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Forensic Toxicology

The study and practice of the application


of toxicology to the purposes of the law
Began in 19th Century
Types:
Environmentalair, water, soil
Consumerfoods, cosmetics, drugs
Medical, clinical, forensic

Poison.. What is it?


Any substance that causes
injury, illness, or death
especially by chemical
means.

All Things are poison and


nothing (is) without poison; only
the dose makes that a thing is
no poison.

Paracelsus 1493-1541

Earliest Record of Poison


339

BC Socrates execution- extract of


hemlock (plant related to the carrot.
Contains an alkaloid similar to nicotine
effects the nervous system.
Using poisons became an art; like to use
ones with no trace, because it looked as if
people died from natural causes

Where Toxicology occurs


Postmortemmedical examiner or coroner
Criminalmotor vehicle accidents (MVA)
Workplacedrug testing
Sportshuman and animal
Environmentindustrial, catastrophic, terrorism

Post-Mortem Forensic Tox


Determines

the absence or presence of


drugs & their metabolites.
Chemicals such as ethanol and other
volatile substances, CO and other gases,
metals & other toxic chemicals in human
fluids & tissues & evaluates their role as
a determinant or contributory factor in the
cause & manner of death.

Historical Perspective of Poisoners


Locustapersonal poisoner of Emperor Nero
Lucretia Borgiafather was Pope Alexander VI
She used a ring with poison. She killed her lovers
and her fathers political enemies.

Madame Giulia Toffana


responsible for over 600
successful poisonings,
including two popes She sold
the Toffana Water to women
who wanted to kill their
husbands (lead, arsenic,
belladona) [1600s]

Hieronyma Spara
formed a society to teach
women how to murder their
husbands (arsenic)
To aid women to inherit money
(1600s)

Father of Toxicology
Mathieu Orfila
father of forensic toxicology
published in 1814 Trait des
poisons
which described the first
systematic approach to the study
of the chemistry and
physiological nature of poisons

Aspects of Toxicity
Dosage
The

chemical or physical form of the


substance
The mode of entry into the body
Body weight and physiological
conditions of the victim, including age
and sex
The time period of exposure
The presence of other chemicals in the
body or in the dose

Lethal Dose
LD50 refers to the dose of a substance
that kills half the test population,
usually within four hours
Expressed in milligrams of substance
per kilogram of body weight

Toxicity Classification
LD50 (rat,oral)

Correlation to
Ingestion by 150-lb
Adult Human

Toxicity

<1 mg/kg

a taste to a drop

extreme

150 mg/kg

to a teaspoon

high

50500 mg/kg

to an ounce

moderate

5005,000 mg/kg

to a pint

slight

515 g/kg

to a quart

practically nontoxic

Over 15 g/kg

more than 1 quart

relatively harmless

Symptoms of Poisoning
Type of Poison
Carbon monoxide
Sulfuric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Nitric acid
Phosphorus
Cyanide
Arsenic,
mercury

Symptom/Evidence

Red or pink patches on the chest &


thigh, unusually bright red lividity
Black vomit
Greenish-brown vomit
Yellow vomit
Coffee-brown vomit, onion or garlic odor
Burnt almond odor & slow breathing
Extreme diarrhea & Nausea and vomiting,
unconsciousness, possibly blindness

Impaired speech, lose of vision, pins


and needles feelings

Lead Poisoning
Lead-

not highly poisonous, chronic


exposure can cause health risks (more in
children than adults)
More than 400,000 children under 6
have higher than normal blood levels of
lead which can lead to brain damage,
memory loss and decrease critical
thinking skills

Where is Lead found?


Most

common: Lead based Paints

Lead

is sweet, children would teethed on


windowsills
1992 passed a law houses had to disclose if
they used lead based paint
Lead-gasoline

still remains in soil


Lead pipes- if water is acidic lead can be
leached from metal
Lead crystal should not be used to store
acidic foods or drinks

What can it do to your body?


Lead

poisoning can cause

Brain

damage
Affecting memory & thought processes

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