Environmental Toxins: Heavy Metals, Air Pollutants
Start with the big picture
The lesson surveys lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and nickel, linking exposure sources to characteristic findings such as lead-associated anemia and childhood encephalopathy, arsenic-related skin changes and neuropathy, and cadmium-related renal and bone injury. It also introduces air pollutants including carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and tobacco smoke, with emphasis on their mechanisms and target organs. Topics extend to formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds, radon, biomarkers of exposure, high-risk groups, and major mechanisms of toxicity. The preview highlights how source, route, and pattern of injury help organize this broad subject; the full lesson develops these connections in greater detail.
What you'll learn
- Relate major heavy-metal exposures to their characteristic sources and clinical or pathological findings.
- Distinguish selected air pollutants by their mechanisms of injury and affected organ systems.
- Identify examples of biomarkers used to assess toxicant exposure.
- Recognize the role of exposure context and susceptibility in environmental toxicity.
Continue your study
Work through the complete notes and reinforce the topic with the study tools available in the full lesson.
