International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

CLINICAL CHEMISTRY DIVISION

COMMISSION ON TOXICOLOGY

Glossary for chemists of terms used in toxicology
(IUPAC Recommmendations 1993)

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gamete: Reproductive cell (either sperm or egg) containing a haploid set of chromosomes.
RT zygote.

gametocide: Substance intended to kill gametes.

gastrointestinal: Pertaining or communicating with the stomach and intestine.

gavage: Administration of materials directly into the stomach by oesophageal intubation.

gene: Structurally a basic unit of hereditary material; an ordered sequence of nucleotide bases that encodes one polypeptide chain (following transcription to mRNA).
SN cistron.

gene amplification: Production of extra copies of a chromosomal sequence found either as intra- or extra-chromosomal DNA; with respect to a plasmid, it refers to the increase in the number of plasmid copies per cell induced by a specific treatment of transformed cells.

genetic polymorphism: Condition in which a genetic character occurs in more than one form, resulting in the coexistence of more than one morphological type in a given population.

genetic toxicology: Study of substances that can produce adverse heritable changes.

genome: Complete set of chromosomal and extrachromosomal genes of an organism, a cell, an organelle, or a virus: complete DNA component of an organism.
Nagel et al. (eds), 1991

genotoxicity: Ability to cause damage to genetic material. Such damage may be mutagenic and/or carcinogenic.

genotype: Genetic constitution of an organism as revealed by genetic or molecular analysis; the complete set of genes, both dominant and recessive possessed by a particular organism, cell, organelle or virus.
After Nagel et al. (eds), 1991

germ-free animal: Animal grown under sterile conditions in the period of postnatal development: such animals are usually obtained by Caesarean operation and kept in special sterile boxes in which there are no viable micro-organisms (sterile air, food and water are supplied).
SN axenic animal.
BT gnotobiont, gnotobiote.
IRPTC, 1982

germinal aplasia: Complete failure of gonad development.

glomerular: Pertaining to a tuft or cluster, as of a plexus of capillary blood vessels or nerve fibres, especially referring to the capillaries of the glomeruli of the kidney.

"glue sniffing": Solvent abuse using plastic cement or other solvent-based adhesives.
BT "solvent sniffing".
RT addiction, dependence, solvent abuse.

gnotobiont: See SN gnotobiote.
NT germ-free animal.

gnotobiota: Specifically and entirely known microfauna and microflora of a specially reared laboratory animal.
RT gnotobiote.

gnotobiot/e n., -ic adj.: Specially reared laboratory animal whose microflora and microfauna are specifically known in their entirety.
NT germ-free animal.

gonadotropic: Pertaining to effects on sex glands and on the systems that regulate them.

good agricultural practice (GAP) in the use of pesticides: Nationally authorised safe uses of pesticides under actual conditions necessary for effective and reliable pest control. It encompasses a range of levels of pesticide applications up to the highest authorised use, applied in a manner that leaves a residue which is the smallest amount practicable.
Authorised safe uses include nationally registered or recommended uses, that take into account public and occupational health and environmental safety considerations. Actual conditions include any stage in the production, storage, transport, distribution, and processing of food commodities and animal feed.
Codex Alimentarius Commission, 1989

good laboratory practice (GLP) principles: Fundamental rules incorporated in national regulations concerned with the process of effective organization and the conditions under which laboratory studies are properly planned, performed, monitored, recorded, and reported.
RT quality assurance, quality control.

good manufacturing practice (GMP) principles: Fundamental rules incorporated in national regulations concerned with the process of effective organization of production and ensuring standards of defined quality at all stages of production, distribution and marketing; minimization of waste and its proper disposal are part of this process.

graded effect: Consequence that can be measured on a graded scale of intensity or severity and its magnitude related directly to the dose or concentration of the substance producing it.
After WHO, 1989a
AN all-or-none effect, quantal effect.
RT stochastic effect.

granuloma: Granular growth or tumour, usually of lymphoid and epithelial cells.

ground treatment of plants: Dusting or spraying of plants with pesticides by hand, by special machines, or by apparatus fixed to tractors or driven by them.
IRPTC, 1982

guideline for exposure limits: Scientifically judged quantitative value (a concentration or number) of an environmental constituent that ensures aesthetically pleasing air, water or food and from which no adverse effect is expected concerning noncarcinogenic endpoints, or that gives an acceptably low estimate of lifetime cancer risk from those substances which
are proven human carcinogens or carcinogens with at least limited evidence of human carcinogenicity.

guideline value: Quantitative measure (a concentration or a number) of a constituent of an environmental medium that ensures aesthetically pleasing air, water, or food and does not result in a significant risk to the user.

guides to air quality: Sets of atmospheric concentrations and exposure times that are associated with specific effects of varying degrees of pollution on man, animals, vegetation, and the environment in general.
WHO, 1979

guides to environmental quality: Sets of concentrations, numbers and exposure times that are associated with the specific effects of factors in environmental media on man, animals, vegetation, and the environment in general.
After WHO, 1979

guinea-pig maximisation test (Magnusson and Kligman test): Widely used skin test for screening possible contact allergens: considered to be a useful method to identify likely moderate and strong sensitizers in humans.

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Alphabetical entries

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M

N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

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