Biomaterial Database

Toxicology then and now. 1987

B L Oser

Bernard L. Oser Associates, Inc., Bayside, New York 11360.

A review of the history of the evolution of the science of toxicology from the original concepts of Paracelsus through the early development of analytical chemistry and its contributions to the detection of toxic substances in foods and drugs as these have led to modern regulatory rules for public protection is presented. The legal actions taken to protect against adulteration of food prior to the early steps by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that concluded with the passage of the 1906 Food and Drug Act are systematically documented. The history is reviewed of the Food and Drug Administration's role in the use of animal toxicity studies to develop reasonable criteria for safety of foods and drugs for man. Modern concepts of molecular distribution, metabolism, and excretion of substances in the animal body are discussed as these impinge on the so-called "protection index." The legal and often litigious controversies over the claimed carcinogenicity of chemical substances is documented with comments on the Delaney dilemma and the role of in vitro tests in toxicology. The review concludes with a discussion of the hazards of use of stochastic mathematical models to assess carcinogenicity and suggests that the criteria employed in the report of the Scientific Committee of the Food Safety Council are properly structured to give a contemporary evaluation of all the currently available data. References give documentation of events over the past 200 years that explain the present state of toxicology as a discipline.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011042	Poisons	Substances which, when ingested, inhaled, or absorbed, or when applied to, injected into, or developed within the body in relatively small amounts may, by their chemical action, cause damage to structure or disturbance of function. (From Dorland, 27th ed)	Poison
D005060	Europe	The continent north of AFRICA, west of ASIA and east of the ATLANTIC OCEAN.	Northern Europe,Southern Europe,Western Europe
D014116	Toxicology	The science concerned with the detection, chemical composition, and biological action of toxic substances or poisons and the treatment and prevention of toxic manifestations.	Toxinology,Evidence Based Toxicology,Evidence-Based Toxicology,Based Toxicologies, Evidence,Based Toxicology, Evidence,Evidence Based Toxicologies,Evidence-Based Toxicologies,Toxicologies, Evidence Based,Toxicologies, Evidence-Based,Toxicology, Evidence Based,Toxicology, Evidence-Based
D014481	United States	A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D049669	History, 16th Century	Time period from 1501 through 1600 of the common era.	16th Century History,16th Cent. History (Medicine),16th Cent. History of Medicine,16th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 16th Century,History of Medicine, 16th Cent.,History, Sixteenth Century,Medical History, 16th Cent.,Medicine, 16th Cent.,16th Cent. Histories (Medicine),16th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 16th (Medicine),Cent. History, 16th (Medicine),Century Histories, 16th,Century Histories, Sixteenth,Century History, 16th,Century History, Sixteenth,Histories, 16th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 16th Century,Histories, Sixteenth Century,History, 16th Cent. (Medicine),Sixteenth Century Histories,Sixteenth Century History
D049670	History, 17th Century	Time period from 1601 through 1700 of the common era.	17th Century History,17th Cent. History (Medicine),17th Cent. History of Medicine,17th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 17th Century,History of Medicine, 17th Cent.,History, Seventeenth Century,Medical History, 17th Cent.,Medicine, 17th Cent.,17th Cent. Histories (Medicine),17th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 17th (Medicine),Century Histories, Seventeenth,Century History, 17th,Century History, Seventeenth,Histories, 17th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 17th Century,Histories, Seventeenth Century,History, 17th Cent. (Medicine),Seventeenth Century Histories,Seventeenth Century History
D049671	History, 18th Century	Time period from 1701 through 1800 of the common era.	18th Century History,18th Cent. History (Medicine),18th Cent. History of Medicine,18th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 18th Century,History of Medicine, 18th Cent.,History, Eighteenth Century,Medical History, 18th Cent.,Medicine, 18th Cent.,18th Century Histories,Cent. History, 18th (Medicine),Cent. Medicine, 18th,Century Histories, 18th,Century Histories, Eighteenth,Century History, 18th,Century History, Eighteenth,Eighteenth Century Histories,Eighteenth Century History,Histories, 18th Century,Histories, Eighteenth Century,History, 18th Cent. (Medicine)
D049672	History, 19th Century	Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.	19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History
D049673	History, 20th Century	Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.	20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History