History of Toxicology and Environmental Health

Toxicology in Antiquity Volume I

1st Edition - May 22, 2014
Imprint: Academic Press
Editor: Philip Wexler
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 0 0 4 5 - 8
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 0 4 6 3 - 0

Toxicology in Antiquity is the first in a series of short format works covering key accomplishments, scientists, and events in the broad field of toxicology, including enviro… Read more

History of Toxicology and Environmental Health

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Toxicology in Antiquity is the first in a series of short format works covering key accomplishments, scientists, and events in the broad field of toxicology, including environmental health and chemical safety. This first volume sets the tone for the series and starts at the very beginning, historically speaking, with a look at toxicology in ancient times. The book explains that before scientific research methods were developed, toxicology thrived as a very practical discipline. People living in ancient civilizations readily learned to distinguish safe substances from hazardous ones, how to avoid these hazardous substances, and how to use them to inflict harm on enemies. It also describes scholars who compiled compendia of toxic agents.

Toxicology in Antiquity
List of Contributors
Foreword
- References
Preface to the Series and Volumes 1 and 2
Chapter 1. Toxicology in Ancient Egypt
- 1.1 Introduction
- 1.2 Snakes as Described in the Brooklyn Papyrus
- 1.3 Scorpions
- 1.4 Tetanus
- 1.5 Plant and Mineral Toxins
- References
Chapter 2. The Death of Cleopatra: Suicide by Snakebite or Poisoned by Her Enemies?
- 2.1 Cleopatra’s Ancestry and Historical Background of the Era
- 2.2 Cleopatra’s Reign. Her Downfall and Her Death
- 2.3 Epilogue
- References
Chapter 3. Mithridates of Pontus and His Universal Antidote
- 3.1 Influences
- 3.2 Pharmacological and Toxic Riches
- 3.3 Avoiding Assassination by Poison
- 3.4 The Secret Antidote
- 3.5 Mithridatium’s Legacy
- References
Chapter 4. Theriaca Magna: The Glorious Cure-All Remedy
- 4.1 Introduction
- 4.2 Theriac in Antiquity
- 4.3 Theriac in the Medieval Period
- 4.4 Theriac in the Renaissance
- 4.5 Conclusion
- References
Chapter 5. Nicander, Thêriaka, and Alexipharmaka: Venoms, Poisons, and Literature
- 5.1 The Thêriaka
- 5.2 The Alexipharmaka
- 5.3 The Nicandrean Question
- 5.4 Ancient Toxicology
- 5.5 Venoms, Poisons, and Art
- Reference
Chapter 6. Alexander the Great: A Questionable Death
- 6.1 Alexander’s Last Days
- 6.2 Modern Theories of Natural Causes
- 6.3 Modern Theories of Poisoning
- 6.4 The Styx River Poison Plot
- References
Chapter 7. Harmful Botanicals
- 7.1 Classical Toxicology
- 7.2 Sources and Data
- 7.3 Analysis
- 7.4 Conclusion
- References
Chapter 8. The Case Against Socrates and His Execution
- 8.1 Introduction
- 8.2 Historical Literature
- 8.3 Hemlock in Ancient Scientific Literature
- 8.4 Modern Pharmacological Analysis
- 8.5 Toward a Renewed Interpretation
- 8.6 Conclusion
- References
Chapter 9. The Oracle at Delphi: The Pythia and the Pneuma, Intoxicating Gas Finds, and Hypotheses
- References
- Recommended Reading
Chapter 10. The Ancient Gates to Hell and Their Relevance to Geogenic CO₂
- 10.1 Introduction
- 10.2 Why Enter the Realm of the Shadows?
- 10.3 The Geologic Background
- 10.4 The Physicochemical Properties of CO₂
- 10.5 The Biological, Medical, and Physiological Background
- 10.6 Actual Gas Concentrations Around and Within Gates to Hell
- 10.7 The Known Sites of Ancient Gates to Hell
- 10.8 The Historical Relevance
- Acknowledgment
- References
Chapter 11. Lead Poisoning and the Downfall of Rome: Reality or Myth?
- 11.1 The Lead Industry in Ancient Rome
- 11.2 Human Effects of Lead
- 11.3 Clinical Picture of Lead Toxicity [9]
- 11.4 Archaeological Determination of Lead Toxicity
- 11.5 Occurrence of Lead Toxicity
- 11.6 Discussion
- References
- Recommended Reading
Chapter 12. Poisons, Poisoners, and Poisoning in Ancient Rome
- 12.1 Sources
- 12.2 Poisons
- 12.3 Poisons Used
- 12.4 Incidents of Poisoning During the Roman Republic
- 12.5 Poisoners and Incidents of Poisoning During the Empire
- 12.6 Conclusion
- References

