Bertino Forensics Chapter 9 Toxicology

stimulants

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful amphetamines, cocaine, and Ecstasy) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

anabolic steroids

Drugs that mimic the male sex hormone testosterone and promote bone and muscle growth. Synthetics engineered originally to treat people with muscle loss due to disease.

ways to take drugs

Ingested, smoked, snort, inject, absorbed by skin. Fastest action is via injection.

arsenic

Naturally occurring element found in pesticides and contaminated ground water. Was also a hard to detect poison used to murder people often for their inheritance.

drug interactions

One drug modifies the action of another which can be dangerous or deadly

botulism

Produced by the bacteria, Clostridium Botulinum, is the most poisonous substance known. It causes a severe muscle-paralyzing disease, which affects an average of 200 persons living in the United States each year.

main classes of drugs

Stimulants, Depressants, Narcotics, Hallucinogens, Steroids

alcohols

Turns to Acetaldehyde in the body. All types become toxic to the body. Is not a scheduled drug, but it is regulated.

anthrax

What disease is caused by a naturally occurring bacteria and can be sent in a powdery form for bio-terrorism and leads to difficulty breathing and even death?

drug

a chemical substance that affects the processes of the mind or body; a substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of a disease; a substance used recreationally for its effects on the mind or body, such as a narcotic or hallucinogen

controlled substance

a drug or other chemical compound whose manufacture, distribution, possession, and use is regulated by the legal system and which is given a schedule number 1-5.

poison

a naturally occurring or manufactured substance that can cause severe harm or death if ingested, inhaled, injected, or absorbed through the skin

toxin

a poisonous substance naturally produced by certain plants, animals, and bacteria that is capable of causing disease or death in humans; a subgroup of poisons

narcotic

an addictive dug, such as opium, that relieves pain, alters mood and behavior, and causes sleep or feelings of mental numbness

Ricin

bio-terrorism agent that leads to death if inhaled or ingested. It is a byproduct of processing the castor bean.

non-selective pesticide

chemicals that destroy a wide variety of plant and insect pests. In addition to the pesticide's effect on non-target pests, the treatment may have additional negative environmental effects.

mad hatters disease

chronic mercury poisoning, named because it occurred in the 1800's among hat-makers whose felting work involved prolonged exposure to mercury vapors and caused tremors, irritability, and mental instability.

heavy metals

elements with relatively high atomic weight. Pose health hazards to people and ecosystems. They include mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, selenium, vanadium, chromium, and thallium among others.

lead poisoning

heavy metals commonly found in old paint, and plumbing that can lead to neurological damage and mental disabilities

homicides by poison

less than 1/2 of 1% of deaths

chronic poisoning

long-term repeated or continuous exposure to a poison where symptoms do not occur immediately or after each exposure

acute poisoning

means a person had single exposure to the poison, marked by short duration and high dose.

venom

organic toxin secreted by an animal that is transferred to a victim by injection (bite or sting usually.) Example is from snake, spider, and wasp.

Schedule of Drugs

schedule 1, high potential for abuse, purposes for research only. 2. high potential for abuse, but for medical use. 3. moderate or low dependency,accepted for treatment.4. accepted medical treatment.5.less potential then 4.

toxicity

the degree to which a substance is poisonous or can cause injury

reward pathways

the neural pathways believed to be associated with positive reinforcement, including memory and behavior pathways.

hallucinogens

A diverse group of drugs that have powerful effects on mental and emotional functioning, marked most prominently by distortions in sensory and perceptual experience.

smallpox

A highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever, weakness, and skin eruption with pustules that form scabs; responsible for killing Native Americans.

dopamine

A neurotransmitter released in response to behaviors that feel good or are rewarding to the person or animal; also involved in voluntary motor control.

drug testing

A technical analysis of a biological specimen - for example urine, hair, blood, sweat, breath or oral fluid / saliva - to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites.

Cocaine Brain

Addict has to take cocaine for brain activity to look normal. When not on cocaine, brain activity looks lower than normal.

pesticides

Any one of various substances used to kill harmful insects (insecticide), fungi (fungicide), vermin, or other living organisms that destroy or inhibit plant growth, carry disease, or are otherwise harmful. DDT was a common general use pesticide made of chlorine and hydrocarbons that is now banned in the USA. Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" lead to increase scrutiny of these "non-selective" pesticides.

nerve cell communication

Chemical messaging transported across the synaptic cleft triggered by electric impulses in the axon.