Download Forensics Toxicology PPT

Toxicology
Vocabulary
1.
2.
3.
Controlled substance – a drug or other
chemical compound whose manufacture,
distribution, possession, and use is regulated by
the legal system
Drug – a chemical substance that affects the
processes of the mind or body; a substance used in
the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease;
a substance used recreationally for its effects on
the mind or body, such as a narcotic or
hallucinogen
Narcotic – an addictive drug, such as opium, that
relieves pain, alters mood and behavior, and causes
sleep or feelings of mental numbness
Vocabulary
4.
Poison – a naturally occurring or manufactured
substance that can cause severe harm or death if
ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin
5.
Toxicity – the degree to which a substance is
poisonous or can cause injury
6.
Toxin – a poisonous substance naturally produced
by certain plants, animals, and bacteria that is
capable of causing disease or death in humans; a
subgroup of poisons
Toxicology
The study of poisons and identification of
drugs and other substances a person may
use for medicinal, recreational, or criminal
purposes
 Methods of exposure:
1. Ingestion through gastrointestinal system
2. Inhalation into lungs
3. Injection into bloodstream
4. Absorption through skin

Toxicity

Depends on many factors
 The dose – how much taken
 The duration – frequency and length of
exposure
 Nature of exposure – ingested, inhaled,
absorbed
 Whether drug or toxin interacts with other
substances in the body like alcohol or
prescription drugs
 Many drugs indirectly toxic – substance that
the drug is converted to or metabolizes to in
the body is harmful
Forensic Toxicology

Helps determine cause-and-effect
relationship between exposure to drug and
the toxic or lethal effects from that exposure

Determined by chemical tests on:
 Body fluids
 Stomach contents
 Skin
 Hair
 Internal organs – liver, vitreous humor fluid
of eye
Forensic Toxicology
 Toxic
agents other than drugs:
Heavy
metals
Solvents
and vapors
Radiation
and radioactive materials
Dioxins/furans
Pesticides
Plant
and animal toxins
Toxins

Also classified by how people are exposed to
them:
1.
Intentionally – drugs taken to treat illness or
relieve pain
2.
Accidentally – ingested or exposed, as in
unintentional overdoses or harmful
combinations
3.
Deliberately – suicide or exposure intended
to harm or kill others
Murder by Poison
Less than ½ of 1% of all homicides
 Commonly used poisons:

 Arsenic,
cyanide, strychnine
 Also industrial chemicals created for other uses

Acute poisoning – caused by high dose over
a short period of time which immediately
produces symptoms
 Cyanide

ingestion or inhalation
Chronic poisoning – caused by lower doses
over long periods of time, which produces
symptoms gradually
 Mercury
or lead poisoning (mad hatter)
Accidental Drug Overdoses

More common than
death from poisoning
 Chris Farley
 John Belushi
 River Pheonix
 Jimi Hendrix
 Cory Monteith
 Whitney Houston
 Amy Winehouse
 O.D.B
 Jim
Morrison
Drugs
 Illegal
drugs – heroin, LSD
Not accepted for medical use in U.S.
 Controlled substances
Medications, narcotics, depressants,
stimulants
Drugs: Controlled Substances

Five classes:
1.
Hallucinogens
2.
Narcotics
3.
Stimulants
4.
Anabolic steroids
5.
Depressants
Hallucinogens
Affect user’s perceptions, thinking, selfawareness, and emotions
 Plant derived:

 Mescaline

from a cactus, Marijuana, Mushrooms
Chemically manufactured:
 LSD,
MDMA (ecstacy), PCP
Narcotics
Reduce pain by suppressing the central
nervous system’s ability to relay pain
messages to the brain
 Very habit forming
 Opium and derivatives: heroin & codeine
 Hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab)
 Methadone (Dolophine)
 Morphine (MS Contin)
 Oxycodone (Percocet, OxyContin)
 Codeine containing – Tylenol 3

Stimulants

Increase feeling of energy & alertness while
suppressing appetite (caffeine, diet pills)
 Depression
off
often results when drug wears
 Sometimes
used to boost endurance and
productivity

Examples:

Amphetamines (speed), methamphetamines (stronger),
and cocaine (including crack)

Highly addictive
Anabolic Steroids
Promote cell and tissue growth and division
 Produced in lab and have chemical
structure similar to testosterone

 Originally
produced to treat hypogonadism
 Now used to treat delayed puberty, impotence,
muscle wasting caused by HIV
 Also increase body muscle and bone mass

Negative effects:
 Mild
– acne, increased body hair, baldness
 Severe – high BP & cholesterol, impaired fertility in
males, blood clotting, kidney and liver cancers,
heart attacks
Depressants
Relieve anxiety and produce sleep
 Reduce body functions, such as heart rate, by
acting on CNS

 Drugs
like barbiturates & benzodiazepines
(valium)

Side effects:
 slurred
speech, loss of coordination, state of
intoxication

Overdose:
 Slow
heart rate & breathing, come and death
 Mixed w/ alcohol and other drugs increases risks
Alcohols

All are toxic to the body
 Accumulation
in blood may produce:
 Dehydration,
 Chronic
 Can
 Brain:
headache, nausea, weakness
abuse – liver damage
also depress central nervous system
interferes with the brain’s communication
pathways, can change mood and behavior, and
make it harder to think clearly and move with
coordination.
Alcohols

Heart:
 Stretching
and drooping of heart muscle
 Irregular heart beat
 Stroke
 High blood pressure

Liver:
 Steatosis,
or fatty liver
 Alcoholic hepatitis
 Fibrosis
 Cirrhosis
Alcohols

Pancreas
 Build
up of toxic substances leading to
pancreatitis

Cancer
 Increase
risk of certain cancers:
 Mouth,

Esophagus, Throat, Liver, Breast
Immune system
 weaken
your immune system, making your body a
much easier target for disease
tuberculosis, and weaken to
warding off infections.
 Pneumonia,
Other Toxins

Organic Toxins – produced by living
organisms
 interfere
with that organism’s metabolism
 Absorbed

through intestine or skin
Venom – secreted toxin from an animal
 (i.e.
bee sting, snakebite)
Other Toxins

Bacterial:
 Botulism
– most poisonous biological substance
known to humans
neurotoxin paralyzing muscles
Extremely deadly in small amounts, can be
avoided by cooking and heating food
thoroughly
 Purified
botulinum toxin – can treat muscle
spasms, eye conditions, excessive sweating,
headaches, promote wound healing, cosmetics
(botox)
 Tetanus
– potentially deadly nervous system
disease “lock jaw”
Other Toxins


Pesticides

used for controlling insects, mice, weeds, fungi, bacteria,
viruses that threaten plants or food crops

Toxic and can cause severe illness and death

Examples: DDT, aldrin, dieldrin
Heavy Metals
Enter body by ingestion and inhalation, or by absorption
 Stored in soft tissues of body and can damage many
organs
 hydrogen cyanide (gas chambers), carbon monoxide
(car exhausts), potassium chloride & sodium pentothal
(lethal injections), mercury (The Madhatter)

Other Toxins

Bioterrorism Agents
 Ricin

– cator bean / waste of castor oil
lethal to humans in small quantities
 Inhaled
as a mist or powder, ingested in food
or drink, injected into body
 Prevents
cells from making necessary proteins
causing cell death
 Inhalation
 Ingestion
- death after 8 hours
- death after 6 hours
Other Toxins
Bioterrorism cont…

Anthrax

Forms endospores
 Inhalation
 Ingestion
 Skin
results in death
– 25-60 percent fatal
absorption – 20 percent untreated fatal
 2001-
spread through postal system and caused 22
cases (12 deaths)