Toxicity  

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Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell (cytotoxicity) or an organ (organotoxicity), such as the liver (hepatotoxicity). By extension, the word may be metaphorically used to describe toxic effects on larger and more complex groups, such as the family unit or society at large.

A central concept of toxicology is that effects are dose-dependent; even water can lead to water intoxication when taken in large enough doses, whereas for even a very toxic substance such as snake venom there is a dose below which there is no detectable toxic effect.

See also

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
• Biological activity
• Biological warfare
• California Proposition 65 (1986)
• Carcinogen
• Drunkenness
• Indicative limit value
• List of highly toxic gases
• Mutagen
• Nephrotoxicity
• Neurotoxicity
• Ototoxicity
• Paracelsus
• Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modelling.
• Poison
• Reference dose
• Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS) - toxicity database
• Soil contamination
• Teratogen
• Toxic tort
• Toxication
• Toxicophore
• Toxin
• Toxica, a disambiguation page