Philip Wexler

Philip Wexler has written and edited numerous publications related to toxicology and toxico-informatics, as well as taught and otherwise lectured globally on these topics. He has been Editor-in-Chief of Elsevier’s Encyclopedia of Toxicology including the current, 4th edition (2023) since its inception as well as Information Resources in Toxicology (Elsevier. 5th ed. 2020), and Chemicals, Environment, Health: A Global Management Perspective (CRC Press/Taylor and Francis. 2011). He has served as Associate Editor for Toxicology Information and Resources for Elsevier's journal, Toxicology and edited special issues on Digital Information and Tools. Phil is also overseeing a monographic series on Toxicology History. Volumes have been published on Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Renaissance, modern clinical toxicology, risk assessment, alternative test methods, food and nutrition, and disasters, with more in the planning stages. He is a co-Editor-in-Chief of the Taylor and Francis journal, Global Security: Health, Science, and Policy and a past recipient of the US Society of Toxicology’s (SOT) Public Communications Award. Phil recently retired from a long federal career as a Technical Information Specialist at the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program, within its Specialized Information Services Division (SIS). His initial position at NLM was as a Fellow of its Associate Program and early work included a brief stint in the Reference Services Section. A recipient of the NLM Regents Award for Scholarly or Technical Achievement and the Distinguished Technical Communication Award of the Washington chapter of the Society for Technical Communication, he was team leader for the development of the ToxLearn online multi-module tutorials, a joint activity with the SOT. Phil had also been project officer for the LactMed file on drugs and lactation, and the IRIS (Integrated Risk Information System) and ITER (International Toxicity Estimates for Risk) risk assessment databases. Additionally, Phil had been the guiding force behind, and federal liaison to, the World Library of Toxicology, Chemical Safety, and Environmental Health (WLT) prototype, a free global Web portal that provided the scientific community and public with links to major government agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities, professional societies, and other groups addressing issues related to toxicology, public health, and environmental health prior to its migration to the INND/Toxipedia group. This multilingual tool, fed by information from a roster of international Country Correspondents, has been praised as a successful test resource for overcoming barriers to the sharing of information between countries, enhancing collaboration, and minimizing duplication. Currently on hiatus, it awaits a visionary funding source to become operational. A trustee of the Toxicology Education Foundation (TEF), Phil had previously served as its federal liaison. He is a past Chair of SOT’s World Wide Web Advisory Team, and active in its Ethical, Legal, Forensics, and Social Issues Specialty Section. He was a member of the Education and Communications Work Group of the CDC/ATSDR’s National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposure. A co-developer of the Toxicology History Room, he is co-founder and was federal liaison to the Toxicology History Association. For many years he organized and emceed the popular Toxicology Quiz Bowl at the annual SOT meetings. In addition to pursuing toxicology-related activities in his retirement, Phil is happy to have more time to embrace other lifelong interests. He is the author of five poetry collections, a mosaic artist, and a cactus and succulent enthusiast.

Affiliations and expertise

Retired, National Library of Medicine (NLM), Bethesda, MD, USA

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