Minimum lethal dose
Minimum Lethal Dose
Minimum lethal dose (pronunciation: min-i-mum lee-thal dose, from Latin minimus meaning smallest, lethalis meaning deadly, and dosis meaning a portion) is a term used in Toxicology and Pharmacology to denote the smallest amount of a toxin or drug that can cause death in a living organism.
The minimum lethal dose varies greatly between different substances and also depends on the individual characteristics of the organism, such as its size, age, health status, and individual tolerance to the substance. It is usually expressed in terms of milligrams of the substance per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg).
Related Terms
- Median lethal dose (LD50): The dose of a substance that is lethal to 50% of a test population. This is a commonly used measure in toxicology.
- Therapeutic index: The ratio of the toxic dose to the therapeutic dose of a drug, used as a measure of the relative safety of the drug for a particular treatment.
- Toxicity: The degree to which a substance can harm a living or non-living organism.
- Poison: A substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Minimum lethal dose
- Wikipedia's article - Minimum lethal dose
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