摘要:Immunotoxicity encompasses both reduced and heightened immune function. Diverse chemicals can impair functioning of the immune system. Both monographs and books have been devoted to detailed descriptions of immunotoxicity. This paper gives a brief overview of the methods currently used to assess the immunotoxic potential of chemicals. It also discusses the trend toward the use of alternative methods to mammalian models, such as feral species, in vitro assays, and computational models. The strategy of using a tier approach to screen chemicals for immunotoxicity is described, together with the rationale for, and limitations of, this approach. Interpretation of data with regard to clinical disease and human health is addressed. The immune system poses substantial complexities in this regard as the system has functional reserve and functional redundancy. Full text Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (1.8M), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References . 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540