ABSTRACT
History is full of bad intentions, ignorance, and folly. Poisoning has been part of each of these for as long as humans have lived. Understanding poisons-to control them or avoid them-has therefore been an integral part of our past. As our understanding of poisons progressed, a unique •eld of knowledge grew into the science of toxicology. This chapter captures toxicology’s wissenschaften, its emergence as a distinct •eld of study from its vague, sometimes dark, beginnings. Toxicology passed through a number of phases during its maturation into a recognized discipline. These include the use of poisons to kill, listing poisons and their effects (observation/phenomenology), guessing at possible
antidotes, identifying occupational causes of disease, detection of poisons, experimentation to deduce the mechanisms of toxicity, development of rational therapeutic measures, and •nally quanti•cation of effects. As toxicology moved along this path, it evolved from harming people to helping them by protecting them from the adverse effects of chemical exposure at home, in the environment, and in the workplace.
