Introduction

The field of immunotoxicology has grown considerably since the early 1970s. The discipline developed through studies that combined knowledge of immunology and toxicol­ ogy to determine the effect of xenobiotics on the functioning of the immune system. The field now includes initial identification of suspected immunotoxic chemicals; the development of sensitive, quantitative animal assays to assess any chemically induced immunologic effects; and determinations of the mechanisms by which xenobiotics can alter immune function. The methodologies developed are discussed in the first section of this subsection, and data resulting from utilization of these methods are oudined in subsequent sections.