We’ll start with two words that seem to do the same job – poisonous and toxic. Then and just for the hell of it, let’s bring on another word – venomous. And while we’re at it let us chuck in the word toxicant in last place. The first three are adjectives that are not interchangeable and they all have different meanings. We’ll give toxicant a run out later.
Let us begin by showing a simple way to explain the difference between venomous creatures and poisonous ones by their bites: If you bite it and you die, it is poisonous; if it bites you and you die, it is venomous.
Anybody with even a passing interest in these matters can tell you that there are three ways that a toxic substance can be administered, namely inhalation (fastest and hardest to protect against), oral (slower and easier to deal with) and dermal (slowest and easiest to stop from working). Anyway, that avenue of thought is probably best left there at least for the purposes of this discussion. Anyone care to discuss albino rats? No? We’ll leave it there then and put it down to me grandstanding like there’s no tomorrow.
But back to the case in point and breaking things down a bit more: to deliver their ‘chemicals’, venomous creatures bite you — they actively inject their deadly mixture into other organisms (such as you) via fangs, spines, stingers, or similar methods of venom delivery. For example, consider Oxyuranus microlepidotus (the inland taipan). This snake is generally believed to have the deadliest venom of any known creature. If this snake bites you, things will go Pete Tong very quickly. A single drop of its venom can kill 100 adult humans. However, the good news is that this snake is very timid, and so it runs (slithers?) away at a rate of knots rather than come into contact with humans.
Another horrifyingly venomous snake is Dispholidus typus, (the boomslang). The average size of these creatures is 1.0 to 1.6 m (3.2 to 5.2 feet). That’s significant because, while many snakes have fangs and mouths that are too small to pose a danger to humans, this is certainly not the case with the boomslang. These creatures are able to open their jaws more than 170 degrees in order to bite their prey. What’s more, the venom of the boomslang is a hemotoxin. This means that it disables the body’s clotting process. That means the unfortunate victim will likely die as a result of internal and external bleeding unless medical treatment is administered.
Fun fact: boomslang venom is also known to induce internal bleeding in muscle and brain tissues.
If you are looking for a more scientific way to define venomous creatures; a venom is:
A secretion, produced in a specialised gland in one animal and delivered to a target animal through the infliction of a wound ‘regardless of how tiny it could be,’ which contains molecules that disrupt normal physiological or biochemical processes so as to facilitate feeding or defence by the producing animal.
Conversely, poisonous creatures secrete their harmful chemicals (often through their skin). In other words, a poisonous creature can only deliver its toxin if you (or another unwary creature) eats it or touches it. For example, let’s look at the poison dart frog (from the Dendrobatidae family). These chaps are rather small, measuring in at just 2 inches (5 cm). However, this tiny amphibian has enough poison on board to kill an estimated 20,000 mice (or about 10 adult humans).
Just out of interest, scientists believe that the poison dart frog, like many other poisonous creatures, gets its deadly concoction from its environment. Research suggests that the frog eats insects that carry the poison and that these insects in turn, get their poison from plants.
According to Oxford Dictionaries, “poisonous organism” can be defined rather simply:
An organism that produces toxins that are harmful when the animal or plant is touched or eaten.
Notably, some creatures are poisonous and venomous. Eat one and you will be poisoned and if it stings you, you will not be venomed – you will have been stung (oh all right – poisoned). And as a final point in the discussion of poison and venom, the word ‘poison’ actually has a rather broad definition; it is simply any chemical substance that causes a biological disturbance in other organisms.
So, what about toxicants (and toxin)? Unlike venom and poison, the word ‘toxin’ is not defined by a specific method of delivery. Rather, a toxin has a broader meaning. It is a biologically produced chemical substance that impacts biological functions in other organisms. In this respect, anything that is synthesised is not considered a toxin. Rather, a ‘toxicant’ is a chemical substance that is synthesised/produced by human activity. In short, toxins and toxicants are narrower definitions for the word ‘poison’.
Keep up at the back, we’re nearly there.
In summary:
• Poisons are any chemical substances that impact biological functions in other organisms.
• Poisonous organisms secrete chemical substances that impact biological functions in other organisms.
• Venomous creatures inject chemical substances that impact biological functions in other organisms.
• Toxins are biologically produced chemical substances that impact biological functions in other organisms.
• Toxicants are synthesised chemical substances that impact biological functions in other organisms.
And there we have it. Are scales falling gently from our eyes? Or is the water still muddy?
It’s decision time and now…
Milord, I rest my case as I lean back in my green leather court chair and puff heartily on my meerschaum…..
This is part of a regular series of articles by Grahame Moody, senior analyst (technical services) of Hazmat Logistics, who can be contacted at sales@hazmatlogistics.co.uk. More information on the company’s activities can be found at www.hazmatlogistics.co.uk.
