MEDICAL BIOLOGY, HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY - Ya.I. Fedoniuk 2010

BIOLOGY

CHAPTER 2. BIOGEOCENOTIC LEVEL OF LIFE ORGANIZATION AND THE PLACE OF HUMANS IN IT

2.6. ORGANISMS VENOMOUS TO HUMANS

Venomous Amphibians

Class Amphibia. Venomous amphibians (toads, salamanders, newts) belong to the category of passively venomous animals.

They lack any special apparatus for venom delivery.

The toxicity of toads is the most widely known. Their Skin contains numerous wart-like poison glands, the two largest being the parotid glands located above the shoulder blades.

Toads can eject the secretion of these glands over a distance of up to 1 m. The activity of these poison glands protects amphibians from predators. Thanks to them,

Prevention: do not handle or crush beetles.

for example, although moving slowly, frogs and toads are rarely attacked by animals and birds. Poisoning in animals, most commonly dogs (when they pick up toads in their mouths), is characterized by hypersalivation, tachycardia, arrhythmia, pulmonary edema, convulsions, and death. In humans, contact of the venom with mucous membranes or eyes causes severe irritation, pain, Conjunctivitis, and keratitis. Toad venom exhibits neurotoxic and cardiovascular effects. In Japan and India, medicinal products are manufactured from toad venom. Among tropical South American species, the highly venomous dyeing poison frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) is well known. Indigenous peoples used its venom to poison arrow tips. Entry of the venom into a wound or skin scratch leads to Muscle paralysis and death.



Last update: 08/08/2026

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