Welcome to toxicology for writers. Let’s start out with some definitions. Toxicology is a broad subject and encompasses many areas of science. Please note this information is provided for the purpose of entertainment, education and to provide resources for writers. I take no responsibility for what anyone does with this information. Additionally, if you are concerned a person or animal has been poisoned, please get off the internet and seek professional medical assistance immediately. Importantly, I will NOT give specific medical advice.
I’d like to highlight an important factor that a lot of people seem to forget. The dose makes the poison. What does this mean? Pretty much anything can be toxic, if the dose is high enough. Even water can be a poison, and I mean pure water. If you drink a huge amount in a short time, it dilutes the salts in and around the body cells and will lead to brain swelling. Eventually the heart will slow and it can progress to death. Yet, if you drink no water, you will also die because the salt levels become too high.
We need to make some important distinctions as well. People assume that ‘poisonous’ and ‘venomous’ mean the same thing. But there is a difference. Here’s a list of important definitions.
Next Up In Toxicology
This concludes part one of toxicology for writers. Now that we understand some of the important definitions, it’s time to look at some more detailed information. On the next page we’ll look at specific types of toxins, based on which body system they impact. I will list specific examples for information, but the list is not exhaustive. Click here for the next page, or see the menu at the top of the page. It’s an interesting subject area so I’m looking forward to getting into the nitty gritty with you all. Anyone writing about assassins will find this useful!