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Venom and poison both are toxic substances that have the potential to cause severe harm but they differ in their method of delivery into the victim’s body. In the context of animals, the word poisonous is often used to mean the same thing as venomous, but there is a difference made between the two terms in scientific terms. While the word poison can refer to any substance that is by nature harmful to a living thing, the word venom is a poisonous substance which is produced in the body of an animal and is actively used to cause harm through injection.
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Key Terms: Venom, Poison, Venomous Snake, Toxins, Amphibians, Spiders
What are Venom and Poison?
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Poison is a toxic substance that finds its way into the body through swallowing, inhaling, or absorbing from the skin.
- Poisonous animals tend to be passive-aggressive—they often don’t actively attack their prey but release their toxins when scared, touched, or disturbed.
- One can also find plants that are poisonous and if touched or eaten can cause serious harm to the victim.
- In short, if a person bites or eats something, that substance is poisonous.
- For example, a cane toad, which secretes toxins from glands on each shoulder, is a poisonous animal.
- It has to be ingested or licked to cause harm.
- Poison ivy is an example of a poisonous plant—touching it can result in an itchy and sometimes painful rash.
Poisonous Animal
Venom is a specialized type of poison and has evolved for specific purposes.
- It is injected into the body of the victim through a bite or a sting because venom has a mixture of small and large molecules, which needs a wound to be able to enter into the body, and to the bloodstream in order to be effective.
- And so, venomous animals are more active in defending themselves.
- For example, a taipan, which injects venom through syringe-like teeth, is a venomous animal.
- Jellyfish are also venomous and inject venom into skin using venom-filled harpoon-like structures that shoot out from cells along their tentacles when touched.
Venomous Animal(Snake)
Difference between Venom and Poison
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Venom and poison despite being similar have a range of differences. A brief differentiation between the two is given below:
| Venom | Poison |
|---|---|
| Enters the body through a bite or a sting. | Enters the body by swallowing, inhaling, or when absorbed by the skin. |
| Primarily venom is used to spun or kill a prey. | Usually, poison is secreted for deterrence against a potential predator. |
| Fangs, teeth, or spiny protrusions on the body secrete venom. | Poison is secreted by the skin. |
| Snakes such as the black mamba is a venomous animal. | The dart frog is an example of a poisonous animal. |
Venomous and Poisonous Animals
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Many animals are dangerous due to the toxins they secrete but while some of them are venomous in nature, others are poisonous. A brief description of animals whether they are venomous or poisonous is given below.
Venomous Animals
Animals that are venomous are discussed below:
- Most snakes and almost all spiders are venomous. However, not all snakes inject venom while biting.
- Some lizards are also considered venomous with their venom ranging from mild to strong. The venom in the Gila monster and Iguana is relatively mild compared to the mixture of toxins and bacteria injected by the Komodo dragon.
- While bees, ants, and wasps do not have any fangs but are considered venomous.
- Platypus has venom glands at its ankles where it also has a fang-like structure.
- Jellyfishes are venomous and have nematocytes that contain toxins to drive away predators or stun prey.
- King cobra is the longest venomous snake in the world and it injects venom powerful enough to kill animals as large as an elephant, within minutes.
Poisonous Animals
As we already know, poisonous animals secrete toxins via their skin. Below are a few examples of such poisonous animals.
- About half of the amphibians are poisonous such as frogs, toads, and salamanders. Dart frogs, the most poisonous frogs in the world, contain toxin in their skin designed to deter predators.
- The liver, kidney, and spikes of a puffer-fish contain nerve toxins harmful to humans.
- Many birds are poisonous as well such as pitohui and blue-capped ifrit.
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| Topic Related Concepts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Snake Life Cycle | Fish and Jellyfish Life Cycle | Animal Nervous System |
| Spiders | Amphibia | Ecology and Environment |
Uses of Venom and Poison
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Venoms and poisons have a big role in the medicinal field. Some of their uses are as follows:
- Snake venom is a natural biological resource, containing several components that have therapeutic value. Use of snake venom in different pathophysiological conditions has been mentioned in Ayurveda, homeopathy and folk medicine.
