Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Boomslang venom causes disseminated intravascular coagulation, a condition in which so many small clots form in the blood that the victim loses the ability to clot further and bleeds to death. Later that evening, Schmidt felt slightly ill. By the next morning, the lethal effects of the venom rapidly became evident.
The boomslang is a colubrid snake within the subfamily Colubrinae. It belongs to the genus Dispholidus, which contains two other species, D. pembae and D. punctatus. The boomslang is thought to be closely related to members of the genera Thelotornis, Thrasops, Rhamnophis, and Xyelodontophis, with which it forms the taxonomic tribe Dispholidini. [4]
Enzymes in venom play an important role in the digestion of prey, [4] and various other substances are responsible for important but non-lethal biological effects. [2] Some of the proteins in snake venom have very specific effects on various biological functions, including blood coagulation, blood pressure regulation, and transmission of nerve ...
The venom of some opisthoglyphous snakes is strong enough to harm humans; notably, herpetologists Karl Schmidt and Robert Mertens were killed by a boomslang and a twig snake, respectively, [2] [3] after each underestimated the effects of the bite and failed to seek medical help.
Despite the fact that many Australian snakes have unusually potent venom, wide access to antivenom, which is available for all dangerous species, [38] has made deaths exceedingly rare. It is believed that up to 1,500 definite or suspected snakebites occur in Australia each year, of which about 200 are serious enough to warrant antivenom therapy.
Miller, a 13-year-old boy from Bluffton, South Carolina, was reportedly bitten by a rattlesnake around June 4, 1958, and then succumbed to the effects of the bite 6 days later on June 10 at a nearby Ridgeland, South Carolina hospital, according to SC Certificate of Death #58008751. September 26, 1957 Karl P. Schmidt, 67, male: Boomslang
Experts say vehicle-based attacks are simple for a 'lone wolf' terrorist to plan and execute, and challenging for authorities to prevent.
Venom metering is the ability of a snake to have neurological control over the amount of venom released into a target during a strike based on situational cues. This ability would prove useful as venom is a limited resource, larger animals are less susceptible to the effects of venom, and various situations require different levels of force.