question 3

What did the book Silent Spring precede?

Answer 3

The book indicated the carcinogenicity and toxicity of environmental chemicals such as the pesticide DDT. The U.S. EPA and OSHA came into being in 1970 as there was a growing awareness that environmental exposure to pesticides and occupational exposure to substances like asbestos led to human disease.