The following letter and general toxciology course outline were
transcribed using OCR from materials resulting from and distributed after the
“Forum on Undergraduate Toxicology Cousework” held
Dear Colleague:
The attached revised outline for a
Principles of General Toxicology Course is a product of the First Forum on
Under Graduate Education. It is intended
as guidance and not as a prescription. The
outline and additional materials represent a tool from which an instructor or
group of instructors might develop a one semester course in toxicology targeted
for upper division students with university coursework in biology and/or
chemistry. There was heavy reliance upon
the experience of faculty of the Department of Environmental Toxicology,
The outline is not intended to be a
listing of lectures, but it should serve as a list of subjects in a general
framework that has proved useful over an extended period of time. There is plenty of room for innovation! Depending upon the setting for the course, it
may be appropriate to weight the various elements quite differently (see
particularly Sections 3, 4, and 5). In
those cases, it may be appropriate to choose two or three of the topics,
leaving the others for coverage in special courses or for follow-up coursework
at some future time.
The earlier letter (February 21,
1992) from Don Reed to John E=erson, which included
the recommendation to establish a forum concerning undergraduate education, is
worth revisiting with respect to the long-term goals of the present effort:
"In part, this recommendation is a result of a survey
conducted by the ad hoc
Undergraduate Education Task Force. This
survey indicates that in 1990-91 less than 1,000 undergraduates are enrolled in
an undergraduate course in toxicology within the
(Tight university budgets and the general economy have
probably only made matters worse.)
It is proposed that SOT make this
set of materials available to persons who are interested in establishing a
course or program. I hope that they will
be helpful to you for the same reason.
Thank you very much for your
consideration and help. I look forward
to seeing you again at the Second Forum on
I send best personal regards.
Sincerely,
Richard I. Krieger
Director, Occupational Exposure
RIK:nrj
Attachment
PRINCIPLES OF GENERAL TOXICOLOGY
A one semester or one quarter course for upper division
students with previous university coursework in biology or chemistry. No one course would
include all elements, and in some cases major sections may require substantial
modification.
I. INTRODUCTION
Relationship to
other disciplines
Role of
medicine, chemistry, and physiology in early development
Exposure and
dose-response relationships
II. BIOLOGICAL FATE OF CHEMICALS
Routes of
exposure
Absorption
Distribution
(and storage)
Biotransformation
(metabolism)
Activation and
detoxification
Primary and
secondary
Excretion
III. TARGET ORGAN RESPONSES:
BIOCHEMICAL LESIONS, EFFECTS AND PATHOLOGY (select 3 or more)
Nervous system
Respiratory
system
Reproductive
system
Skin and eye
Immune system
Excretory system
Gastrointestinal
system
IV. TOXICITY TESTING
AND RESEARCH
Types of testing
Animal models
and alternatives
Mechanisms of
toxic action
Molecular
biology
V. ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
AND DISTRIBUTION
Personal,
occupational, community, global environments
Air, water,
soil, biota
Air pollution
Water pollution
Analysis of
toxic substances
VI. AGENTS AND ACTIONS
(select 2 or more)
Natural products
of plants and animals
Foods
Drugs
(pharmaceuticals, licit and illicit)
Pesticides
Process
chemicals and solvents
Elementals and
inorganic chemicals
VII. RISK ASSESSMENT
Hazard
identification
Dose-response
relationships
Exposure
assessment
Risk
characterization
Revised