Poisons are any chemicals that cause harm to the body, and can be natural or man-made, whereas toxins usually refer to deadly chemicals made by living things. The words poison and toxin are often used interchangeably, though strictly speaking they are not the same thing. In other cases knowledge of the poison is not of therapeutic benefit, because there is simply no antidote. In a few instances such knowledge has led to appropriate treatment and full recovery. Each poison kills in its own unique way, and the varied symptoms experienced by the victims often give clues as to the nature of the poison used against them. This book is not a catalog of poisoners and their victims, but rather explores the nature of poisons and how they affect the body at the molecular, cellular, and physiological levels. Some poisons can kill within minutes others can be given slowly over time, gradually accumulating in the body but still leading inexorably to the victim’s death. It requires consideration of how the poison will be administered. Poisoning requires planning and a knowledge of the victim’s habits. Compared with hot-blooded spur-of-the-moment murders, the planning and cold calculations involved in murder by poison perfectly fit the legal term malice aforethought. And among the means of killing, few methods generate such a peculiar morbid fascination as poison. Within the annals of crime, murder holds a particularly heinous position. I love the old way best, the simple way of poison, where we too are strong as men.
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