- Venoms also serve as drug development libraries, since each of them has over 100 different compounds – proteins, peptides, enzymes, carbohydrates, lipids and other unidentified substances.
- Various poisons are used as insecticides and disinfectants as well as preservatives.
- The yew tree (Taxus baccata) is poisonous and eating a handful of needles can kill a person. But a chemical found in yew bark has proven to be an effective anti-cancer medicine.
- The cone snails produce a nerve poison that kills an unwary person. But the toxins from it have yielded a useful pain drug.
Things to Remember
- Poison is a toxic substance that finds its way into the body through swallowing, inhaling, or absorbing from the skin.
- Venom is a specialized type of poison and has evolved for a specific purpose. It is injected into the body of the victim through a bite or a sting.
- Primarily venom is used to spun or kill a prey while poison is secreted for deterrence against a potential predator.
- About half of the amphibians are poisonous such as frogs, toads, and salamanders.
- Venoms also serve as drug development libraries, since each of them has over 100 different compounds – proteins, peptides, enzymes, carbohydrates, lipids and other unidentified substances.
Sample Questions
Ques: How is venom different from poison? (2 Marks)
Ans: Venom is injected into the body of the victim through a bite or a sting whereas poison is a toxic substance that finds its way into the body through swallowing, inhaling, or absorbing from the skin.
Ques: Are snakes venomous or poisonous? (2 Marks)
Ans: Biological experts have concluded that since snakes bite and then inject toxins into the victim’s body, they are venomous. Only a few snakes are truly poisonous.
Ques: Which is the deadliest snake in the world? (2 Marks)
Ans: The saw-scaled viper is the deadliest of all snakes. It is an aggressive animal and bites early and often. It is responsible for more human deaths than any other snake in the world.
Ques: Which animal’s venom is most deadly? (2 Marks)
Ans: Black mamba’s venom is the most deadly as it kills the fastest. It moves at a speed of 12.5 miles per hour and it can kill a human in less than 30 minutes.
Ques: What is venom made of? (2 Marks)
Ans: Venom is a very poisonous/toxic mixture, consisting of a variety of molecules, such as carbohydrates, nucleosides, amino acids, lipids, proteins and peptides.
Ques: Give some uses of venoms and poisons. (3 Marks)
Ans: Some of the uses of venom sand poisons are as follows:
- Snake venom is a natural biological resource, containing several components that has therapeutic value. The use of snake venom in different pathophysiological conditions has been mentioned in Ayurveda, homeopathy, and folk medicine.
- Venoms also serve as drug development libraries, since each of them has over 100 different compounds – proteins, peptides, enzymes, carbohydrates, lipids, and other unidentified substances.
- Various poisons are used as insecticides and disinfectants as well as preservatives.
- The yew tree (Taxus baccata) is poisonous and eating a handful of needles can kill a person. But a chemical found in yew bark has proven to be an effective anti-cancer medicine.
- The cone snails produce a nerve poison that kills an unwary person. But the toxins from it have yielded a useful pain drug.
Ques: Which snake is both venomous and poisonous? (2 Marks)
Ans: The Asian tiger snake is the only snake species that are both venomous and poisonous. Not only does it produce toxins for its bite, but it also stores poison it obtains from its toad prey in its skin.
Ques: Can humans produce venom? (2 Marks)
Ans: A new study has revealed that humans have the capability of producing venom, in fact, they already produce a key protein used in many venom systems. The study revealed that humans - along with all other mammals and reptiles - have the capability of producing venom.
Ques: How does the poison affect a body? (2 Marks)
Ans: The effects produced by poisons may be medium such as hives, blisters, inflammation or severe such as hemorrhage, convulsions, vomiting, diarrhea, clouding of the senses, paralysis, respiratory or cardiac arrest.
Ques: Is venom a type of poison? (2 Marks)
Ans: Venom is a specialized type of poison that has evolved for a specific purpose. It is actively injected via a bite or sting. Because venom has a mixture of small and large molecules, it needs a wound to be able to enter the body, and to be effective must find its way into the bloodstream.
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