Hi everyone! I am looking to edit the lead section of this article and hope to get some feedback on what I have so far. Below is what I have so far and I am wanting to add different parts of this here and there in the lead section to make sure it properly represent the article. I hope to hear from everyone.

Additions:

Toxicology is science that deals with poisons. More often than not, the poisoning of people. In this sense, poison refers to a substance that is harmful to a living organism. This makes toxicology very important to many other sciences. Toxicology is related to many other sciences including ones that it contributes significantly to such as forensic medicine and pharmacology. Forensic toxicology helps understand more of the medico-legal aspects of toxicology since it handles the detection of poisons and other substances in samples. [1]

Studying toxicology not only protects people and the environment from the harmful effects of toxins but also helps in the development of toxins that are helpful to us such as anticancer medicines and other medications. A branch of toxicology, epidemiology, has to do with chemical exposure and human disease. This branch really helps the population as a whole because it works to prevent diseases and make vaccines. [2]

Toxicology is one of the oldest practical sciences dating back to 1500 B.C. [3] Mathieu Orfila is commonly referred to as the father of toxicology. He wrote a few books about toxicology giving it a formal treatment. [4] Since the 1960's toxicology has developed from a science of description to a science that is important to all different medical fields. Even since the 1970's the emphasis of toxicology's uses and techniques have evolved. [5]

When measuring toxicity the goal is to find the adverse effects of a substance. Adverse effects can be caused by many things including age, sex, and health of the person. [6]

A toxicologist is someone that studies toxicology. A toxicologist performs toxicology tests in many different forms. These forms are divided into animal testing methods and alternative testing methods when testing on animals is being avoided. [7] Although there are no absolute requirements, to become a toxicologist you should have a bachelors degree in toxicology or something related such as biology or chemistry. [8]

  1. ^ Hodgson, Ernest, and J. A. Goldstein. "Introduction to biochemical toxicology." Toxicology 2 (2001): 2.
  2. ^ Hodgson, Ernest, and J. A. Goldstein. "Introduction to biochemical toxicology." Toxicology 2 (2001): 2.
  3. ^ Hodgson, Ernest, and J. A. Goldstein. "Introduction to biochemical toxicology." Toxicology 2 (2001): 2.
  4. ^  "Biography of Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila (1787–1853)". U.S. National Library of Medicine.
  5. ^ Hodgson, Ernest, and J. A. Goldstein. "Introduction to biochemical toxicology." Toxicology 2 (2001): 2.
  6. ^ Committee on Risk Assessment of Hazardous Air Pollutants, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council (1994). Science and judgement in risk assessment. The National Academic Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-309-07490-2.
  7. ^  "Existing Non-animal Alternatives". AltTox.org. 8 September 2011.
  8. ^ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378427499002593