Toxicology

What group of drugs slow down the normal function of the central nervous system?

Depressants

What group of psychedelic drugs affects the user's perceptions, thinking, self-awareness, and emotions?

Hallucinogens

List four examples of Narcotics

Heroin, opium, methadone, oxycodone

List four examples of hallucinogens

LSD, Ecstasy, PCP

Who were two of the most influential toxicologists of the 19th century?

Mathieu Orfila and Robert Christison

What group of drugs acts to reduce pain by suppressing the central nervous system's ability to relay pain messages to the brain?

Narcotics

Which group of drugs tends to produce tolerance and withdrawal?

Narcotics

Name two commonly used stimulants. Name three other illegal stimulants.

Nicotine and Caffeine.....Amphetamines, crack cocaine, meth

Three primary responsibilities

Postmortem drug testing, workplace drug testing, identification of contraband materials

Name two bioterrorism agents agents.

Ricin and Anthrax

Poisonings have been documented since 399 BC with Greek Philosopher __________ as one of the first victims. In 399 BC, he was found guilty of corruption the youth of Athens and sentenced to death by _______.

Socrates, hemlock

What deadly nervous system disease takes few lives because of a vaccinations against it?

Tetanus

What test was developed to detect arsenic and was the first use of toxicology in a jury trial?

The Marsh Test

Arsenic can contaminate ______, _____ and _______

air, water, soil

List three examples of anabolic steroids.

anadrol, oxandrin, dianabul, winstrol

Poisonings very common by 17th century, as ________ and ________ were used to settle disputes.

arsenic, cyanide

What is the formal term for a post-mortem examination?

autopsy

Being exposed to low levels for a long can change the _______ of your skin, cause corns and small, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, numbness in hands and feet, partial paralysis, blindness, and a variety of cancers.

color

List the ways people are exposed to cyanide.

enters soil, water, or air from natural and industrial, manufacturing cyanide used to make paper, textiles, plastic, cigarette smoke/burning of rubber, plastic and silk

Toxicologists study the _________ ________ these substances may have on the body.

harmful effects

Exposure to toxins can happen in four ways

ingesting, inhaling, injecting, absorbing

Toxic substances can be classified by how people are exposed to them

intentionally, accidentally, deliberately

Define controlled substance.

legal drugs whose sale, possession, and use are restricted bcuz of mind altering effect of the drugs and potential for abuse

What organ is most commonly damaged by alcohol use?

liver

If a toxicologist cannot find a chemical in a body fluid, what else can they look for?

metabolites of desired chemicals

Arsenic is a chemical element that occurs in soil and minerals. It is released naturally from the Earth's crust (through erosion, runoff volcanoes, etc) as well as as through industrial processes such as ______, ___________ and __________ of fossil fuels.

mining, metal smelting and burning

What is the purpose of presumptive testing?

narrows down the many possibilities so that more specific tests can later be conduction

What makes a drug illegal?

no current accepted medical use in the US

Arsenic is an _______, ______ poison.

odorless, tasteless

What group of drugs increases feelings of well-being, energy, and alertness while surpassing appetite but can be followed by depression?

stimulants

Which group of drugs tends to be highly addictive?

stimulants

Toxicology

study of poisons

Name some job responsibilities of present-day toxicologists.

work with pathologists to analyze body fluids, use highly specialized instrument, present evidence in court, analyze evidence for drugs/alchohol

Drug offenders make up how much of the federal prison system population?

1/2 in federal prison

Through much of the 19th century a _______ of all criminal cases of poisoning involved arsenic. One reason for its popularity was simply its availability; it is the major ingredient in ___________.

1/3, rat poison

Contrast the two types of poisoning.

Acute: high doses over short period Chronic: lower doses over long periods

What group of drugs promotes cell and tissue growth and division?

Anabolic steroids

What is the most poisonous biological substance known to humans? Where is it found?

Botulism, found in contaminated food such as canned veggies, cured pork and ham, smoked or raw fish, honey, and corn syrup

Forensic Toxicology is the science of ________ and _________ drugs and poisons a person may have used for medicinal, recreational, or criminal purposes.

detecting, identifying

Toxicity is the extent to which a substance is poisonous, and if affected by many factors

dosage, durations, interactions

What three factors determine classification of controlled substances?

drug's potential for abuse, potential to physical and psychological dependence, medical value