Snake Venom

snake venom

Etymology: AS, snacan + L, venenum

a poison produced in glands of certain snakes and injected through fangs into a victim's flesh. The exact composition of snake venoms varies with different species, but generally they are complex mixtures of neurotoxins, proteolytic enzymes, and phosphatases. About 20 of more than 100 North American species of snakes are venomous, accounting for about 8000 snake venom poisonings a year. A venomous snakebite is considered a medical emergency.

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Snake Venom

Venom from poisonous snakes—e.g., water moccasins, cobras, coral snakes, rattlesnakes, etc.—which some health fraudsters claim is useful for arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other conditions
Adverse effects Blurred vision, headaches, vertigo, possibly death

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snake

a limbless reptile; many species are poisonous. See under the names of individual species. See also Table 22.

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snake venom

see snakebite.