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Pure Appl. Chem.,
Vol. 65, No. 9, pp. 2003-2122, 1993.
CLINICAL
CHEMISTRY DIVISION
COMMISSION ON TOXICOLOGY
Glossary for chemists of terms used in toxicology
(IUPAC Recommmendations 1993)
Alphabetical entries
A | B | C
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| G | H | I
| J | K | L
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| Z
iatrogenic: Any
adverse condition resulting from medical treatment.
NT nosocomial.
icterus: Excess of
bile pigment in the blood and consequent deposition and retention
of bile pigment in the skin and the sclera.
RT hyperbilirubinaemia,
jaundice.
immediately-dangerous-to-life-or-health-concentration
(IDLHC): According to the US NIOSH, the maximum exposure concentration
from which one could escape within thirty minutes without any escape-impairing
symptoms or any irreversible health effects.
immission: Environmental
concentration of a pollutant resulting from a combination of emissions
and dispersals (often synonymous with exposure).
immune complex: Product of an antigen-antibody
reaction that may also contain components of the complement system.
Roitt et al 1989
immune response:
Selective reaction of the body to substances that are foreign to
it, or that the immune system identifies as foreign, shown by the
production of antibodies and antibody-bearing cells or by a cell-mediated
hypersensitivity reaction.
RT antibody, autoimmune
disease, cell-mediated
hypersensitivity.
immunochemistry: Study of biochemical and
molecular aspects of immunology, especially the nature of antibodies,
antigens and their interactions.
immunoglobulin:
Family of closely related glycoproteins capable of acting as antibodies
and present in plasma and tissue fluids; immunoglobulin E is the
source of antibody in many hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions.
RT allergy, antibody,
hypersensitivity.
immunopotentiation: Enhancement of the capacity
of the immune system to produce an effective response.
immunosuppression: Reduction in the functional
capacity of the immune response; may be due to:
1. Inhibition of the normal response of the immune system to an
antigen.
2. Prevention, by chemical or biological means, of the production
of an antibody to an antigen by inhibition of the
processes of transcription, translation or formation
of tertiary structure.
immunosurveillance: Mechanisms by which the
immune system is able to recognize and destroy malignant cells beore
the formation of an overt tumour.
immunotoxic: Poisonous to the immune system.
incidence: Number
of occurrences of illness commencing, or of persons falling ill,
during a given period in a specific population: usually expressed
as a rate, the denominator being the average number of persons in
the specified population during a defined period or the estimated
number of persons at the mid-point of that period. The basic distinction
between
"incidence" and "prevalence" is that whereas incidence refers only
to new cases, prevalence refers to all cases, irrespective of whether
they are new or old. When the terms incidence and prevalence are
used, it should be stated clearly whether the data represent the
numbers of instances of the disease recorded or the numbers of persons
ill.
WHO, 1989a
incidence rate: Measure of the frequency
with which new events occur in a population. Value obtained by dividing
the number of new events that occur in a defined period by the population
at risk of experiencing the event during this period, sometimes
expressed as person-time.
After Last, 1988
incremental unit risk estimate: For an air
pollutant, this is the additional lifetime cancer risk occurring
in a hypothetical population in which all individuals are exposed
continuously from birth throughout their lifetimes to a concentration
of 1 microgram per cubic metre (mg/m 3) of the pollutant
in the air they breathe.
WHO, 1987
indirect exposure:
1. Exposure to a substance in a medium or vehicle other than the
one originally receiving the substance.
2. Exposure of people to a substance by contact with a person directly
exposed.
RT bystander exposure,
para-occupational exposure.
individual risk: Probability that an individual
person will experience an adverse effect.
inducer: Substance that causes induction.
RT induction.
induction: Increase
in the rate of synthesis of an enzyme in response to the action
of an inducer or environmental conditions: often the substrate of
the induced enzyme or a structurally similar substance (gratuitous
inducer)
that is not metabolized.
After Nagel et al. (eds),
1991
induction period: Time from the onset of
exposure to the appearance of signs of disease.
SN latent period.
inhalation: Act of drawing in of air, vapour
or gas and any suspended particulates into the lung.
inherently biodegradable: Class of compounds
for which there is unequivocal evidence of biodegradation (primary
or ultimate) in any test of biodegradability.
