ABSTRACT
Pulmonary irritants, simple asphyxiants, toxic products of combustion, lacrimating agents, and chemical asphyxiants constitute a diverse group of toxic gases capable of causing a variety of local and pulmonary reactions. The sources of these compounds are as varied, encompassing both naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals developed over the last 50 years. In addition, exposures to the gases are encountered accidentally, at home or in the workplace with industrial products, as environmental hazards, or intentionally, as commercial sprays for individual protection, for law enforcement, or as potential bioterrorist weapons. The most common routes of exposure to these agents occurs through oral ingestion, local dermal or mucous membrane contact, or deep inhalation. Because of their seemingly unrelated chemical structures and properties, the gases are classiÞed principally according to the clinical effects and metabolic consequences of exposure.
