Hemotoxin

Online Biology Dictionary

Russell's Viper (Daboia russellii), one of the deadliest
snakes in Asia, accounting for thousands of deaths
every year. Saleem Hamee

Two-month-old brown recluse spider bite
(click to enlarge) Image: Jeffrey Rowland

Hemotoxin: A toxin that acts by lysing erythrocytes. Venoms of this kind disrupt blood clotting and, in the process of destroying the blood's functionality, severely damage internal organs and other body tissues.

Hemotoxins are produced by a variety of animals, ranging from pit vipers, such as Russell's viper (shown at right), to brown recluse spiders.

Hemotoxins generally act more slowly than neurotoxins. While death from a neurotoxin (such as that of the Golden Poison Frog) can be immediate, humans bitten by a pit viper may take hours to develop severe symptoms. Tissue degeneration around a brown recluse bite takes place over a period of weeks.

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