Developmental toxicity is any structural or functional alteration, reversible or irreversible, which interferes with homeostasis, normal growth, differentiation, development or behaviour, and which is caused by environmental insult (including drugs, lifestyle factors such as alcohol, diet, and environmental chemicals or physical factors). Developmental toxicology is a science studying adverse developmental outcomes. This term has widely replaced the early term for the study of birth defects, teratology

Teratology

Teratology is the study of abnormalities of physiological development. It is often thought of as the study of human birth defects, but it is much broader than that, taking in other non-birth developmental stages, including puberty; and other non-human life forms, including plants.- Etymology :The...

, to enable inclusion of a more diverse spectrum of adverse developmental outcomes.

Typical factors causing developmental toxicity are radiation

Radiation

In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...

, infections (e.g. rubella

Rubella

Rubella, commonly known as German measles, is a disease caused by the rubella virus. The name "rubella" is derived from the Latin, meaning little red. Rubella is also known as German measles because the disease was first described by German physicians in the mid-eighteenth century. This disease is...

), maternal metabolic imbalances (e.g. alcoholism

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

, diabetes, folic acid

Folic acid

Folic acid and folate , as well as pteroyl-L-glutamic acid, pteroyl-L-glutamate, and pteroylmonoglutamic acid are forms of the water-soluble vitamin B9...

 deficiency), drugs (e.g. anticancer drugs, tetracyclines, many hormones, thalidomide

Thalidomide

Thalidomide was introduced as a sedative drug in the late 1950s that was typically used to cure morning sickness. In 1961, it was withdrawn due to teratogenicity and neuropathy. There is now a growing clinical interest in thalidomide, and it is introduced as an immunomodulatory agent used...

), and environmental chemicals (e.g. mercury

Mercury poisoning

Mercury poisoning is a disease caused by exposure to mercury or its compounds. Mercury is a heavy metal occurring in several forms, all of which can produce toxic effects in high enough doses...

, lead

Lead poisoning

Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems...

, dioxins

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds are by-products of various industrial processes, and are commonly regarded as highly toxic compounds that are environmental pollutants and persistent organic pollutants . They include:...

, tobacco smoke).

Sources

J.M. Rogers and R.J. Kavlock. Developmental toxicology, in Casarett & Doull's Toxicology (ed. C.D. Klaassen), 6th ed., pp. 351–386, McGraw-Hill, New York 2001. ISBN 0-07-134721-6.