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History of Toxicology

Karin Melsom Marek J. Banasik

Poland

updated Apr 20, 2010 by Nick Thorp

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Country Correspondents

Marek J. Banasik
Todd J. Stedeford



Overview

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The foundations of toxicology in Poland date back to the first academic lectures in this field beginning in 1783-86. The lectures were given at the Main Crown School (established in 1364 as the Studium Generale and presently called the Jagiellonian University) in Cracow (Kraków) by a physician and pharmacist named Jan Szaster (1746 - 1793). Another important figure was Józef Sawiczewski (1762 - 1825), who lectured on toxicology to students of pharmacy at the former Kraków University (Jagiellonian University). Further developments in the field of toxicology in Poland were slowed down due to political reasons. Poland's independence as a State was compromised by its partitioning among Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772, 1793, and 1795, which ultimately dissolved the State. In addition, the minimal amount of industrialization and lack of scientific laboratories didn't favor the development of toxicology.

After Poland regained its independence in 1918, the teaching of toxicology together with forensic medicine took place as part of medical and pharmaceutical education. Outside Warsaw (Warszawa), the teaching of toxicology was restricted to methods of detection and identification of chemicals causing poisonings in people. Toxicological analysis was the most often practiced toxicology activity in Poland. This speciality was represented mostly by toxicological chemistry and forensic departments of pharmaceutical university faculties that worked on the needs of forensic medicine. Laboratory analyses outside academic centres were mostly performed by pharmacists. The development of experimental methods and testing equipment for toxicological analyses were more often conducted by specialist institutions, such as the National Institute of Hygiene (http://www.pzh.gov.pl), the Institute of Forensic Research (at present, The Prof. Dr. Jan Sehn Institute of Forensic Research, as well as university departments of forensic medicine.

After World War II, Poland underwent intensive industrialization that resulted in new problems, especially in the field of industrial toxicology. Unfortunately, after the war, there was a lack of laboratory space, laboratory equipment, and most importantly independent scientists, as the majority of researchers were killed by German and Soviet invaders or had fled the country. As a result, the redevelopment of Poland progressed, unguided by scientific influence, and the importance of basic research became an absent priority. However, with the progressive use of chemicals in agriculture, especially plant protection chemicals, fertilizers, and veterinary medicines, a revival in the need for toxicological research began with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of National Defence founding their own research units. Institutes for occupational medicine and safety were established in Lublin, Łódź, Sosnowiec, and Warszawa. An additional developmental stimulus came from strong cooperation between toxicology research institutions and industry in the 1970s.

Toxicology research is undertaken largely at medical colleges and governmental medical institutions, as e.g., the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine NIOM in Łódź, established in 1954. Its scientific division deals mostly with industrial toxicology and occupational pathology. In 1975, NIOM became a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Occupational Health. Nowadays, it provides background research and expertise to the Ministry of Health and serves as an advisory body to the Ministry of the Environment and various governmental agencies, as well as to local administration, trade unions, and industry. In addition, NIOM organizes numerous courses for toxicologists.

The first organization of Polish toxicologists was the Toxicological Section of the Polish Pharmacological Society PPS - click the Polish flag) formed in 1966. The main toxicological interests of PPS were acute and chronic poisonings, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions of medicines, drug addiction, clinical research of medicine poisonings, and toxicological evaluation of new medicines. In the course of time, the scope of research and toxicological problems began to exceed the interests of the Toxicological Section of PPS. Therefore, on March 8, 1978 the Polish Society of Toxicology PST was established. PST is an interdisciplinary scientific society working under the aegis of the Polish Academy of Sciences. It comprises 11 regional sections gathering over 300 members - persons working in experimental and practical toxicology. PST is a member of the Federation of European Toxicologists & European Societies of Toxicology (EUROTOX) and the International Union of Toxicology. In Poland, toxicologists are recruited mostly from pharmacists, physicians, chemists, veterinarians, and graduates of medical analytics.

After the collapse of Communism and the recovery of Poland's full independence in 1989, research in toxicology began to flourish. The information that follows in the resources section is reflective of Poland's commitment to toxicological research and continued growth.

A version of this article was published in Information Resources in Toxicology, 4th Edition, Marek Banasik and Todd Stedeford, Copyright Elsevier (2009).


