Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology

Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2001

Technical Books Section

(Page 19)

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POISONS TOXIC TO ANIMALS

 Veterinary Toxicology, 1^st Edition  by Joseph D. Roder,
Butterworth Heinemann, PO Box 382, Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford, OX2 8RU; x + 403 pages: ISBN 0-7506-7240-4. Publication Date 2001: Price, £32.50.

This book on veterinary toxicology is a sheer pleasure to read from beginning to end. The thing that impressed me most was that the information is given in very short succinct sentences, trimming off the "extra fat" so to say. The book is divided into six chapters of which the fourth (Alphabetical listing of common poisons) forms the major bulk of the book.

As a forensic toxicologist, what interest did I have in veterinary toxicology? Well, I discovered that most of the poisons we study in human poisonings are the same in veterinary toxicology too. There is mention of Spanish Fly, arsenic, cyanide, copper, cannabis and a host of other poisons which we encounter day in and day out in our casualty wards. The additional spin-off was that I discovered how animals are treated. Stomach wash in humans for instance is a rather "taken-for-granted" procedure, in which we don't anesthetize the patient. This is quite natural because we can explain to the patient what we are doing is for his benefit. This obviously can not be done with animals, and thus we hear that the animal has to be anesthetized before carrying out this procedure.

A complete listing of poisons dealt with in this book. Readers may want to compare this list with that appearing in "Drug effects on Psychomotor Performance" (page 3) and "Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man" (page 4)

1. Acetaminophen 2. Acute Bovine Pulmonary Edema (3-Methyl Indole) 3. Aflatoxin 4. Allium (Onion intoxication) 5. Amitraz 6. Anticoagulant rodenticides 7. Arsenic 8. Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) 9. Bluebonnets 10. Blue-Green Algae 11. Botulism 12. Bracken Fern 13. Bromethalin 14. Bufo (Toad poisoning) 15. Cantharidin (Blister Beetle) 16. Cardiac Glycosides 17. Chocolate poisoning (Theobromine) 18. Cholecalciferol 19. Coal Tar 20. Cocklebur 21. Copper 22. Corrosives 23. Cyanide 24. Death Camas (Zigadenus spp.)

25. Fescue (Festuca Arundinacea) 26. Fluoride 27. Fumonisin 28. Gossypol 29. Herbicides 30. Hydrogen Sulfide 31. Insoluble Oxalate Containing plants 32. Ionophores 33. Iron 34. Ivermectin 35. Lantana camara 36. Larkspur 37. Lead 38. Locoweed 39. Marijuana 40. Metaldehyde 41. Molybdenum 42. Mycotoxins 43. Nitrate Intoxication 44. Nonprotein Nitrogen 45. NSAIDs 46. Noxious gases 47. Oak (Quercus spp.) 48. Organochlorines

49. Organophosphorus and carbamate 50. Petroleum products 51. Phenolics and Coal Tars 52. Pigweed 53. Poison Hemlock 54. Pyrethroids 55. Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids 56. Red Maple 57. Selenium 58. Senna 59. Slaframine 60. Soaps and Detergents 61. Sodium ion Toxicosis 62. Soluble oxalate containing plants 63. Sorghum 64. Spiders 65. Strychnine 66. Sulfur 67. Trichothecenes 68. Tricyclic antidepressants 69. Venomous reptiles 70. Water Hemlock 71. White snakeroot 72. Yellow Star Thistle 73. Zinc

The author seems to have a knack of explaining difficult concepts in simple terminologies and in short sentences with very few words. Sample this piece on page 14-15, where he explains the "not-so-easy" concept of Volume of Distribution in these lines:

• Mathematical description of the volume of fluid in the body in which a toxin must be dissolved to equal the serum concentration.
• Vd is often larger than body water volume
• Vd is not a physiologic parameter
• The term Vd also may be used for estimation of elimination mechanisms
• If Vd is large (>5 L/kg)
  • plasma concentration is low
  • toxin is bound or concentrated in tissues
  • toxin is not amenable to dialysis
  • examples: digitalis, organochlorines, opiates
• If Vd is small (<1 L/kg),
  • Plasma concentration is high
  • Toxin is more accessible for dialysis
  • examples: ethanol, salicylate, theophylline

Undoubtedly these few lines go a long way in clarifying the concept of Volume of Distribution in the mind of students and experts alike.

Through clear, simple and illustrative diagrams like this, the author has been able to explain several difficult concepts very easily. In this couple of diagrams (appearing on page 57), the author shows a fully functional cell on the left. The cell membrane can easily be seen to be acting as an effective barrier to some ions, which is necessary for the integrity of the cell. On the right is shown a dysfunctional and dying cell, whose cell membrane has been rendered dysfunctional by a toxin. All ions can move freely across the cell membrane. This rapidly brings the cell machinery to a stop.

The author follows this approach of presenting the information in short succinct sentences throughout the book. At several places difficult concepts are explained with the help of clear line diagrams. On page 57 for instance, the author explains how toxins bring about the cell death in two simple diagrams. In the first diagram, a fully functional cell is shown with an intact cell membrane, which is able to keep potassium, calcium and sodium ions in different compartments. In the second diagram a cell damaged by a hypothetical toxin is shown. The cell membrane is shown to be broken (intramembrane gaps are shown). This causes all ions to get distributed equally across the cell membrane, bringing about cell death. The toxin induces the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This increases the permeability of the mitochondria and a chain reaction of peroxidation within the cell membrane.

Chapter four is packed with information. And once again the author imparts the information in easy-to-understand short sentences. Several subheadings appear under each poison. Some of these are (i) General (ii) source (iii) species affected (iv) clinical signs (v) toxicity (vi) mechanism of action (vii) diagnosis (viii) treatment (ix) prognosis (x) prevention. A long list of references appears after each single poison. Mechanism of action of poisons, which is not always the easiest thing to understand, has been explained in a very simple and easy style. I was most impressed to read the mechanism of action of poisons, which has been explained in a very simple manner.

I would heartily recommend this book to all veterinary doctors and students as a ready reference book. I am basically a forensic pathologist taking the work load of clinical and forensic toxicology too, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would imagine people like me must be able to enjoy the book too.

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-Anil Aggrawal

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