Medical Degree Program in China - Toxicology
1. Introduction
Toxicology is an applied discipline studying the deleterious effects of exogenous factors (chemical, physical and biological factors) to biological systems. It is a subject that studies the toxicity reaction, the severity, the occurrence frequency and the mechanism of the toxicity of the chemical substances to the organisms, and also a discipline giving the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the toxic effects. It is a program predicting the harm to the human body and ecological environment, to provide a scientific basis for determining the safety limits and for taking the prevention and control measures.
2. Theoretical Basis
Mainly use the theory and technology of basic subjects, like physiology, pharmacology, biology, biochemistry and pathology; through animal experiment, clinical observation, the investigation method of epidemiology, to study absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, toxicity and poisoning mechanism and treatment of foreign substances, not only for preventing human and other organisms from harmful effects of the chemical substances, protecting people's health, but also have a good choice for the development of direct effects of poison, by comparing the toxicity and poison method, to develop more selective drugs and pesticides, and conduct safety evaluation and risk assessment of chemicals, provide scientific basis for formulating hygienic standard. Toxicology and pharmacology are closely related; toxicology has developed into an independent subject with a certain basic theory and experimental means, and gradually formed a number of new toxicology branches.
3. Research Objects
Including chemical factors, physical factors, biological factors and organisms include people, animals, and plants, so toxicology is associated with pharmacology, physiology, pathology, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, industry, agriculture, economy, forensic medicine, clinical medicine, ecology and environmental protection; it has contact with the whole future of life on earth. Therefore, toxicology has been widely used in the field of clinical medicine, pharmacy, environmental protection, animal science, prenatal and postnatal care, labor protection and food sanitation. Therefore, the classification of toxicology is very complex, can be classified from different angles, not exactly the same.
4. Classification
From the research content, toxicology can be divided into three parts: descriptive toxicology, mechanism toxicology and management toxicology (also called regulatory toxicology).
In accordance with the standard of discipline, toxicology can be divided into: forensic toxicology, clinical toxicology, management toxicology or regulatory toxicology and research toxicology, etc.
From the application, toxicology can be divided into: food toxicology, industrial toxicology, pesticide toxicology, military toxicology, radiation toxicology, environmental toxicology, ecological toxicology and other branches.
From the research objects, toxicology can be divided into: insect toxicology, veterinary toxicology, human toxicology and plant toxicology.
From the research area, toxicology can be divided into: drug toxicology, environmental toxicology, food toxicology, industrial toxicology, clinical toxicology, forensic toxicology, analysis toxicology, military toxicology, management toxicology.
From the research target organ or system, toxicology can be divided into: organ toxicology, liver toxicity, renal toxicology, ocular toxicology, ear toxicology, nerve toxicology, reproductive toxicology, immunology toxicology, etc.
