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Article: Poison and Antidote Actions
- Article from:
- World of Forensic Science
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Thomson Gale. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Poison and Antidote Actions
A variety of chemical and biological compounds can damage tissues, organs, and organs systems of the body.
Amphetamines
,
barbiturates
, and
botulinum toxin
debilitate the nervous system, for example. Other
toxins
produced by bacteria such as
Escherichia coli
and
Vibrio cholerae
can damage the cells lining the intestinal tract. A particularly vicious strain of
E. coli
designated O157:H7 produces a toxin that can permanently disable the kidneys.
These and other poisons can become an important focus of a forensic examination that seeks to determine the cause of an illness or death.
A poison is a compound that produces a deleterious change on or in the ...