In science, a poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism. The term of poison is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broad sense.
The symptoms and effects of poisoning in humans can mimic those of other medical conditions and vary depending on the type of poison and the system of the body affected. Common symptoms include alterations in consciousness, abnormal body temperature, irregular heart rate, and changes in respiration. The severity and specific presentation of symptoms often depend on the nature and dose of the poison involved.
Certain poisons, particularly caustic or irritating substances, can cause direct injury to mucous membranes in the mouth, throat, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs. These injuries may result in symptoms such as pain, coughing, vomiting, and shortness of breath.
The term poisoning refers to the harmful physiological effects that result from the exposure to a toxic substance, typically through ingestion, inhalation, injection, or skin absorption. It is derived from the word poison and is commonly used in medical, biochemical, and toxicological contexts to describe adverse interactions between a substance and a living organism.
Poisoning is sometimes used as a method of self-harm and of suicide, particularly in cases of intentional self-poisoning among individuals experiencing suicidal ideation. According to Time Magazine, self-poisoning is one of the leading methods of suicide attempts among adolescents, and has been identified as the third-leading cause of suicide-related deaths in this age group. A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that suicide attempts by poisoning among individuals under the age of 19 doubled between 2000 and 2018, increasing from nearly 40,000 cases to almost 80,000. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, reports indicated a 37% increase in cases of deliberate self-poisoning among adolescent girls.
In biology, a poison is a chemical substance causing death, injury or harm to organisms or their parts. In medicine, poisons are a kind of toxin that are delivered passively, not actively. In industry the term may be negative, something to be removed to make a thing safe, or positive, an agent to limit unwanted pests. In ecological terms, poisons introduced into the environment can later cause unwanted effects elsewhere, or in other parts of the food chain.
Etymology The word poison was first recorded in English around the year 1200, meaning "a deadly potion or substance". It derives from the Old French poison or puison (12th century; Modern French: poison), originally meaning "a drink", particularly a medicinal one. By the 14th century, the term had come to signify "a (magic) potion" or "poisonous drink". These uses trace back to the Latin word potionem (nominative: potio), meaning "a drinking" or "a drink", and more specifically "a poisonous drink", as seen in the writings of Cicero. The Latin root comes from the verb potare, meaning "to drink".
The use of poison as an adjective in the form poisonous dates back to the 1520s. The practice of using poison in combination with plant names began in the 18th century. For example, the term poison oak was first recorded in 1743, and poison ivy appeared in usage by 1784. The expression poison gas was first used during World War I in 1915.
Terminology
The term poison is often used colloquially to describe any harmful substance, especially corrosive substances, carcinogens, mutagens, teratogens, and harmful pollutants. In everyday language, it is sometimes used to exaggerate the perceived danger of certain chemicals. The 16th-century physician Paracelsus (1493–1541), regarded as the father of toxicology, famously stated: "Everything is poison, there is poison in everything. Only the dose makes a thing not a poison." (See: LD50).
The term is also used in a figurative sense—for example: "His brother's presence poisoned the atmosphere at the party." In contrast, legal definitions of "poison" tend to be narrower. Some substances that are not legally required to carry a "poison" label may still cause medical conditions associated with poisoning.
Some poisons are also classified as toxins, which are toxic substances produced by living organisms. Examples include bacterial proteins responsible for conditions such as tetanus and botulism. While a distinction exists between "poison" and "toxin", the terms are often used interchangeably, even in scientific contexts. Related adjectives include toxic and poisonous, which are generally considered synonymous.
Poisonous substances introduced into the body by sting or bite are known as venoms. In everyday usage, a poisonous organism is one that causes harm when ingested or touched, while a venomous organism uses venom actively to incapacitate prey or deter predators. Although rare, some organisms may be both poisonous and venomous.
All living organisms produce substances to defend themselves from being eaten. However, the term "poison" typically refers to substances that are toxic to humans. Substances that are toxic primarily to pathogens and not to humans are generally classified as antibiotics. For instance, Penicillium chrysogenum produces compounds toxic to bacteria, but not to humans, making them effective as antibacterial drugs. Similarly, human antimicrobial peptides, which are toxic to viruses, fungi, bacteria, and cancerous cells; are considered part of the innate immune system.
In nuclear physics, the term nuclear poison refers to a substance that absorbs neutrons and interferes with a nuclear reaction.
