ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the effects of the purified components that are responsible for tissue damage. It explores on two main components, hemorrhagic and muscle-necrotizing toxins. Snake envenomation causes complicated symptoms, which are often dependent on the species of the snake involved. Although venoms of Elapidae and Hydrophiidae are known to possess potent neurotoxins, Crotalidae venoms usually contain more pharmacologically active compounds than Elapidae and Hydrophiidae, thereby causing more diverse symptoms. Many Crotalidae venoms contain only a small amount of neurotoxins and, thus, no neurotoxic symptoms occur when a person is envenomated. However, most pit vipers cause very strong tissue damaging effects such as edema, hemorrhage, and myonecrosis. In less severe cases, the damage is often localized around the site of the envenomation. In severe cases or at later stages of the envenomation, tissue damage reaches to many internal organs such as the brian, lung, kidney, heart, and liver.
