Catfish stings and the venom apparatus of the african catfish "Clarias gariepinus" (Burchell, 1822), and stinging catfish "Heteropneustes fossilis" (Bloch, 1794)

The ability of catfi sh to infl ict extremely painful wounds with their pectoral and dorsal stings has been well known for many decades. The venom apparatus of the African catfi sh Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822), and stinging catfi sh Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794) is constituted by a single, sharp and stout sting immediately in front of the soft-rayed portion of the pectoral fi ns. The sting has well developed articulations, making it possible for it to become erect and locked. The toxicological centres in Poland have recorded 17 cases of envenomations caused by stinging catfi sh and African catfi sh; the injury was accompanied by intense pain, numbness of the site, dizziness, local oedema and erythema. In addition, systemic symptoms such as tachycardia, weakness and arterial hypotension were observed. The treatment of these injuries should include cleansing of the wound and surrounding area. Immersion of the wounded extremity in hot water (45°C) was used for the pain control. An attempt to remove any spinal sheath or remnant must be undertaken. Antibiotic management depends on several factors: the age and immune status of the victim, the interval between injury and presentation, or the presence of a foreign body. The most serious long-term complications of sting envenomation involve infections

Morphometry of the gill respiratory area in ruffe, Gymnocephalus cernuus (L.)

. The relationships between GRSA and body weight are statistically significant, the correlation coefficients are positive and significant (P < 0.01), and their values range from 0.95 to 0.99. The results obtained show that previously published GRSA values for ruffe were overestimated

Edible Mushroom Poisonings

Publikacja recenzowana / Peer-reviewed publicationOd wieków zbieranie i spożywanie grzybów mieści się w tradycji kulinarnej krajów Europy, Azji i obu Ameryk. Dziko rosnące gatunki były i są chętnie zbierane i spożywane także w Polsce. W ostatnich latach porzucono pogląd, iż grzyby to bezwartościowy pokarm. Przybywa jednocześnie coraz więcej doniesień wskazujących na ich pozytywny wpływ na organizm człowieka. Jednak dane epidemiologiczne ostatnich lat pokazują, że grzyby jadalne są odpowiedzialne aż za 25–87% wszystkich zatruć grzybami. Biorąc to pod uwagę, należy zastanowić się, jak skutecznie zapobiegać tym zatruciom. W pracy przedstawiono czynniki, które usposabiają do zatruć gatunkami jadalnymi. Dodatkowo uwzględniono gatunki, które jedynie w pewnych sytuacjach (warunkowo) ujawniają swój szkodliwy wpływ na organizm konsumenta.Collecting and consuming mushrooms has been a culinary tradition in Europe, Asia and both Americas for centuries. As such, wild mushrooms are eagerly collected and consumed in Poland. The idea that mushrooms are worthless food has been revised. Recently, there has been more discussion about their positive influence on humans. Recent epidemiological data indicate that probably edible species are responsible for 25–87% of mushroom poisonings. In view of these facts, we need to consider how to prevent these poisonings effectively. The paper presents the factors that contribute to poisoning by edible species. Moreover, species that only conditionally have a harmful effect on consumers are included