Screening for teratogenic hazards: nature of the problems.

State of the art teratology is sufficient to develop a screening system of teratogenic hazard potential if one remembers the basic developmental biology underlying teratogenesis. Understanding of teratogenic mechanisms may provide better systems but such knowledge is not yet available. The system described is an interim step and may not prove valid. Hopefully Karnofsky's law will remain in our attention thereby permitting our realization that the question, "Is table salt teratogenic?" is naive and largely irrelevant. The answer is "Yes" from the viewpoint of total well-being of the conceptus. What the question is really asking is: "What is the developmental hazard potential of table salt?" This question can be answered quantitatively and it is, "No, it is not a developmental hazard because it is a coeffective teratogen with a developmental hazard index of less than 0.1." If we could all understand these basics, we could realistically proceed to safeguard your grandchildren and mine.