Substances classified as environmentally hazardous are not always poisonous, and vice versa. For example, wastewater from food processing, such as potato juice or milk; can be environmentally damaging by depleting oxygen in aquatic ecosystems (leading to eutrophication), but it poses no direct toxic threat to humans and is not considered a poison.
From a biological standpoint, virtually any substance can be toxic in sufficient quantity. Even something as essential as water can be fatal when consumed in excessive amounts; a condition known as water intoxication. Many drugs used in medicine, such as fentanyl, have a median lethal dose (LD50) only slightly higher than their effective dose (ED50), highlighting the thin margin between therapeutic benefit and toxicity. Some classification systems differentiate between lethal substances with therapeutic value and those without.
Modern definitions In broad metaphorical (colloquial) usage of the term, "poison" may refer to anything deemed harmful.
In biology, poisons are substances that can cause death, injury, or harm to organs, tissues, cells, and DNA usually by chemical reactions or other activity on the molecular scale, when an organism is exposed to a sufficient quantity."Poison" at Merriam-Webster. Retrieved December 26th, 2014.
Medicinal fields (particularly veterinary medicine) and zoology often distinguish poisons from toxins and venoms. Both poisons and venoms are toxins, which are toxicants produced by organisms in nature. The difference between venom and poison is the delivery method of the toxin. Venoms are toxins that are actively delivered by being injected via a bite or sting through a venom apparatus, such as fangs or a stinger, in a process called envenomation, whereas poisons are toxins that are passively delivered by being swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. Unantidoteable refers to toxins that cannot be neutralized by modern medical technology, regardless of their type.
Uses Industry, agriculture, and other sectors employ many poisonous substances, usually for reasons other than their toxicity to humans. Examples include medicines (e.g. anthelmintics used on chickens), solvents (e.g. rubbing alcohol, turpentine), cleaners (e.g. bleach, ammonia), coatings (e.g. arsenic wallpaper), and feedstocks. The toxicity itself sometimes has economic value, when it serves agricultural purposes such as weed control and pest control.
Most poisonous industrial compounds have associated material safety data sheets and are classified as hazardous substances. Hazardous substances are subject to extensive regulation on production, procurement, and use in overlapping domains of occupational safety and health, public health, drinking water quality standards, air pollution, and environmental protection. Due to the mechanics of molecular diffusion, many poisonous compounds rapidly diffuse into biological tissues, air, water, or soil on a molecular scale. By the principle of entropy, chemical contamination is typically costly or infeasible to reverse, unless specific chelating agents or micro-filtration processes are available. Chelating agents are often broader in scope than the acute target, and therefore their ingestion necessitates careful medical or veterinarian supervision.
Pesticides are one group of substances whose prime purpose is their toxicity to various insects and other animals deemed to be pests (e.g., rats and cockroaches). Natural pesticides have been used for this purpose for thousands of years (e.g. concentrated table salt is toxic to many slugs and snails). Bioaccumulation of chemically-prepared agricultural insecticides is a matter of concern for the many species, especially birds, which consume insects as a primary food source. Selective toxicity, controlled application, and controlled biodegradation are major challenges in herbicide and pesticide development and in chemical engineering generally, as all lifeforms on earth share an underlying biochemistry; organisms exceptional in their environmental resilience are classified as extremophiles, these for the most part exhibiting radically different susceptibilities.
Ecological lifetime A poison which enters the food chain—whether of industrial, agricultural, or natural origin—might not be immediately toxic to the first organism that ingests the toxin, but can become further concentrated in predatory organisms further up the food chain, particularly carnivores and omnivores, especially concerning fat soluble poisons which tend to become stored in biological tissue rather than excreted in urine or other water-based effluents.
Apart from food, many poisons readily enter the body through the skin and lungs. Hydrofluoric acid is a notorious contact poison, in addition to its corrosive damage. Naturally occurring sour gas is a fast-acting atmospheric poison, which can be released by volcanic activity or drilling rigs. Plant-based contact irritants, such as that possessed by poison ivy, are often classed as allergens rather than poisons; the effect of an allergen being not a poison as such, but to turn the body's natural defenses against itself. Poison can also enter the body through faulty medical implants, or by injection (which is the basis of lethal injection in the context of capital punishment).
In 2013, 3.3 million cases of unintentional human poisonings occurred. This resulted in 98,000 deaths worldwide, down from 120,000 deaths in 1990. In modern society, cases of suspicious death elicit the attention of the Coroner's office and forensic investigators.