Tuesday 10 May 2016

Routes of Entry of Toxic Substance into the Body

There are four main routes of entry for the toxic chemical into the body:

INHALATION - the substance is breathed in through the nose and mouth and down into the lungs. This is a significant route of entry for many toxic substances in the form of gas, vapour, mist, fume or dust.

INGESTION - the substance is taken in through the mouth and swallowed down into the stomach and then moves on through the digestive system. Unless there is a mistaken ingestion or cross contamination, this is a less significant route of entry since people are unlikely to swallow deliberately.




ABSORPTION through the skin - the substance passes through the skin and into the tissues beneath and then into the blood stream. Only some substance such as organic solvents can permeate.

INJECTION through the skin - the substance passes through the skin barrier either by physical injection such as needle-stick injury or through damaged skin such as cuts and grazes.

No comments:

Post a Comment