Essays in Toxicology. Vol. 6

This is the sixth volume in a series of invited essays devoted to specialized topics in the broad field of toxicology (environmental, clinical, analytical, industrial, and forensic). The five essays in the present collection encompass a variety of subjects. In the opening essay John Autian discusses the toxicology of plasticizers used in medicine, considering the effects of both shortand long-term contact. He includes a discussion of carcinogenesis in animal models exposed to these polymeric materials as well as speculations on the storage of human blood and drug products in plastic systems. The metabolism of tobacco alkaloids is considered in an essay by Gorrod and Jenner, and the effect of smoking on nicotine metabolism is discussed. Experimental evidence is presented for the alteration of a variety of enzyme systems in animals by nicotine and tobacco smoke, and the subject of nicotine metabolites and carcinoma of the urinary bladder is considered. The utility of poison control centers in dispensing emergency information and their role in the assessment of toxicity are the topics of discussion by Roy Goulding. In a separate essay Small and Friess consider the toxicology of hypobaric and hyperbaric environments. They also include a discussion of the changes in sensitivity to exogenous chemical, bacterial, and pharmacological agents produced by alterations in pressure and inert gas concentration. In a final essay Witschi discusses biochemical approaches for the evaluation of toxic lung damage. The pulmonary pathology produced by such agents as paraquat dichloride, ozone, nickel carbonyl, and beryllium is discussed, and the associated enzymatic, biochemical, and morphological findings are considered. This text is a vary well-documented collection of essays dealing with a variety of topics of interest to the toxicologist. Many recent experimental data are provided to support the conclusions drawn by each author.