Government Agencies


Other State Bodies


Non-Government Organizations


Universities


Professional Societies


Poison Control Centers


Miscellaneous Resources


Key Publications

  • Journals
  • Monographs
    • Biochemical Principles of Toxicology
      Biochemiczne podstawy toksykologii, Janusz Hanke and Jerzy K. Piotrowski, Państwowy Zakład Wydawnictw Lekarskich, Warszawa, 1984, 202 pp., ISBN 83-200-0745-3
    • Bioterrorism - Principles of Medical Procedure
      Bioterroryzm - zasady postępowania lekarskiego, Krzysztof Chomiczewski, Janusz Kocik, and Tomasz Szkoda, Wydawnictwo Lekarskie PZWL, Warszawa, 2002, 232 pp., ISBN: 83-200-2684-9
    • Clinical Toxicology
      Toksykologia kliniczna, Tadeusz Bogdanik and Janusz Bielski (eds.), Państwowy Zakład Wydawnictw Lekarskich, Warszawa, 1988, 615 pp., ISBN 83-200-1326-7
    • Compendium of Knowledge about Ecology
      Kompendium wiedzy o ekologii, Jan Strzałko (ed.), Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa, 2005, 3rd ed., 551 pp., ISBN 83-01-13589-1
    • Contemporary Toxicology
      Toksykologia współczesna, Witold Seńczuk (ed.), Wydawnictwo Lekarskie PZWL, Warszawa, 2005, 993 pp., ISBN: 83-200-3128-1
    • Dictionary of Ecology and Environmental Protection
      Słownik ekologii i ochrony środowiska, Eugeniusz Mazur, Uniwersytet Szczeciński, Szczecin, 1995, 251 pp., ISBN 83-85798-74-9
    • Environmental Protection
      Ochrona środowiska, Zdzisław Brodecki (ed.), Wydawnictwo Prawnicze LexisNexis, Warszawa, 2005, 481 pp., ISBN 83-7334-389-X
    • Environmental Protection 2008
      Ochrona Środowiska 2008, Marian Grzesiak and Wiesława Domańska (eds.), Zakład Wydawnictw Statystycznych, Warszawa, 2008, 550 pp., ISSN 0867-3217
    • Environmental Toxicology - Laboratory Exercises - Collective Work
      Toksykologia środowiska - ćwiczenia laboratoryjne - praca zbiorowa, Maria Łebkowska (ed.), Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Warszawskiej, Warszawa, 2004, 2nd ed., 71 pp., ISBN 83-7207-102-0
    • Ergonomics - Industrial and Environmental Toxicology - Choice of Texts
      Ergonomia - toksykologia przemysłowa i środowiskowa - wybór tekstów, Ewa J. Jasińska-Zubelewicz, Wydawnictwo Politechniki Warszawskiej, Warszawa, 1996, 123 pp., ISBN 83-86569-56-5
    • Food Toxicology
      Toksykologia żywności, Maksym Nikonorow and Bogumiła Urbanek-Karłowska, Państwowy Zakład Wydawnictw Lekarskich, Warszawa, 1987, 410 pp., ISBN 83-200-1108-6
    • Food Toxicology without Secrets
      Toksykologia żywności bez tajemnic, Stefan Ball, Medyk, Warszawa, 1998, 144 pp., ISBN 83-87340-55-3
    • Industrial Toxicology
      Toksykologia przemysłowa, Janusz A. Indulski and Jerzy K. Piotrowski (eds.), Instytut Medycyny Pracy im prof. Jerzego Nofera, Łódź, 1993, 268 pp., ISBN 83-86052-007
    • Man, Environment, Threat
      Człowiek, środowisko, zagrożenie, Jerzy Zwoździak (ed.), Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wrocławskiej, Wrocław, 2002, 417 pp., ISBN 83-7085-632-2
    • Organ Toxicology
      Toksykologia narządowa, Andrzej Starek, Wydawnictwo Lekarskie PZWL, Warszawa, 2007, 266 pp., ISBN: 83-200-3314-4
    • Principles of Environmental Toxicology
      Podstawy toksykologii środowiska, Sigmund F. Zakrzewski, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa, 2000, 280 pp. ISBN: 83-01-12417-2
    • Principles of Toxicology
      Podstawy toksykologii, Jerzy K. Piotrowski (ed.), Wydawnictwo Naukowo-Techniczne, Warszawa, 2006, 492 pp., ISBN: 83-204-3122-0
    • Toxicology
      Toksykologia, Witold Seńczuk (ed.), Wydawnictwo Lekarskie PZWL, Warszawa, 2002, 4th ed., 888 pp., ISBN: 83-200-2648-2
    • Toxicology - Select Problems
      Toksykologia - wybrane zagadnienia, Jerzy Brandys (ed.), Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków, 1999, 302 pp., ISBN: 83-233-1267-2
    • Toxicology - Textbook for Pharmacy Students
      Toksykologia - podręcznik dla studentów farmacji, Witold Seńczuk (ed.), Państwowy Zakład Wydawnictw Lekarskich, 1990, 619 pp., ISBN 83-200-1515-4
    • Toxicology of Alcohol - Select Problems
      Toksykologia alkoholu - wybrane zagadnienia, Wojciech Gubała, Wydawnictwo Instytutu Ekspertyz Sądowych, Kraków, 1997, 78 pp., ISBN 83-87425-05-2


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Literature References from TOXLINE (Poland)

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