Chapter 6 : Forensic Toxicology

toxicologist
Click the card to flip 👆
1 / 38
Terms in this set (38)
toxicologist
an individual whose job it is to detect and identify drugs and poisons in bodily fluids, tissues, and organs
metabolism
the transformation of a chemical in the body to other chemicals to facilitate its elimination from the body
absorption
passage of alcohol across the stomach and small intestine into the bloodstream
oxidation
the combination of oxygen with other substances to produce new products in the liver
excretion
elimination of alcohol from the body in an unchanged state; normally excreted in breath and urine
artery
a blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart
vein
a blood vessel that carries blood toward the heart
where do toxicologists work?
crime laboratories, medical offices, hospital laboratories, health facilities
what is the primary objective of forensic toxicology?
the detection and isolation of drugs and alcohol in the body and to determine their effect on human behavior
what is alcohol?
a colorless liquid normally diluted with water, and consumed as a beverage
what class of drug is alcohol?a depressantwhat system does alcohol primarily effect?the central nervous systemwhen does alcohol appear in the blood, and how does it get there?appears within minutes, and increases in concentration after being absorbed from the stomach and small intestine into the bloodstreamwhat factors determine the rate at which alcohol is absorbed?time taken to consume the drink, the alcohol content of the drink, the amount consumed, the food present in the stomachwhat two processes contribute to the elimination of alcohol from the body?oxidation and excretionthe amount of alcohol exhaled in the breath is directly proportional to what?the alcohol levels in the blood concentrationwhat organs are in the circulatory system?the heart, the arteries, the veins, and the capillarieswhat are the steps of absorption for alcohol into the body?1. stomach into the bloodstream 2. carried to the liver where the process of destruction starts 3. moves to the heart and is pumped to the lungs 4. enters the alveoli 5. exhaled during breathingwhat are the three stages of alcohol's fate in the human body?absorption, distribution, eliminationwhat principle do breath testers operate on?infared light absorptionwhat allows breath testers to operate?the interaction of light with the alcohol in the captured breath samplewhat are field sobriety tests?tests used by law enforcement officers to estimate a motorists degree of physical impairment by alcoholwhat are three examples of field sobriety tests?the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, walk and turn, one leg standwhat is the current legal amount of alcohol allowed in the blood and when was it established?0.08, established in 2003what can be used as supporting evidence for the toxicologist to help determine substances?victim's symptoms, a postmortem pathological examination, or an examination of the victims personal effectswhat are some obstacles presented to toxicologists when examining substances?low concentration levels of substances, changed chemical states, thousands of possibilities of substanceswhat is the two step approach to identifying drugs?screening and confirmationwhat are screening tests used for?to provide the analyst with quick insight into whether or not there is a substance presentwhat are the most widely used screening tests?thin layer and gas chromatographywhat is the confirmation test of choice?mass spectophotometrywhat does mass spectophotometry do?represents a unique 'fingerprint' pattern that can be used for identificationwhat does gas chromatography do?separates a substance into its componentswhat is the most widely abused drug in western countries?alcoholalcohol oxidizes into which two substances?oxygen and carbon dioxidewhat is the accepted standard for relating alcohol intake to its effects on the body?blood levelswhat bodily fluids are desirable for the toxicological examination of a living person suspected of being under the influence?blood and urinewhat is the most widespread method for rapidly determining alcohol intoxication?breath testingwhat bodily fluids should be collected from any suspected drug user?blood and urine