What makes a Snake Byte so dangerous?

This morning, while I was gardening, I had a scary encounter. There, buried in the dark green grass, was a humongous, bright red and beige snake. Of course, my view of the snake was pretty subjective. Being afraid of snakes, I imagined the 1-foot reptile to be Godzilla reincarnated. After I got over my reaction (or overreaction), I began to wonder what it was that makes snakes so frightening, realizing that it was their toxic venom. What would have happened if that snake had bitten me? Would I have shriveled up into a raison? Would I have died instantly? After some research, I was able to learn a lot of great information about snake venom, how it is used, and the different types.

The formal definition of snake venom is: "highly modified saliva containing zootoxins used by snakes to immobilize and digest prey or to serve as a defense mechanism against a potential predator or other threat (New Oxford American Dictionary)." I'll unpack that definition. Saliva, in almost all animals, comes from a gland. Snakes are no exception, and their "saliva maker" is found below the eyes in the mandibular gland, a gland that resembles the parotid salivary gland in humans. Zootoxins are a grouping of various different poisonous toxins, which are often injected into the lymphatic system of another living creature to cause paralysis, torture, or death. Let's examine the chemical and physical affects of venom injection. The chemical composition of snake venom varies from snake to snake, but all the venom has some universal, basic properties. It consists of a variety of peptide toxins, including Proteases, which degrade protein peptide bonds with a watered solution, nucleases, which dilute/destroy the Phospodiester bonds of DNA through water, and neurotoxins, which disable signaling in the nervous system. The proteases cause degradation of muscle, which leaves the victim weak and helpless. Phospodiester bonds are the bonds between carbon atoms in deoxyribose (DNA) and ribose (RNA) sugar molecules. These bonds are essential to all life, as they function as the backbone to both DNA and RNA. The neurotoxins are horrible. They prevent special sense receptors from reacting to stimuli, and they impair your brain from interpreting certain senses (such as sight, sound, etc.). So, after a concentrated snakebite, you're left paralyzed, basically blind, and potentially dead. Some other physical effects of venom injections by a snake include: swelling, convulsions, muscle spasms, kidney failure, and low blood pressure.

The synthesis of the venom takes place entirely in the mandibular gland. The glands themselves contain large alveoli (large sacks made out of various types of tissue) that can contract or expand due to the elastic fibers that make up the sack itself. Inside the alveoli, the synthesized (AKA the full solution of venom) venom sits there, waiting to be used. Although the injection happens very quickly, there are a lot of things that need to happen in order to get venom from the gland to the victim. Before the injection takes place, there is a large muscle surrounding the gland containing the venom, and a duct that carries venom from the gland to their fangs. When snakes want to attack a victim, they voluntarily "pull out" their fangs, which, depending on the snake, can be very large. Once the snake bites their victim, the muscle surrounding the gland containing the venom contracts, releasing venom into the duct. The venom travels through the duct, eventually getting to the tip of the snake's fangs, and is then released into the victim's bloodstream.

Fortunately, there is a silver lining to all these scary facts. Not all snakes are venomous. In fact, the majority of garden snakes (those who you would most likely encounter) are non-poisonous. This means that they either have glands that secret non-toxic fluid from the snake's fangs, or that the fluid just doesn't exist in the snake. There are several ways to tell if a snake is poisonous or not. First, you could know all the types of poisonous snakes (Copperheads, Rattlesnakes, Coral Snakes, and Cottonmouths). Second, look at the color patterns. Venomous snakes tend to have several bright colors, with solid colored stripes. Third, look at the head shape. If their head is shaped like a spoon, it's ok. If the head is shaped more like a triangle, it's poisonous. Lastly, look for a rattle. If a snake has a rattle on their tail, get out of there as soon as.

Although I was terrified for a period of time after seeing the snake, I found great comfort in learning that the snake I encountered was only a non-poisonous king snake. I hope these facts and tips on snake's and their venom will prevent you the stress as it did for me.

References (with URL in the citation):

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Florida Venomous Snakes." 2004.

Kardong, Kenneth V. "The Evolution of the Venom Apparatus in Snakes from Colubrids to Viperids and Elapids." Washington State University (1982).

McCue, Marshall D. "Enzyme Activities and Biological Functions of Snake Venoms." McCue Science. U of California (2004).