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Casarett & Doull’s Toxicology: The Basic Science of Poisons, 6th ed.

Dean, College of Agriculture
California State Polytechnic University
Pomona, California

Curtis D. Klaassen. New York: McGraw Hill, 2001.

Several good books exist in many fields. However, there is in each case only one book that becomes the seminal volume that represents all the key issues. Casarett & Doull’s Toxicology has become that text for the field of toxicology. The chapters are very well written providing an accessible presentation of material. The figures are well designed, as are the tables.

The organization of the book is user-friendly, dividing the major areas of toxicology into seven sections. The section on general principles provides a comprehensive historical perspective on the evolution of toxicology, as well as the expected presentation on the scope and principles of toxicology. Importantly, the best treatise on risk assessment is included here also. In the section on disposition, the chapters on biotransformation (metabolism) and on toxicokinetics are very thorough in their coverage. The following chapters on chemical carcinogenesis and on genetic toxicology are well done as well.

The section on target organ toxicity is well done but somewhat limited in focus. However, the chapters on immune response provide a thorough overview. The section on toxic agents is very good, covering the areas of pesticides, toxic metals, radiation and terrestrial animal venoms and toxins. A brief section on environmental toxicology describes air pollution and ecotoxicology.

The closing section of the book highlights applications of toxicology, including analytical and forensic toxicology, clinical toxicology, occupational toxicology and regulatory toxicology. An important chapter describes the area of food toxicology.

Missing treatments of growing fields of interest include nutritional toxicology, the role of nutrition in toxicology, plant and herbal toxicology (expansion of the chapter on toxic effects of plants) and microbial toxins (a brief discussion of these is provided in the food toxicology chapter).

Two minor criticisms can be made. The small size of the figures is disappointing, because there are many creative diagrams and models presented. The print in both the text and the figures might have been larger.

This will be an informative reference for instructors, graduate students, laboratory managers, public health scientists and industrial toxicologists. This text can be used for upper division and graduate courses in toxicology.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bidlack, W. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Bidlack, W. R.