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How does a toxic chemical cause cell injury and symptoms in the body?
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poison
More than 100 species of mushrooms are known to be poisonous to humans.
Toxic chemicals cause cell injury and symptoms when they accumulate to toxic levels in target tissues or organs, disrupting normal structure and function. This process generally occurs through several biochemical mechanisms:1
- Chemical Interference: Some poisons act as electrophiles, attacking cellular macromolecules like DNA, which can lead to mutations or cancer. Others mimic essential molecules, substituting for them in vital chemical reactions to disrupt cellular processes.2
- Protein Precipitation: Certain substances, such as mercuric salts, cause cell death by precipitating intracellular proteins, a process known as coagulative necrosis.3
- Systemic Disruption: Poisons may act locally at the point of entry—such as acids causing tissue corrosion—or systemically after being absorbed and transported to other organs. For example, methanol is biotransformed into formic acid, which causes systemic metabolic acidosis and optic nerve damage.4
Once cellular injury occurs, the body manifests specific symptoms and signs based on the affected system, ranging from anemia and convulsions to organ failure and death.13