ABSTRACT
Intoxication classified by clinical diagnosis, morphological change or change in physiological function is mediated by selective action on specific cells and induced by specific interactions between the intoxicant and components of the cells. The component(s) thus modified are called targets. This is the central theme of mechanisms of toxicity (stage 3 in Figure 2.1). The whole process of induction of toxicity by chemicals involves other chemical-related events which modify the dose of intoxicant reaching the target (stages 1 and 2) and other biology related events (stage 4) which influence the final expression of toxicity (stage 5). The ability of a chemical to intoxicate is determined by the structural relationship between the intoxicant and the target: they must possess a ‘lock and key’ complementarity which ensures interaction and sometimes the formation of a covalent bond between them.
