Handbook of Venoms and Toxins of Reptiles

Book excerpt: A decade after publication of the first edition, Handbook of Venoms and Toxins of Reptiles responds to extensive changes in the field of toxinology to endure as the most comprehensive review of reptile venoms on the market. The six sections of this new edition, which has nearly doubled in size, complement the original handbook by presenting current information from many of the leading researchers and physicians in toxinology, with topics ranging from functional morphology, evolution and ecology to crystallography, -omics technologies, drug discovery and more. With the recent recognition by the World Health Organization of snakebite as a neglected tropical disease, the section on snakebite has been expanded and includes several chapters dealing with the problem broadly and with new technologies and the promises these new approaches may hold to counter the deleterious effects of envenomation. This greatly expanded handbook offers a unique resource for biologists, biochemists, toxicologists, physicians, clinicians, and epidemiologists, as well as informed laypersons interested in the biology of venomous reptiles, the biochemistry and molecular biology of venoms, and the effects and treatment of human envenomation.