Toxicology Report

Abstract

The question of whether or not a substance should be classified as toxic could in certain cases be a question of life or death. Despite or because of this importance, this critical question is surprisingly hard to answer, since many different aspects, which may influence the toxicity of a compound, have to be considered. In addition, scientist or authorities with a differential expert knowledge and years of experience might differently interpret registered compound-related effects. Thus, writing of an unbiased toxicology report might be the best way of evaluating the toxicological significance of a given compound. Such a report should aim at presenting all collected raw data, the way of calculating the statistical significance, an evaluation of the potential health risks associated with the exposure to a defined compound, and the complete related literature. Then, in the best case, such a toxicological report answers the question about a possible toxic effect of a given substance or at least is the basics of further analysis or investigations. Although every toxicological report is unique and requires adjustment to the predefined study design, one has to keep in mind that such a report in some cases represents the base of legislation or in the worst case can make the difference between life and death. In this review, we give an overview of scientific, industrial, and consumer-related toxicological reports; summarize essential knowledge and key changes regarding exposure, poisons, and poisoning; and indicate contents, which are required to evaluate the toxicity of a tested compound.

H. Mückter: deceased.