the.com/neurotoxicity

When a substance treats your neurons like a casualty list instead of coworkers.

means Neurotoxicity is the capacity of a substance to damage or destroy nerve cells and disrupt the nervous system's normal function.

from Built from Greek 'neuron' (sinew, nerve) and 'toxikon,' which originally meant the poison smeared on arrows — from 'toxon,' a bow. So the word carries, buried in it, the image of an archer's poison: toxicity has meant 'arrow-poison-ness' since before anyone knew what a nerve cell was. 'Neuro-' got bolted on as neuroscience formalized in the 20th century, giving the old poison-word a precise new target.

common culprits
lead, mercury, pesticides, certain snake venoms
sneaky part
damage can be silent for years before symptoms
body's defense
blood-brain barrier blocks most, not all, toxins
dose matters
even water is neurotoxic in absurd excess
the.com · every word