LD50
LD50
LD50 (pronounced "el-dee-fifty"), also known as the lethal dose, 50%, is a measure used in toxicology to determine the dose of a substance that is lethal to 50% of a test population. The term is derived from the abbreviation for "Lethal Dose, 50%".
Etymology
The term "LD50" is an abbreviation of "Lethal Dose, 50%". The concept was first introduced in the early 20th century as a means of quantifying the toxicity of substances. The "50%" refers to the percentage of the test population that the dose is lethal to.
Definition
The LD50 value is a standard measure in toxicology, used to assess the toxicity of a substance. It is the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. LD50 figures are frequently used as a general indicator of a substance's acute toxicity.
Calculation
The LD50 is calculated using statistical methods that estimate the dose that causes death in 50% of the test animals in a dose-response experiment. The dose is usually given in milligrams of the substance per kilogram of the animal's body weight.
Related Terms
- ED50: The dose of a drug that is therapeutically effective in 50% of the population.
- TD50: The dose that causes a toxic effect in 50% of the population.
- LC50: The concentration of a substance in air or water that kills 50% of a population of organisms in a certain amount of time.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on LD50
- Wikipedia's article - LD50
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