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The Venom

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Snakes of Italy

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Animal Sciences ((BRIEFSANIMAL))

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Abstract

Snake venom can be considered a modified saliva-based enzyme, and it can be synthesized by different glands. Toxicity is certainly a great asset for snakes. It is, however, more linked to feeding than to defense or attack. Different snakes have different teeth in order to inoculate their venom. Viperids, for example, have more evolved and complicated teeth in order to inoculate the venom in depth, and they also have mobile fangs. The study of toxins concludes with a review of LD50, a method used to compare the toxicity of venom in a statistical and practical manner.

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Correspondence to Gabriele Achille .

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Achille, G. (2015). The Venom. In: Snakes of Italy. SpringerBriefs in Animal Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14106-0_4

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