Toxicology is the study of all adverse effects of drugs and chemicals that can negatively affect biological systems. Forensic toxicology must consider the application of toxicology for the purposes of testimony in court, or in a specific medicolegal context. A forensic toxicologist will need to find answers to questions such as: Did prescription or illegal drugs cause or contribute to this person's death? Did drugs or alcohol adversely affect this person while driving? Or was a drug used to facilitate a criminal act? Finding the answer to questions like these will often require a forensic toxicologist to work collaboratively and share information with people from various law enforcement agencies, forensic pathologists, death investigators, crime scene investigators, physicians, other forensic scientists, and legal professionals . In the field of forensic toxicology, principals will be primarily involved in three main sub-disciplines: post-mortem forensic toxicology, human performance toxicology, and forensic drug testing. All of these sub-disciplines and specialized fields take into account a variety of unusual career paths. When working under the aspect of postmortem forensic toxicology, a forensic toxicologist will work with pathologists, other medical examiners, and coroners to help understand the role of alcohol, drugs, and poisons in the cause of a death. The forensic toxicology section of the laboratory will work to identify and quantify the presence of drugs and chemicals in biological fluids and tissues removed from the body during autopsy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In postmortem toxicology investigations, a wide range of specimens may be encountered, including blood, urine, vitreous fluid from the eye, liver, brain, and other body tissues, as well as hair and nails of the victim or victim. perpetrator of the crime. Once the tests are complete, a forensic toxicologist will need to interpret these results. This information helps a forensic pathologist determine the cause and manner of the victim's death when investigating a crime. The forensic toxicologist uses cutting-edge professional analytical techniques in these tests, similar to those used in hospitals or research laboratories, to isolate and identify drugs and poisons from complicated biological samples. This requires extensive knowledge of analytical chemistry procedures and ability to use instrumental analysis. Forensic toxicology laboratories require the use of a variety of different techniques, including gas chromatography and liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectrophotometry, and antibody-based immunoassays. There are also qualitative and quantitative analysis methods used to determine what drugs or poisons are present in the crime and in what concentration they may be. Forensic toxicologists must acquire an inquisitive mind and the ability to apply their knowledge of chemistry and pharmacology to solve real-world puzzles. Human performance toxicology, professionals deal with the effects of alcohol and drugs on human performance and behavior. Drug and alcohol use can have serious medical-legal consequences and can be implicated in many areas of criminal investigations, ranging from impaired driving, assault and vehicular homicide, to crimes facilitated by drugs such as sexual violence. Analysis based on criminal investigations involves the same application of techniques as death investigations, however, in their case, the samples are generally collected byliving people. Blood and urine are commonly seen, but oral fluids, hair, and other specimens are also used. Forensic toxicologists are primarily asked to determine the timing, concentration, and extent of harm resulting from different patterns of drug and alcohol use. How forensic toxicology interprets test results in this area is what they call their greatest challenge, because it requires the application of knowledge from clinical and medical studies and field experience to give an opinion about the effects of a drug or combination of drugs on an individual at the time of a crime or accident. Forensic drug testing can be performed in a wide variety of other settings which can include the workplace, doping control in sports, probation or parole, as well as rigorous monitoring and testing of just about anything. Drug use by people in the workplace has significant economic and safety consequences. This is especially crucial for people working in dangerous or safety-sensitive industries such as transportation and the military. Unfortunately, the scope of testing of a drug is often limited, but compared to human performance or post-mortem toxicology, the possible test results can be greater. Workplace drug testing labs will perform tens and thousands of tests per day and in many cases and many times will require specialized equipment setups such as the art of multiplexing, which in return will reduce the time spent on analysis and improve productivity . In crimes, urine is the most common specimen analyzed, but oral fluid, hair, sweat, and other matrices are also used if they can be obtained. As with all forensic disciplines, emphasis will be placed on record keeping, chain of custody documentation, rigorous quality control and data management. In