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Forensic Toxicology

The study of drugs and


poisons in the body
History of Forensic Toxicology
Limited to matters that pertain to violations of
criminal law
Developed in the 19
th
century
1814 Mathieu Orfila chemistry of poisons
1836 James Marsh detection of arsenic in
body tissues and fluids

Toxicologist
Detects and identifies the presence of drugs
and/or poisons in body fluids, tissues and
organs.
Services required in:
Crime Labs
Medical Examiners Office
Hospital Laboratories
Divisions of Toxicology
Postmortem drug testing
Determine the manner of death
Workplace drug testing
Evaluation of blood/urine (random testing)
Pre-employment drug testing
Investigation of contraband materials
Identify prohibited substances in an investigation
Specimen Collection
Blood
Postmortem toxicology (most important)
50-100 mL collected
Urine
Easy to collect are large volume
Pre-employment and postmortem
Used to determine the presence, not concentration
Gastric Contents
Postmortem in sudden death cases (suicide)
Specimen Collection
Vitreous Humor
Postmortem (fluid of the eye)
Gives a reliable measure of drug presence
Time/cause of death
Bile and Liver
Drug metabolism in the body occurs in the liver
Hair
Drugs are found in low concentrations

Elements of Toxicology
Dosage how much
Chemical/Physical Form of substance
Solid, liquid, gas (or compound)
How it enters the body
Swallowed
Injected
Absorbed through the skin
inhaled
Elements of Toxicology
Body weight, physiological conditions of the
victim (age, sex, etc.)
Time period of exposure
Whether other chemicals are present in the
body
Toxicology Terms
Toxin a substance that causes injury to the
health of a living thing on contact or by
absorption
Chronic Exposure continued exposure to a
toxin over a long period of time
Acute Toxicity Poisoning occurring after
exposure (hours, days)
Measuring Toxicity
LD
50
amount of a substance that kills half of the test
population (within 4 hrs)
mg of substance/kg of body weight
Toxicity Classes and Definitions
Correlation to
ingestion by a 150-
LD50 (rat, oral) pound adult human Toxicity
<1 mg/kg a taste to a drop extremely
1-50 mg/kg to a teaspoon Highly
50-500 mg/kg to an ounce moderately
500-5,000 mg/kg to a pint slightly
5-15 g/kg to a quart practically nontoxic
> 15 g/kg more than 1 quart relatively harmless
Lethal Dose Values
Material LD50 mg/kg, rats, oral
Sucrose 29,700
Vitamin C 11,900
Ethanol 7,060
Sodium Chloride 3,000
Arsenic Metal 763
Caffeine 192
Nicotine 53
Arsenic Trioxide 14.6
Arsenic pentoxide 8
Sodium Cyanide 6
VX (nerve agent) 0.060
Ricin 0.020
Dioxin 0.020
Regulatory Agencies
FDA Food and Drug Administration
Pharmaceuticals, food additives, medical devices
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
Agricultural/Industrial Pollution
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Toxins in consumer products
DOT Department of Transportation
Shipment of Toxins
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health
Administration

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