ABSTRACT
Casework involving metals is relatively uncommon in most forensic toxicology laboratories. (Occasionally a legitimate postmortem issue, metals are almost never addressed in driving under the inuence [DUI] or routine drug-testing cases.) Metals are not associated with any psychotropic potential (with the arguable exception of lithium) and are not in the “menu” of society’s abused drugs. Nevertheless, metals and metallic elements have had a long history in accidental and deliberate poisonings, as well as in both short-and long-term environmental exposures and contamination. It is well worth having an understanding of the biochemical havoc that can be caused when the amount of these species in the body exceeds its ability to detoxify or eliminate them.
