Fundamentals of Toxicology and Ecotoxicology: Promoting Education and Lifelong Learning to Protect the Environment and Human Health

Abstract

There are several definitions of toxicology, which is commonly defined as the study of adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms (Casarett and Klaassen 2008). Toxicology is associated with the so-called risk assessment, where the application of the effects used by the compounds on organisms and their environmental significance is performed. In modern toxicology, four areas are recognized: (1) forensic toxicology; (2) clinical toxicology; (3) environmental toxicology, and (4) ecotoxicology. The first area attempts to create a cause of death associated with the harmful effects of chemicals. Clinical toxicology is usually associated with medical research, studying the diseases caused by toxic compounds. Environmental toxicology focuses on the study of toxic effects on nonhuman organisms. Ecotoxicology is considered a recent specialization of environmental toxicology, currently playing a central role in environmental policies. Toxicology and Ecotoxicology All things are poison, and nothing is without poison, the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison.