Chapter 8 Toxicology: Poisons and Alcohol “All substances are poisons. There is none which is not. The right dose differentiates a poison and remedy.” —Paracelsus (1495-1541). Swiss physician and chemist

Toxicology and Alcohol Students will be able to: Discuss the connection of blood alcohol levels to the law, incapacity, and test results. Understand the vocabulary of poisons. Design and conduct scientific investigations. Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications. Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations. Communicate and defend a scientific argument. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Toxicology Definition—the study of the adverse effects of chemicals or physical agents on living organisms. Types: Environmental—air, water, soil Consumer—foods, cosmetics, drugs Medical, clinical, forensic Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Toxicology Detect and isolate drugs in the body to determine their influence on human behavior. Knowing how the body metabolizes alcohol is key to understanding its effects. Knowledge made development of instruments to measure presence & concentration of alcohol.

Toxicologists Toxicologists are charged with the responsibility for detecting and identifying the presence of drugs and poisons in body fluids, tissues, and organs. Toxicologists not only work in crime laboratories and medical examiners’ offices, but may also reach into hospital laboratories and health facilities to identify a drug overdose or monitor the intake of drugs.

Historical Perspective of Poisoners Olympias—a famous Greek poisoner, mother of Alexander the Great (375 - 316 BC) Locusta—personal poisoner of Emperor Nero (54 AD) Lucretia Borgia—father was Pope Alexander VI (1480-1519) Catherine Medici- Queen of France poisoned political rivals, and experimented with poisons on the poor (1519-1589 AD) Madame Giulia Toffana—committed over 600 successful poisonings, including two Popes (1659 AD) Hieronyma Spara—formed a society to teach women how to murder their husbands (1659 AD) Madame de Brinvilliers and Catherine Deshayes—Convicted French witch poisoners. (1640 - 1680 AD) Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Mathieu Orfilia Mathieu Orfila—known as the father of forensic toxicology, published in 1814 “Traite des Poisons” which described the first systematic approach to the study of the chemistry and physiological nature of poisons. His work mainly centered around arsenic. It was relatively easy to get because it was the rat poison of the day and was the favorite murder weapon among

Aspects of Toxicity: What could affect the toxicity? Dosage The chemical or physical form of the substance The mode of entry into the body Body weight and physiological conditions of the victim, including age and sex The time period of exposure The presence of other chemicals in the body or in the dose Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Lethal Dose LD50—refers to the dose of a substance that kills half the test population, usually within four hours Expressed in milligrams of substance per kilogram of body weight Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Intoxicant vs. Poison: An intoxicant such as alcohol requires that a relatively large amount be added to be lethal. A poison, like cyanide, requires a relatively small amount to be fatal. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Toxicity Classes LD50 (rat,oral) Correlation to Ingestion by 150 lb Adult Human Toxicity <1mg/kg a taste to a drop Extremely 1-50 mg/kg to a teaspoon highly 50-500 mg/kg to an ounce moderately 500-5000 mg/kg to a pint slightly 5-15 g/kg to a quart Practically non-toxic Over 15g/kg more than 1 quart Relatively harmless Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Use your book What are symptoms and signs of these types of Poisonings? Chloroform Methanol Cyanide How could a toxicologist test for them? What tissue samples, tests, and or other data? Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Federal Regulatory Agencies Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Consumer Product Safety Commission Department of Transportation (DOT) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Symptoms of Various Types of Poisoning Type of Poison Symptom/Evidence Caustic Poison (lye) Characteristic burns around the lips and mouth of the victim Carbon Monoxide Red or pink patches on the chest and thighs, unusually bright red lividity Sulfuric acid Black vomit Hydrochloric acid Greenish-brown vomit Nitric acid Yellow vomit Phosphorous Coffee brown vomit. Onion or garlic odor Cyanide Burnt almond odor Arsenic, Mercury Pronounced diarrhea Methyl (wood) or Nausea and vomiting, unconsciousness, Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol possibly blindness Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Critical Information on Poisons Common color Characteristic odor Solubility Taste Common sources Lethal dose Mechanism Possible methods of administration Time interval of onset of symptoms. Symptoms resulting from an acute exposure Symptoms resulting from chronic exposure Disease states mimicked by poisoning Notes relating to the victim Specimens from victim Analytical detection methods Known toxic levels Notes pertinent to analysis of poison List of cases in which poison was used —John Trestrail from “Criminal Poisoning” Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company To Prove a Case Prove a crime was committed Motive Intent Access to poison Access to victim Death was caused by poison Death was homicidal Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company Forensic Autopsy Look for: Irritated tissues Characteristic odors Mees lines—single transverse white bands on nails. Order toxicological screens Postmortem concentrations should be done at the scene for comparison No realistic calculation of dose can be made from a single measurement Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company