LD50: Difference between revisions
(Created page with "<html><div class="mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr" id="mw-content-text" lang="en"><p>The <b>LD50</b> (Lethal Dose 50) is the dosage of a chemical substance at which 50% of the sample population dies. This measurement is used primarily as a way of comparing toxicities of various substances (for instance, <a class="mw-redirect" href="/index.php?title=Anesthetics" title="Anesthetics">anesthetics</a>). It is also used as a method of determining the <i>maximum</i> safe dosage. </p>...") |
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'''LD50''' (Lethal Dose 50) is the dosage of a chemical substance at which 50% of the sample population dies. This measurement is used primarily as a way of comparing toxicities of various substances (for instance, [[Anesthetics]]). It is also used as a method of determining the ''maximum'' safe dosage. | |||
It is important to emphasize, however, that this is a ''mortality statistic''. At LD50, 50% of the sample population has died. It is entirely possible, and probable, that there have been deaths before LD50 was reached. As a result, LD50 dosages should be treated as the absolute upper bound, not as a safe upper bound. | |||
LD50 is measured in mass of substance per mass of body mass (i.e. milligrams per kilogram), thereby giving the relative toxicity of a given chemical. An LD50 of 5mg/kg would be considered to be ''lower'' than 10mg/kg, thereby making the first substance the more potentially toxic of the two. | |||
Latest revision as of 06:55, 17 September 2023
LD50 (Lethal Dose 50) is the dosage of a chemical substance at which 50% of the sample population dies. This measurement is used primarily as a way of comparing toxicities of various substances (for instance, Anesthetics). It is also used as a method of determining the maximum safe dosage.
It is important to emphasize, however, that this is a mortality statistic. At LD50, 50% of the sample population has died. It is entirely possible, and probable, that there have been deaths before LD50 was reached. As a result, LD50 dosages should be treated as the absolute upper bound, not as a safe upper bound.
LD50 is measured in mass of substance per mass of body mass (i.e. milligrams per kilogram), thereby giving the relative toxicity of a given chemical. An LD50 of 5mg/kg would be considered to be lower than 10mg/kg, thereby making the first substance the more potentially toxic of the two.