POISON APPARATUS

IN SNAKES

Identification of poisonous and Non-poisonous

snakes

Poison apparatus in
snakes

Types of fangs
Proteroglyphous fangs all belong to the elapid family,
which includes cobras, mambas, sea snakes, and coral
snakes. This type of fang is fixed to the front of the
maxilla with groove present anteriorly .

Opisthoglyphous fangs are found only in the colubrid family,

which includes many venomous and non-venomous species.
This type of fang is located at the back of the maxilla with
groove present posteriorly Most rear-fanged snakes are
harmless to humans, but a few, like the boomslang, can be
deadly.
Solenoglyphous fangs belong to the viper family, which
includes pit vipers like rattlesnakes and true vipers .This
type of fang is fixed to a short maxilla and is attached to
the jaw by a hinge, so they can be folded up against the
roof of the mouth when not in use. This folding action
allows vipers to have the longest fangs of all venomous
snakes, with some reaching over two inches long.

Incidence of snake bite

Snake bite

Neurotoxic venom affects central

nervous system which produces
paralysis and respiratory distress
They prevent transmission of nerve
impulse - causing muscle paralysis,
respiratory failure and death by
asphyxiation
Ex: venom of cobra,krait etc

Haemotoxic venom that acts by lysing

erythrocytes. Venoms of this kind have a
proteo-lytic action. They produce swelling,
cardiovascular damage, and eventual necrosis.
They also disrupt blood clotting and in the
process of destroying the blood's functionality,
severely damage internal organs and other
body tissues, which can be extremely painful.
The immediate cause of death in such cases is
usually blood and plasma loss from the
intravascular to the extracellular space,
creating edema
Ex: venom of viper

Snake antivenin is a biological product that typically

consists of venom neutralizingantibodiesderived from
a host animal, such as a horse. The host animal is
hyper-immunized to one or more snake venoms, a
process which creates an immunological response
that produces large number of neutralizing antibodies
against various components (toxins) of the venom. The
antibodies are then collected from the host animal,
and further processed into snake antivenin for the
treatment ofsnake bite.
Anti-venin consists ofantibodies, they bind to the
venom and chemically change it to something that can
not interact with the body, thus neutralizing its
effects.

Credits :

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Wikipedia