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The objective of this book is to provide a short review of venoms used by animals to defend themselves or to capture prey. Venomous or poisonous animals are widely distributed throughout the animal
kingdom, with birds appearing to be the only large and widespread group in which no venomous species have been discovered. By research in this field we have learned, and will continue to learn, much about animal
behavior and physiology. The active venom components, the toxins, have proved to be indispensable tools for studying our own physiological mechanisms. Because of the high specificity of certain toxins it has been
possible to resolve important links in complex physiological mechanisms with these interesting substances. This is a valuable reference for biologists, toxicologists, neurobiologists, and pharmacologists. |
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