Toxicology and Toxinology

Question 1

What is a poison?

Answer 1

Any substance capable of producing an undesirable response in a biological system seriously affecting function or causing death

Question 2

What is a toxin?

Answer 2

A naturally produced poison

Question 3

What is a toxicant?

Answer 3

Produced by humans or a by product of human activities

Question 4

Toxicity

Answer 4

Amount of toxin under defined conditions that will result in biological damge

Question 5

Half life

Answer 5

amount of time required for half the poison to be eliminated from the body

Question 6

Physiological half life

Answer 6

amount of time required for half the poison to be removed from the body

Question 7

Part per million (ppm)

Answer 7

amount of toxicant in another substance

Question 8

LD50

Answer 8

dose that is lethal for 50% of the population

Question 9

Evenomation is

Answer 9

process of venom being injected into the body by a snake, arachnid, insect, marine life or other nasty creepy crawly

Question 10

Clinical syndromes of snake bites

Answer 10

coagulophathy, neurotoxicity, myotoxicity, renal impairment, local reactions

Question 11

Severe evonomation can lead to:

Answer 11

dizziness, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, hypotension

Question 12

Signs and Symptoms of snake bites

Answer 12

1 or 2 small puncture wounds approx 1 cm apart
Bleeding and venom residue at site
Pain, swelling and redness

Question 13

Non-specific systemic symptoms:

Answer 13

nausea and vomiting, headache, abdo pain, diarrhoea, diaphoresis

Question 14

Coagulopathy

Answer 14

Procoagulants: potent pro-thrombin activator that converts prothrombin to thrombin which leads to massive fibrinogen degradation

Question 15

Presynaptic Toxins

Answer 15

depletion of pre-synaptic vesicles and prevention of vesicle recycling leads to flaccid muscle paralysis and catecholamine release
competitively blocks postsynaptic ACh receptors leading to flaccid paralysis

Question 16

Myotoxicity

Answer 16

Affects muscles with local or generalised tenderness and weakness which may lead to rhabdo

Question 17

Signs and symptoms of redback spider bite

Answer 17

local symptoms: sharp transient pain, increased pain at site radiating to local lymph nodes, local sweating
systemic effects: tachycardia, nausea and vomiting, dizziness and fainting, muscle weakness and spasms, remote pain

Question 18

Treatment of redback spider bite

Answer 18

DO NOT PRESSURE IMMOBILISE

Question 19

Sydney Funnel Web Spider bite

Answer 19

gross muscle twitching, catecholamine release, glandular hypersecretion due to development of uncontrollable spontaneous APs in skeletal and autonomic muscle, tachycardia and hypertension, anxiety

Question 20

Treatment of funnel web bite

Answer 20

pressure immobilisation

Question 21

blue Ringed Octopus

Answer 21

Blockade of nerve conduction cause by Textrodotoxin which prevents AP propogation by Na channel blockage leading to paralysis
Treat with pressure immobilisation