PHOTO CREDIT: TOXICOLOGY

"All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not a poison".

---The dose makes the poison---

-Paracelsus

MAGELLAN

MAGELLAN( POISON FORM)

              PHOTO CREDIT: IMAGE 1 

         PHOTO CREDIT: IMAGE 2

It’s everyone’s fear to be poisoned. When one got poisoned, its effects are really life-threatening. Some conditions are reversible; some could cause fatal injuries which could lead to death. Oh by the way, what is a poison? What are its sources?

à But before answering the questions above, let us first explore the world of TOXICOLOGY…

TOXICOLOGY is defined by some, as the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms. From the book of clinical chemistry by Michael L. Bishop et al, their definition of TOXICOLOGY is, it is the study of poisons. Also, TOXICOLOGY is concerned with study of symptoms, its mechanisms, the treatments or antidotes that could counteract the effect of the poison or toxin and detection of poisoning.

TOXIN VS TOXICANT

TOXIN is naturally derived, meaning it was produce by living organisms.

TOXICANT is man-made, meaning it is artificially prepared.

                    PHOTO CREDIT: TOXIC

Toxicology, as a body of knowledge, is divided into different fields such as Mechanistic, Descriptive, Forensic, Clinical, and Environmental toxicology. Let’s take a glimpse of what these branches are all about.

• Mechanistic Toxicology – its main concern is on how the toxin/poison causes their effects.

• Descriptive Toxicology – in here, toxicity testing is done and the properties of toxic substance are studied.  This branch of toxicology uses laboratory animals (e.g. rats) to predict the toxicity level of a particular substance to humans.

• Forensic Toxicology – investigation of the “agent” used in poisoning. Medico-legal aspects of toxic substances are studied in this branch of toxicology.

• Clinical Toxicology – it studies disease caused by exposure to the toxic substance/s. This field of toxicology is also concern with the manifestations of the sign and symptoms and on how to counteract the poison.

• Environmental Toxicology – the effects of toxic agents in the environment (air, water, soil) and in humans.

For more information about toxicology and its divisions, feel free to click these links! LINK 1, LINK 2 and LINK 3

Now let’s try to answer the previous questions above.

What is a POISON?                                                          PHOTO CREDIT: POISON

     A POISON is substance or a chemical thatcauses disturbances to living organisms. It could cause mild to severe conditions that could also lead to death.

    What are its sources?

s

     Common poisons at home and work

CLEANING AGENTS

PHOTO CREDIT: SOURCE 1

Plant toxins

POISON IVY

PHOTO CREDIT: SOURCE 2

Animal toxins

PORTUGUESE MAN O' WAR

PHOTO CREDIT: SOURCE 3

Drugs

SOME MEDICATIONS

PHOTO CREDIT: SOURCE 4

Substances of abuse

MARIJUANA

PHOTO CREDIT: SOURCE 5

Know more about these sources by clicking this LINK

Thanks to those persons who contributed their knowledge about toxicology! I hope you learn something about toxicology, and don't let yourself be POISONED! :D

TAKE CARE EVERYONE AND GOD BLESS... til next time :))

REFERENCES:

CLINICAL CEMISTRY _{TECHNIQUES, PRINCIPLES, CORRELATIONS} 6^TH ED. by Michael L. Bishop et al

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

http://www.agls.uidaho.edu/etox/

http://www.enotes.com/

http://www.scaht.org/

http://www.eoearth.org/

http://www.news-medical.net/

http://aquaticpath.umd.edu/

http://www.terrificscience.org/

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/

http://www.ncpoisoncenter.org/

Exploring Endocrinology...

TRUST YOURSELF. CREATE THE KIND OF SELF THAT YOU WILL BE HAPPY TO LIVE WITH ALL YOUR LIFE

                                                                                                                 – Golda Meir

ENDOCRINOLOGY, a 13 letter word but takes 100 of words for it to be explain. I have read several books and I also went to different web sites about endocrinology and the terms that I always encounter are endocrine system, glands and HORMONES. I guess these three words are inseparable from each other. So let’s now see the relationship of these three and why they are always together? I hope I could answer and explain it to you guys. Please help us GOD.

ENDOCRINOLOGY is the formal study about the different glands in the body and the secretion that they produce which is called HORMONE. The endocrine system is the one that makes the glands secrete hormones and is the one that helps in placing the secretion of the hormones to the blood stream for it to react with its specific receptor. There are several organs that are involved in the endocrine system that secrete hormones:

1.       Hypothalamus and Pituitary gland

2.       Thyroid gland

3.       Pancreas

4.        Adrenal glands

5.       Gonads or sex organs

6.       Pineal gland

For further discussion about the role, functions, and secretion of hormone produce, please click http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio105/endocrin.htmLINK

A hormone plays a very important role on body processes that are happening in our body. They participate in our growth development, maturity and puberty, metabolism homeostasis and even in our behavior (G. J. Tortora et al) and other processes. Hormones are considered as chemical messenger because they are capable of interacting to its receptor (hormones also posses specificity too) then binds with it thus producing a certain reactions that are helpful in our development.

We all know that anything that is in excess or in insufficient isn’t good right? So if there is too much or too low production of hormones in our system, it could cause some problems to us that could result to illness and could lead to life-threatening conditions. Here are some diseases of the endocrine system:

-          Diabetes

-          Gigantism

-          Osteoporosis

-          Polycystic ovary syndrome

-          Hypo/hyperthyroidism

For more examples and for further discussions of the diseases given above please visit this site: http://www.hormone.org/endocrine_system_diseases.cfm

http://www.endocrineweb.com/

http://emedicine.medscape.com/endocrinology

I hope that my simple article could help you guys out there so thank you so much for visiting and reading out my blog. Take care and GOD BLESS.

References:

Michael L. Bishop et al: CLINICAL CHEMISTRY _{TECHNIQUES, PRINCIPLES, CORRELATIONS}  SIXTH EDITION

Donald F. Calbreath: CLINICAL CHEMISTRY A Fundamental Textbook

Gerard J. Tortora et al: PRINCIPLES _OF ANATOMY _AND PHYSIOLOGY _{12TH EDITION}

http://www.kefaya.org/category/endocrinology

http://www.hormone.org/Public/endocrinologist.cfm

http://emedicine.medscape.com/endocrinology

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio105/endocrin.htm

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/anatomy_of_the_endocrine_system/article_em.htm

http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Endocrine_system

http://www.hormone.org/endocrine_system_diseases.cfm

http://www.endocrineweb.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrinology