Toxicology
Definition
The scientific study of poisons, their effects on living organisms, and their detection. Forensic toxicology specifically addresses the detection and quantification of drugs and poisons in biological specimens for legal purposes.
Related terms
- Anthropometry
- The measurement of the human body for scientific purposes. In forensic history, the Bertillon system of criminal anthropometry used eleven standardised body...
- Criminalistics
- The application of scientific methods, especially physical and chemical analysis, to detect crime and identify criminals. The term was systematised by Hans...
- Dactyloscopy
- Identification by friction-ridge skin patterns. The Calcutta Anthropometric Bureau, reorganised as the world's first Fingerprint Bureau in 1897, gave India a permanent...
- DNA Profiling
- Analysis of specific regions of an individual's DNA to generate a profile that, with high statistical probability, uniquely identifies that person. Developed...
- Serology
- The examination and identification of body fluids at crime scenes, typically blood, semen, saliva, and urine, using chemical tests and immunological methods...
Explained in
- A Short History of Forensic ScienceThe scientific study of poisons, their effects on living organisms, and their detection. Forensic toxicology specifically addresses the detection and quantific...