ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the issue of clinical toxinology of animal venoms and poisons on a global scale. Clinical toxinology is essentially the medical study/specialty of "natural" toxin effects on man, and the medical management of the associated illnesses. Fundamental to any understanding of clinical toxinology is a clear and detailed knowledge of the animals that produce or deliver the toxins. The reasons for requiring a good knowledge of the toxins, including basic toxicology and pharmacology, are obvious, for it is through this that the clinical effects in man can be understood, explained, and countered by therapies. Increasingly laboratory investigations have a role to play in the diagnosis and management of animal toxin related illness. In some sense, clinical treatment is the core of clinical toxinology, but as in many other areas of medicine, while very important, it is often the correct diagnosis which is crucial to optimal outcome for the patient.
