lethal dose
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The amount of a substance that causes death: A "lethal dose" is the specific quantity of a drug, poison, or other chemical agent that is sufficient to kill an organism, typically a human or animal.
Usage
- The term is most commonly used in scientific, medical, and toxicological contexts to quantify toxicity.
- It is often abbreviated as LD, most frequently seen as LD50 (Lethal Dose, 50%), which refers to the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population.
Examples
- Noun:
- The researchers calculated the lethal dose of the new compound for laboratory mice.
- Ingesting a lethal dose of that medication can cause rapid organ failure.
- The LD50 value is a standard measure of a substance's acute toxicity.
Advanced Usage
- "Median lethal dose (LD50)": This is the statistically derived dose at which 50% of the test population is expected to die. It is a crucial metric in toxicology.
- The pesticide's median lethal dose (LD50) was established through rigorous testing.
Variants and Related Words
- Lethality (n): The capacity to cause death; the quality of being lethal.
- The lethality of the venom varies by species.
- Sublethal dose (n): A dose that causes harmful effects but is not sufficient to cause death.
- Exposure to a sublethal dose may still result in long-term health complications.
Synonyms
- Fatal dose: A dose that results in death.
- Toxic dose: A dose that causes poisoning or harmful effects (this can be broader than strictly lethal).
Related Phrases
- Lethal injection (n): A method of execution or euthanasia involving the administration of a lethal dose of drugs.
- Lethal injection is a controversial form of capital punishment.
- Minimum lethal dose (MLD or LDmin) (n): The smallest dose that has been reported to cause death.
- Determining the minimum lethal dose is challenging due to individual variations.
Noun
- the size dose that will cause death