ABSTRACT
This chapter will briefly review the history of arsenic as a medicinal and toxic compound, its exposure, disposition, mechanism of action, toxicology, and immunotoxicology in mammalian systems. It is, however, impossible to review in depth all of these components within the confines of this chapter. This review is intended to provide the reader enough information with which to comprehend the more extensive review of the immunotoxicology of arsenic. For more detailed information, the reader is referred to the following references (Squibb and Fowler, 1983; Dickerson, 1994; Burns et al., 1995; Goyer, 1996) which were used to compile the material presented herein: Occupational Medicine 3rd Edition, Casarett and Doull’s Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons 5th Edition, and Biological and Environmental Effects of Arsenic. In addition, the following may be used interchangeably throughout this chapter: arsenite and inorganic trivalent arsenic (As3 +); arsenate and inorganic pentavalent arsenic (As5+).
