Toxicology and Poisons
Hope Lively B7
What is Poison?
A poison is a substance that is capable of causing an illness or lead death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed.
A toxicant "All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison, The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy." Paracelsus(1493-1541)
The shape, size, and solubility of the toxicant will determines how easily it will enter the body, how it will distribute within the body, and the rate of its excretion from the body.
Example: Herbicide 2, 4-D is toxic to dandelions but not grass.
Example: Herbicide 2, 4-D is toxic to dandelions but not grass.
Cyanide
Symptoms: Headache, Nausea and vomiting, Rapid breathing Rapid heart rate, Restlessness, Weakness.
Detect:Symptoms come quick in cyanide, a low cost kit that detects the poison in 3-8 seconds in liquids and such as water and in 2-8 minutes in any food. These detectors allow emergency personnel to react timely and save the victim.
Historical case: Adolf Hitler consumed at Cyanide capsule killing him almost instantly in 1945.
Arsenic
Symptoms: Abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, dark urine, dehydration, vertigo, delirium, shock and death.
Detect: Low cost and easy to use detectors are used to test Arsenic. The color based test detects arsenic in food, water, urine, and other materials.
Historical case: 1975 Audrey Marie Hilley killed her family with Arsenic to collect their life insurance money.
Poisons are difficult to detect
Not all poisons are easily detected by comprehensive drug screens.
Parts of the body that will be tested
Toxicologists test body fluids, body tissue, the brain, spleen and liver to detect poisons.