ABSTRACT
Venomous snakes and snake venoms have been an active area of human curiosity since humans’ first encounters with them. In terms of scientific pursuit and experimental biology in toxinology, one can trace the beginnings to the Italian scientist Francesco Redi, who in the 1600s applied the scientific method to the study of venoms. In the centuries since Redi’s scientific investigations, the study of venoms has persisted, focused on gaining an understanding of their mechanism of action, the development of remedies to attenuate the toxic effects of envenoming, and even searching for potential drugs 80within the highly bioactive agents in the venoms. These pursuits continue to this day, utilizing all forms of the current technological and informatics armamentarium available to scientists today. In this chapter, we will attempt to provide a “snapshot” of the study of venomous snakes and their venoms in the field of toxinology with the aim of giving a sense of current activity and a prognosis as to where this domain of toxinology may be heading in the near future.
