Hematotoxin (C/N)

Hematotoxins (also called hemotoxins) are a form of toxins which cause hemolysis (e.g., destroy red blood cells) and disrupt blood cloting, which causes organ degeneration and generalized tissue damage. Injury from a hemotoxic agent is often very painful and can cause permanent damage, the loss of a limb even with prompt treatment, or death. Many forms of animal venom are hemotoxic, and serve the functions of both killing prey and aiding in digestion. Hematotoxins cause death much more slowly than neurotoxins, requiring some animals which use this type of venom to track their prey after biting them. Typically, mammalian prey animals will stop fleeing sometime after being bitten not because of death, but due to shock caused by the bite. Depending on the size, location, and species of the animal that caused the bite and the amount of venom injected, symptoms in humans (such as nausea, disorientation, and headache) may be delayed for several hours.