What is meant by the term “synergism”?
Synergism comes from the Greek word “synergos” meaning working together. It refers to the interaction between two or more “things” when the combined effect is greater than if you added the “things” on their own (a type of “when is one plus one is greater than two” effect). In toxicology, synergism refers to the effect caused when exposure to two or more chemicals at as time results in health effects that are greater than the sum of the effects of the individual chemicals. When chemicals are synergistic, the potential hazards of the chemicals should be re-evaluated, taking their synergistic properties into consideration. What are related terms? In addition to synergism, other terms are used to define the toxicologic interactions. Additive Effect – This action occurs when the combined effect of two or more chemicals is equal to the sum of the effect of each agents given alone (they do not interact in a direct way); for example: 2 + 2 = 4 This effect is the most common when two chemicals
