​INTOXICATION (Lat. toxicare, intoxicare, to smear with poison, toxicum, an adaptation of Gr. τοξικόν, sc. φάρμακον, a poison smeared on arrows; τόξον, bow), poisoning, or the action of poisons, whether of drugs, bacterial products, or other toxic substances, and hence the condition resulting from such poisoning, particularly the disorder of the nervous system produced by excessive drinking of alcohol (see Inebriety and Drunkenness).