Pure and Applied Chemistry

Abstract: The objective of the "Explanatory Dictionary of Key Terms in Toxicology" is to give full explanations of the meaning of toxicological terms chosen for their importance and complexity from the point of merging chemistry and toxicology. This requires a full description of the underlying concepts, going beyond a normal dictionary definition. Often linguistic barriers lead to problems in obtaining a common understanding of terminology at the international level and between disciplines. The explanatory comments should help to break down such barriers. The dictionary consists of about 68 terms chosen from the IUPAC "Glossary of Terms Used in Toxicokinetics" organized under 22 main headings. The authors hope that among the groups which will find this explanatory dictionary helpful are chemists, pharmacologists, toxicologists, risk assessors, regulators, medical practitioners, regulatory authorities, and everyone with an interest in the relationship of chemistry to toxicology. It should also facilitate the use of chemistry in relation to risk assessment.