The past decade has been a period of explosion of knowledge on the chemistry and pharmacology of snake toxins. Thanks to the development of protein chemistry, nearly a hundred snake toxins have been purified and sequenced, representing one of the largest families of sequenced proteins. Moreover, the mode of action of these toxins has been largely elucidated by the concerted efforts of pharmacologists, electro physiologists, and biochemists. As a result of these studies, some of the snake toxins, e.g., a-bungarotoxin and cobra neurotoxins, have been extensively used as specific markers in the study of the acetylcholine receptors. Indeed, without the discovery of these snake toxins, our knowledge of the structure and function of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors would not have advanced so rapidly. The contribution of snake venom research to the biomedical sciences is not limited to the study of cholinergic receptors. Being one of the most concentrated enzyme sources in nature, snake venoms are also valuable tools in biochemical research. Venom phosphodiesterase, for example, has been widely used for structural studies of nucleic acids; proteinase, for the sequence studies of proteins and pep tides ; phospholipase A , for lipid research; and L-amino acid oxidase for identifying optical z isomers of amino acids. Furthermore, snake venoms have proven to be useful agents for clarifying some basic concepts on blood coagulation and some venom enzymes, e.g., thrombin-like enzymes and pro coagulants have been used as therapeutic agents.

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With contributions by numerous experts

Inhalt
I: History, Ecological and Zoological Aspects.- 1 History of Snake Venom Research.- 2 Classification and Distribution of Venomous Snakes in the World.- 3 The Venom Glands of Snakes and Venom Secretion.- II: Chemistry and Biochemistry of Snake Venoms.- 4 Enzymes in Snake Venom.- 5 Chemistry of Protein Toxins in Snake Venoms.- 6 The Three-Dimensional Structure of Postsynaptic Snake Neurotoxins: Consideration of Structure and Function.- 7 The Evolution of Toxins Found in Snake Venoms.- 8 Nerve Growth Factors in Snake Venoms.- 9 Metal and Nonprotein Constituents in Snake Venoms.- III: Pharmacology of Snake Venoms.- 10 The Action of Snake Venoms on Nerve and Muscle.- 11 The Use of Snake Toxins for the Study of the Acetylcholine Receptor and its Ion-Conductance Modulator.- 12 Pharmacology of Phospholipase A2 from Snake Venoms.- 13 Hemolytic Effects of Snake Venoms.- 14 Hemorrhagic, Necrotizing and Edema-Forming Effects of Snake Venoms.- 15 Cardiovascular Effects of Snake Venoms.- 16 Liberation of Pharmacologically Active Substances by Snake Venoms.- 17 Snake Venoms as an Experimental Tool to Induce and Study Models of Microvessel Damage.- 18 Snake Venoms and Blood Coagulation.- IV: Immunological and Clinical Aspects.- 19 Immunological Properties of Snake Venoms.- 20 Production and Standardization of Antivenin.- 21 Common Antigens in Snake Venoms.- 22 Snakes and the Complement System.- 23 Vaccination Against Snake Bite Poisoning.- 24 Symptomatology, Pathology, and Treatment of the Bites of Elapid Snakes.- 25 Symptomatology, Pathology, and Treatment of the Bites of Sea Snakes.- 26 Symptomatology, Pathology, and Treatment of the Bites of Viperid Snakes.- 27 The Clinical Problem of Crotalid Snake Venom Poisoning.- 28 Snake Venoms and Nephrotoxicity.- Author Index.