Monday, February 7, 2011

Snake Venom and What it Does to its Victims

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Depending on the species of snake, there are 5 types of venom that have been identified. Each venom acts differently inside the body of the victim:
  • Neurotoxic venom - Cobras and Mambas - attacks the central nervous system, and starts to affect movement, breathing, swallowing, speech and sight.
  • Haematoxic venom - Boomslang - affects the blood by using up the clotting factors so it no longer coagulates leading to extensive blood loss into the tissues.
  • Cytotoxic venom - Puff Adders - attacks the body cells or tissues, this bite is extremely painful, with much swelling and marked symptoms of shock.
  • Myotoxic venom - sea snakes - attacks the muscles and can lead to death from kidney and heart failure.

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