INTRODUCTION: The brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch & Mulaik (Figs. 1-2, 6), is frequently reported in Florida as a cause of necrotic lesions in humans. For example, in the year 2000 alone, Loft (2001) reported that the Florida Poison Control Network had recorded nearly 300 alleged cases of brown recluse bites in the state; a subset of 95 of these bites was reported in the 21 cou...

Spider bite is common, but most spider bite is minor and causes nothing more than local irritation. Bites from brown recluse spiders (Loxosceles reclusa) result in several clinical manifestations, they possess a venom capable of causing painful, disfiguring necrotic ulcers and, uncommonly, severe systemic effects[1-3]. The diagnosis of a spider bite is typically made on historical and epidemiol...

Loxosceles spiders are of concern outside of the arachnological world because their bites can cause occasional necrotic skin lesions and/or systemic complications; these manifestations are known as loxoscelism. Once these spiders became well associated as medical entities, much notoriety was attained through the publication of medical case histories as well as tales of horrific wounds in the ge...

three threidiid spiders of the genus latrodectus occur in khorasan province: l.tredecimguttatus, l.pallidus, l.dahli. the three are described, their diagnostic features are illustrated, and taxonomic notes are given where possible. spider bites are very common in these regions, so, further notes about the medical importance of these species are given. a dichotomic key to the species of the genu...

Our goal was to recreate a passive hemagglutination inhibition (PHAI) test to diagnose brown recluse spider (BRS; Loxosceles reclusa) bite envenomation for treatment trials. Guinea pigs received intradermal injections of concentrated spider venom from the following species: Loxosceles reclusa, Argiope aurantia, Argiope trifasciata, Phidippus audax, and Lycosa frondicola. Skin lesion exudate was...

BACKGROUND Treatment of brown recluse spider bites remains controversial; there are multiple options but little evidence of their effectiveness. METHODS Over a 5-year period, family physicians enrolled consecutive patients with suspected brown recluse spider bites. Usual care was provided based on physician preferences. Topical nitroglycerine patches and vitamin C tablets were provided at no ...

We reviewed the records of the Australian Venom Research Unit and The Alfred Hospital Department of Hyperbaric Medicine from January 1992 to July 1998 and found 15 cases of skin ulceration after spider bite that could be followed up with the patient and the treating physician. Fourteen patients had skin ulceration attributed to white-tailed spider bites but in only three was this confirmed. One...

A series of prey items of a given weight were offered to a spider. They were obligatory removed 1 min after the beginning of the attack, and their state noted afterwards. Venom is injected in small as well as in large prey. The prey had 37 to 520 % of the spider weight. The mortality rate of the prey is negatively and linearly correlated with their weight. When a prey weighs about 30 mg or more...

1Department of Cognitive Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel, 2Numerical Cognition Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada, 3Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, 4Department of Psychology, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, B...