Toxicology

A route of administration is defined as the path by which a drug, fluid, poison, or any other substance is taken into the body

Metallic poisons are inorganic irritant poisons that cause acute as well as chronic toxicity in human beings. These inorganic elements are usually not poisonous in their metallic form but cause toxic effects when combined with other elements to form salts or other compounds.

Venom is the toxic saliva secreted by the salivary glands in snakes, as a part of their defense as well as an attacking mechanism.

Organic irritant poisons are the sub-group category of irritant poisons. The poisons included in this group are based on plant and animal origin.

Castor and Croton are categorized as vegetable poisons commonly found in nature. In fact, castor is the world’s most common poison. Both poisons are easily available to human beings, therefore accidental and suicidal poisoning is very common.

Capsicum and Calotropis are the two irritant vegetable poisons that are commonly found in almost every corner of the globe. They are very familiar to human beings and have been in their utility for ages, even after knowing their poisonous properties.

The person who studies toxicology along with its medicolegal aspects is known as a Forensic Toxicologist. Forensic toxicologists are treated as experts in the court where they represent their opinion based on the analytical results.

The scientists of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a new technique to detect and analyze the fentanyl  in human blood and urine samples, which will be benefiting the fields of medicine as well as forensic chemistry and toxicology.

The scientists at Australia’s first fixed pill-testing site CanTEST discovered a new recreational drug dubbed ‘CanKet’ similar to ketamine but with unknown side effects. Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic typically snorted or injected to provide a high, with common side effects including nausea, vomiting, hallucination, high blood pressure, and confusion. Read more…

Methamphetamine is a psychoactive drug that has stimulating effects on the central nervous system. It is used as a recreational drug and sometimes as a second-line treatment for obesity or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is taken through injections or by smoking. However, it is classified as a class Read more…

Agrochemical poisons are the chemical substances used in agriculture to get rid of the various pests that harm the crops. These are now called pesticides. “Pesticides” are named because of their nature to kill various pests (insects, fungus, rodents, weeds, etc.) that are harmful for the crops. It is an Read more…

Animal poisons are considered as the organic irritant poisons. A number of animals present in nature are poisonous which possess toxic substances in them for their self defense from the predators. The poisons present in such animals is a result of natural selection for their survival. There are certain animal Read more…

Plant poisons are the toxic substances possessed by the plants and known as phytotoxins and the study of poisoning by plants is called phytotoxicology. Most of the plant poisons are organic irritant poisons and are considered as vegetable poisons. However, there are certain species of toxic plants which act as Read more…

Abrus precatorius is an angiospermic plant grown all over India. It is commonly known as jequirity bean, rosary pea, crab’s eye or Indian liquorice. In hindi it is famous as gunchi or ratti.  Scientific classification of Abrus Precatorious Kingdom- Plantae Division- Angiosperm Class- Rosids Order- Fabales Family- Fabaceae Genus- Abrus Read more…

Date rape drugs are the drugs which when administered by a person renders that person vulnerable to drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), most common being rape. DFSA refers to the offences in which the victims are subjected to non-consensual acts while they are incapacitated or unconscious due to the effects Read more…