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Lecturer(s)
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Vršková Dagmar, MVDr. Ph.D.
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Modrá Helena, doc. MVDr. Ph.D.
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Cahová Jana, MVDr.
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Course content
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Lectures: 1. Definition of toxicology, mechanisms of action of poisons, methods of toxicity evaluation, classification of poisons, historical data 2. Poisoning of animals with inorganic substances (ammonia, cyanides, metal speciation) 3. History of the use of DDT (the film Miraculous Poison), Stockholm Convention, persistent pollutants 4. Animal poisoning by pesticides (historical data, sources of contamination, effects of individual groups of pesticides) 5. Poisoning of animals with alcohols, aldehydes, phthalates, and surfactants. 6. Poisoning of animals with outdoor plants and natural substances from food 7. Rules for toxicity testing of foreign substances on mammals, birds, fish and bees, legislation, and classification 8. Fish poisoning, water eutrophication and its consequences 9. Issues of selected environmental and food chain contaminants in veterinary toxicology (PCB, PAH, "musk compounds") 10. Animal poisoning by metals 11. Drug poisoning 12. Treatment of poisoning 13. Selected legislation related to toxicology. New directions in toxicology (immunotoxicology, reproductive toxicology including the effect of xenoestrogenic substances), biochemical markers of contamination and exposure to poisons, defensive substances Practical lessons: 1. Laboratory safety practices, introduction to practical lessons in veterinary toxicology, local investigation of poisoning, sampling for chemical-toxicological examination, the system of toxicological laboratory examination 2. Poisoning of animals with feed salt, determination of NaCl in liver and feed, determination of chlorides in water (titration methods) 3. Nitrogenous substances poisonings and their diagnosis (determination of methaemoglobin in the blood, determination of nitrates and nitrites in drinking water), carbon monoxide poisoning (determination of carboxyhaemoglobin in the blood - spectrophotometric methods) 4. Insecticide poisoning and their diagnosis (determination of cholinesterase in plasma). 5. Rodenticide poisoning and its diagnosis (determination of anticoagulant rodenticides by TLC, Quick blood clotting test) 6. Mycotoxin poisoning and their diagnosis, a midterm test 7. Phytotoxin poisoning and its diagnosis. Identification of houseplants. Rapeseed poisoning in deer - case presentation, tutorial video. Assignment of case studies (seminar papers) to students 8. Toxicity tests according to OECD, demonstration of toxicity tests on fish, calculation of LC50, instructional videos 9. Fish poisoning - local investigation, solution of current cases of fish poisoning, practical examples of ammonia and oxygen level calculations 10. Fish poisoning - examination of water parameters (practical determination, titration methods), a biological test of water toxicity. Examples of fish poisoning in fish farms 11. Bee poisoning, an overview of bee toxicity tests, diagnosis of bee poisoning. Credit test. 12. Solution and presentation of case studies 13. Solution and presentation of case studies, credit awarding
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Lectures, Seminars, Laboratory and desk-based work
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Learning outcomes
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The aim of the subject of toxicology is to acquaint students with the general principles of the effects of toxic substances, with methods of evaluating the toxicity of foreign substances, with the mechanisms of action of individual toxicants, with clinical and pathoanatomical manifestations of poisoning, with poisoning therapy and preventive measures. Great emphasis is placed on solving case studies of animal poisoning. Attention is also paid to the fate of toxic pollutants and their environmental risks, and all related legislation
Theoretical knowledge The student is able to: - classify poisons, can describe their main sources and mechanisms of action of toxic substances, - deduce the clinical symptoms of individual poisonings, even in relation to interspecies differences, they can describe a typical pathological finding in individual types of poisoning, - describe the methods of laboratory analysis used to detect toxins in samples and the principles of these methods, - and they can identify suitable samples for the detection of a particular poison, - depending on the year of study, students can propose and justify the basic treatment of a given type of poisoning, - name poisons which, in addition to having a direct effect on animals, can contaminate the environment and the food chain, and explain what impact they will have. Practical skills The student is able to: - process samples intended for basic toxicological examinations, analyse tissue, blood, feed water and feed samples using spectrophotometry (haemoglobin derivatives), titration (simple inorganic substances and ions), thin-layer chromatography (pesticides), coagulometry (blood coagulation cascade). Competences The student is able to: - independently assess the potential risk of poisoning in certain circumstances and assess interspecies sensitivity, - keep a proper investigation protocol of poisoning, can name its requirements, and explain its specifics for individual animal species, - based on case studies, synthesize information from the area of differential diagnosis of poisoning and the area of the evaluation of clinical and pathological-anatomical symptoms of poisoning. They can propose solutions to the situation both in terms of therapy and prevention of the risk of poisoning to other animals or environmental components, - evaluate the results of toxicological analyses against the legal maximum limits and physiological values and compare them to the toxicological parameters of lethal doses and concentrations, - interpret the legal consequences of accidental and intentional poisoning, - report suspected poisoning.
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Prerequisites
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unspecified
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Written exam, Written credit test
Credit requirements: - attendance at all practical lessons according to the syllabus; - absences need to be excused if possible in advance; missed practicals may be rescheduled after prior agreement with the teacher, or they may be replaced by an individual consultation; - theoretical preparation is a prerequisite for practicals (a knowledge checking at the beginning of each practical); - elaboration and presentation of case study; - successful midterm and credit test according to the syllabus (the pass mark is 75% for each test), a maximum of two resits. Exam requirements: - students need to have acquired the final credit to be admitted to the exam; - the exam is written test containing 15 open questions
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Recommended literature
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PLUMLEE, K. H. et al:. Clinical Veterinary Toxicology. Mosby St. Louis, 2003, 477 p..
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