RT biodegradation.
inhibitory concentration (IC): Concentration
of a substance that causes a defined inhibition of a given system:
IC50 is the median concentration that causes 50 % inhibition.
RT effective concentration,
lethal concentration.
inhibitory dose (ID): Dose of a substance
that causes a defined inhibition of a given system: ID50 is the
median dose that causes 50 % inhibition.
RT effective dose, lethal
dose.
initiator:
1. Agent that induces a change in a chromosome or gene that leads
to the induction of tumours after a second agent, called
a promoter, is administered to the tissue.
RT promoter.
2. Substance that starts a chain reaction; an initiator is consumed
in a reaction, in contrast to a catalyst.
Gold, Loening, McNaught
and Sehmi, 1987
insecticide: Substance
intended to kill insects.
intake: Amount of a substance that is taken
into the body, regardless of whether or not it is absorbed: the
total daily intake is the sum of the daily intake by an individual
from food, drinking-water, and inhaled air.
integral indicator of toxic effect: Parameter
(such as body weight or temperature) characterising the overall
changes in the general state of the organism exposed to a toxic
substance.
IRPTC, 1982
interfacial layer:
Region of space comprising and adjoining the phase boundary within
which properties of matter are significantly different from the
values in the adjoining bulk phases.
PS surface layer.
internal validity:
Selection and comparison of index and comparison groups in such
a manner that, apart from sampling error, the observed differences
between these groups with respect to dependent variables under study
may be attributed only to the hypothesized effect under investigation.
IPCS, 1987
interpretation (of data or findings): Evaluation
of the observations from an investigation or study in order to determine
their significance for human health, for the environment or for
both.
interspecies dose conversion: Process of
extrapolating from the doses of one animal species to another, for
example from rodent dose to human equivalent.
interstitial pneumonia: Chronic form of pneumonia
involving increase of the interstitial tissue and decrease of the
functional lung tissue.
intervention study: Epidemiological investigation
designed to test a hypothesized cause-effect relationship by modifying
a supposed causal factor in a population.
Last, 1988
intestinal reabsorption: Absorption further
down the intestinal tract of a substance or substances that have
been absorbed before and subsequently excreted into the intestinal
tract, usually through the bile.
WHO, 1979
intoxication:
1. Poisoning: pathological process with clinical signs and symptoms
caused by a substance of exogenous or endogenous
origin.
RT exogenous, endogenous.
2. Drunkenness following consumption of beverages containing ethanol
or other compounds affecting the central nervous
system.
in vitro: In
glass, referring to a study in the laboratory usually involving
isolated organ, tissue, cell, or biochemical systems.
AN in vivo.
in vivo: In
the living body, referring to a study performed on a living organism.
AN in vitro.
ionizing radiation:
Any radiation consisting of directly or indirectly ionizing particles
or a mixture of both or photons with energy higher than the energy
of photons of ultraviolet light or a mixture of both such particles
and photons.
Gold, Loening, McNaught and Sehmi,
1987
irreversible alteration: Change from normal
structure or function that persists or progresses after cessation
of exposure of the organism.
irritant:
1. n., Substance that causes inflammation following immediate, prolonged
or repeated contact with skin, mucous membrane, or
other biological material. A substance capable of causing
inflammation on first contact is called a primary irritant.
2. adj., Causing inflammation following immediate, prolonged or
repeated contact with skin, mucous membrane or other
tissues.
ischaemia: Local deficiency of blood supply
and hence oxygen to an organ or tissue owing to constriction of
the blood vessels or to obstruction.
isotonic: Denoting a fluid exerting the same
osmotic pressure or water potential as another fluid with which
it is being compared.
itai-itai disease: Illness observed in Japan
possibly resulting from the ingestion of cadmium-contaminated rice:
damage occurred to the renal and skeleto-articular systems, the
latter being very painful ("itai" means pain in Japanese).
A | B | C
| D | E | F
| G | H | I
| J | K | L
| M
N | O | P
| Q | R | S
| T | U | V
| W | X | Y
| Z
Page last modified 12 September 2001.
Copyright ©1997-2001 International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry.
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