antivenom

/an-tee-ven-uhm, an-tahy-/US // ˌæn tiˈvɛn əm, ˌæn taɪ- //

抗蛇毒剂,抗蛇毒血清,抗蛇毒药,抗血清

Definitions

n.名词 noun

1
- : an antitoxin present in the blood of an animal following repeated injections of venom.
- : the antitoxic serum obtained from such blood.

Because bite victims can rarely reliably identify the species that bit them, doctors must wait for clear signs of damage to emerge to determine the right antivenom.
A large portion of snakebites are “dry,” which means no venom is injected, so antivenom isn’t always required.
They speed up the immune system’s clearance of toxins, because antivenoms are, themselves, antibodies pulled from the blood of large animals, usually horses, that have been injected with venom.
A “better safe than sorry” approach may seem warranted, but injecting antivenom when it’s not needed or if it’s the wrong kind can put the patient at even greater risk.
This reaction to the antivenom itself can be life-threatening if not treated promptly.