In the animal kingdom venoms and poisons are used for prey acquisition and defense. Using nettle organs, stingers or teeth animals of all classes apply a variety of toxic substances. This book gives an introduction to the world of venomous and poisonous animals and how they use their venoms and poisons, first aid measures and general rules for treating cases of envenoming or poisoning, recommendations for avoiding dangerous encounters with poisonous animals. In each chapter, one representative animal is described, its biology, venom apparatus, chemistry and mode of action of the toxic substances, symptoms of envenoming and poisoning, prevention and therapy.--Publisher description.