A Review of Toxicology Textbooks Published in Turkey from 1920 to the Present with Regard to Content and Terminology - Türkiye’de 1920’den Günümüze Kadar Basılmış Olan Toksikoloji Ders Kitaplarının İçerik ve Terminoloji Bakımından İncelenmesi

Toxicology, while considered a young science compared with its counterparts, has ancient roots. The field has emerged from a focus on the endpoint of death to a further focus on the determination of potential adverse effects of xenobiotics to define protective and therapeutic measures. Education in toxicology should cover a very large number of issues, both fundamental and applied, and should create a comprehensive knowledge base for both students and young toxicologists. The initial objective of this study was to assess the first toxicology textbooks published in Turkey. Preliminary search revealed a book, Kimyevi Toksikologi (Chemical Toxicology) (1920), written in Ottoman Turkish by M. Akif Aykut; the book was reprinted in Latin characters in 1937. Another book, Toksikologia (Toxicology) (1931), written by Fazli Faik Yegul, was also re-edited in 1945. Several other sources regarding toxic substances and treatments from a forensic point of view (Celal Tahsin Boran, 1943), toxicology (Remziye Hisar, 1945), and analytical toxicology (Hayri Sozen, 1950) were of note. After the 1960s, various textbooks related to general or specific areas in this field have been published. Among this literature, books written by Mustafa Guley and Nevin Vural (1978), Zeliha Imre (1988) and Nevin Vural (1984, 1996, 2005) remained as well-known references for many years. Toxicology textbooks have been reviewed with regard to content and terminology. The terminological evolution over time is of note, and historical terms such as “edviye-drugs”, “kiyanos-cyanide”, “ku’ul-alcohol”, “sumum-u madeniye-metallic poisons”, and “tesemmum-poisoning” have been abandoned. Our study also revealed that the focus of toxicology have expanded to elucidate the mechanisms of toxicity, and  responses and sensitivity of exposed individuals. Ozet Toksikoloji, benzerleriyle karsilastirildiginda, genc olarak kabul edilmekle birlikte, kokeni eskilere dayanan bir bilim dalidir. Ilk donemlerde, esas olarak olum dikkate alinmis; zaman icinde koruma ve tedaviye yonelik uygulamalar icin, ksenobiyotiklerin olasi zit etkilerinin belirlenmesi yonunde  ilerleme kaydedilmistir. Toksikoloji egitimi, hem teorik hem uygulamali olarak, cok genis kapsamda ele alinmali; ogrenciler ve genc toksikologlar icin butunsel bir bilgi kaynagi olusturmalidir. Bu calismada, Turkiye’de basilmis ilk toksikoloji ders kitaplarindan baslanarak degerlendirme yapilmasi amaclanmistir. On arastirmalarimizda, M. Akif Aykut tarafindan 1920’de Osmanlica yazilmis ve 1937’de Latin harfleriyle tekrar basilmis olan Kimyevi Toksikologi isimli esere ulasilmistir. Diger bir kitap olan Toksikologia (Toksikoloji) (1931), Fazli Faik Yegul tarafindan yazilmis ve 1945’te ikinci basimi yapilmistir. Adli acidan toksik maddeler ve tedavileri (Celal Tahsin Boran, 1943), toksikoloji (Remziye Hisar, 1945) ve analitik toksikoloji (Hayri Sozen, 1950) konularini iceren kaynaklar da dikkat cekmektedir. 1960’lardan sonra, temel toksikoloji veya uzmanlik alanlarinda bircok kitap basilmistir; bunlar arasinda, ozellikle Mustafa Guley ve Nevin Vural (1978), Zeliha Imre (1988) ve Nevin Vural'in (1984, 1996, 2005) ders kitaplari, onemli kaynaklar arasindadir. Belirtilen bu kitaplar ve digerleri, icerik ve terminoloji acisindan incelendiginde tespit edilen terminolojik degisimin ornekleri arasinda, “edviye-ilaclar”, “kiyanos-siyanur”, ku’ul–alkol”, “sumum-u madeniye-metalik zehirler” ve “tesemmum-zehirlenme” sayilabilir. Bu arastirmada, toksikolojinin; toksik etki mekanizmalari, maruz kalan bireylerin yanit ve duyarliliklarinin detayli degerlendirilmesine odakli bir gelisim kaydettigi de gozlenmistir.