Prenatal Exposure to Toxicants

A subject of interest in environmental health is the effect of toxic substances upon a developing organism. While other books in this area have addressed laboratory research on animals, "Prenatal Exposure to Toxicants" focuses on the effect of pollutants on the human foetus. The authors begin by outlining the principles of neurodevelopmental toxicology. They then present data on the effects on humans of specific toxicants - lead, methyl mercury, PCBs, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and cocaine. They discuss substances whose toxic effects have been well documented in animals but not yet in humans, such as chemical solvents, pesticides, carbon monoxide and xenostrogens. In a concluding section, they look at methodologic, regulatory and legal issues. Accessible to both the clinical and the developmental specialist, this book should be useful to toxicologists and other environmental health professionals, behavioural scientists, obstetricians, gynaecologists, paediatricians and geneticists.