Toxicology Problem Set

Problem 5: Dose

Who has the largest dosage of aspirin?

A.	an adult woman who weighs 125 lb and took 300 mg of aspirin
B.	a teenage boy who weighs 135 lb and took 600 mg of aspirin
C.	a baby who weighs 20 lb and took 100 mg of aspirin
D.	a chihuahua who weighs 5 lb and took 50 mg of aspirin The dose is the specific amount of a chemical that enters the body. Dosage is the amount of chemical per unit of body weight. Often the two words are used interchangeably. For example the adult woman weighs 125 lb and took 300 mg of aspirin. Her dose is 300mg/125 lb or 2.4 mg/lb. It is important to express dose in terms of body weight because a small person who ingests the same amount of a chemical as a large person receives a much higher dose.