ABSTRACT
Toxicology is the scientific study of adverse effects that occur in living organisms due to chemicals. A conventional relationship between dose and toxicity has traditionally been accepted, in that greater exposure to a chemical leads to higher risk of toxicity. However, this concept has been challenged by a study of endocrine disruptors and may not be as straightforward as once thought. Pharmacokinetics considers the movement of drugs within the body and the way in which the body affects drugs with time. While pharmacokinetics considers the way in which the body affects a drug by the processes of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, pharmacodynamics considers the effects of the drug on the body and the mode of drug action. Like any field of science, toxicology has its own abbreviations and phrases. LD50 is a useful term that refers to the dose of a substance that displays toxicity in that it kills 50% of a test population.