forensic toxicology, understanding and communicating results can be more challenging than the analysis they themselves must perform. Results are often determined using scientific tests and procedures that are complex and difficult for most juries and lawyers to understand. In conclusion, a toxicologist must have strong communication skills so that information can be presented fairly and clearly in court testimony. Forensic Toxicologist Job Description As someone who is responsible for analyzing body fluids and tissue samples during autopsies in order to look for the presence of chemicals, a forensic toxicologist will work in laboratories to perform tests on samples collected by investigators at the scene of crime. The work they will have to carry out involves testing for the presence of gases such as carbon monoxide and alcohol; metals; illicit drugs; prescription drugs; poisons and other poisons that can be detected when poisoning or drug overdose is expected to be used in a crime. The work of a forensic toxicologist will be able to help solve criminal cases and these people are often called to testify in a court of law about the results of their investigations. In regards to specialized testing and methodologies employed through the use of highly specific chemical equipment and reagents, a forensic toxicologist will be called upon to determine the facts regarding the presence or absence of chemicals by documenting every step of the process. Most forensic toxicologists will be asked to work for law enforcement agencies, private drug testing facilities, and government medical examiners. A job description, as certified by the board, of a forensic toxicologist will consist of the evaluation ofdeterminants or factors contributing to the cause and manner of death, performing forensic toxicology on human performance, determining the absence or presence of drugs and chemicals in blood, hair, tissue, breath, etc., collaboration with medical examiners and coroners to help establish the role of alcohol, drugs and poisons related to the cause of death, Use of state-of-the-art chemical and biomedical instrumentation, Provision of expert testimony, Compliance with safety, quality control and other administrative criteria. What is toxicology? As mentioned, toxicology is the study of chemical effects on living organisms, particularly on the poisoning of people. Toxicology will consist of studying the symptoms, mechanisms, treatments and detection of poisoning on the body along with any chemicals or toxic agents, the possible factors can be biological, physical or chemical factors. Over time, toxicology and science have evolved relentlessly, allowing individuals access to even greater knowledge of the effects of toxicants on the body and continuing to advance like never before. Toxicology can also be defined as the "science of poisons", because it involves the study of the effects of toxic agents on physical or chemical agents and the possible correlation between the dose of poison and its effect on the exposed body. What is forensic toxicology? Knowledge and training in forensic toxicology will combine the practice of toxicology with other similar disciplines used in the forensic field, including clinical chemistry and pharmacology, with the aim of aiding in the investigation of poisoning-related deaths, regardless of accidental use or intentional or drugs . By examining samples, forensic toxicologists will be able to determine which toxic substances are present, in what amount of concentrations, as well as the effects of the substances and their impact on the body. Forensic toxicology, or also known as death investigation toxicology or post-mortem toxicology, consists of not only the process of determining the presence and amount of toxic substance in the body post-mortem, but a forensic toxicologist also deals with how natural processes of the body affect the substance, including chemical changes and its dilution. Educational Requirements for Forensic Toxicologists Forensic toxicologists must complete, at least the minimum requirement, a bachelor's degree in forensic science, toxicology, chemistry, clinical chemistry, or any other related field, although many forensic toxicologists take it upon themselves to continue earning degrees in this competitive field of forensic science. The core courses involved in a forensic toxicology program will typically consist of general toxicology, principles of forensic science and applied statistics for data analysis, toxic substances, general forensics, and finally special forensic toxicology topics. Forensic toxicology professionals and experts are mostly addressed differently when it comes to colleges and universities. So, relatively, forensic toxicology programs can easily be found in the fields of criminal justice, physiological sciences, medicine, natural sciences, pharmacology, and health sciences. In most general cases, however, individuals are mostly determined to continue their degree by pursuing their graduate training in forensic toxicology through an institution accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Forensic Science Training Programs or briefly called FEPAC. Professional Certification for Forensic Toxicologists Many graduates seeking further training and.