The Poisoner's Handbook By Deborah Blums Best Selling Book

According to, http://www.toxicology.org/gp/fda.asp, the Society of Toxicology website, in 1937 the Massengill pharmaceutical company dispersed Elixir Sulfanilamide. This drug was prescribed generally to anyone who had symptoms of strep throat. Elixir Sulfanilamide contains diethylene glycol, which is a chemical equivalent of antifreeze. There were 107 documented deaths, involving many children, because of the lack in regulations. The Pure Food and Drug Act was deemed to insufficient to protect the public. This tragedy was the critical motivation for the creation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

was associated with the death. The bodies were being taken away for autopsy as he took in the scene.

The coroner is responsible for identifying the victim as well as determining the cause and manner of death.

The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938: Sulfonamide tested for flavor and fragrance but not safety, children died and 350 more were poisoned. This act made it so the sale of unsafe drugs could be stopped, that toxic drugs could be seized, and the burden of proof was given to the manufactures to show data of safety experiments.

Mysterious white powder carrying the anthrax/ricin bacillus could result in "inhalation anthrax," which is nearly always fatal without treatment (Grabenstein, 2003, p. 714). Due to the use of ricin in the past and the real threat of its use in the future, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services commissioned a report outlining an effective response to both "overt" (e.g., white powder in an

This method may have been sufficient in the 10th century when people were illiterate and believed the world was flat; however, the scientific world since then has grown exponentially. Science is a powerful study, aiding us in understanding the complex process life and the absence of life, death. Pathology, the science of disease, has assisted in the arrests of countless criminals, uncovering the truth and more notably providing a sense of closure for the loved ones of the deceased. A coroner system without the foundation of science is a system that keeps murders on the streets, the innocent behinds bars and prosecutors frozen in cases. The most memorable example of inefficiency is Dr. Paul McGarry, who made careless errors in not just one but four autopsies. In the case of new prison inmate Cayne Miceli, McGarry initially determined the cause of death to be a drug overdose. Upon the further examination, a second examiner found a heap of mucus in her lungs indicating she had severe asthma. The doctor then concluded the real cause of death was the jail restraints on her chest blocked her airways during an asthma attack (Thompson, 2011, para 13-16). A peculiar fact about the case was the McGarry concluded the cause of death before he got the test results. Could he had been trying to hide something? After all, he is an elected official which according to the NAS

As we know many government agencies collect wide varieties of healthcare data for many different reasons. The State of Georgia Department of Health and Human Services also collects variety of data from the Georgia population. The DHHS of Georgia runs The Georgia Poison Center (GPC) to collects, and analyzes poison related data from all over the State of Georgia. The GPC then publishes these data on their website and through other media for GA residents (June 2013 GPC).This is very helpful information for everyone but specifically useful for consumers and health care professionals. The GPC provides all kinds of poison related statistics danger for people on their website. The agency posts substances that cause human and even pediatric exposure. For instance they have posted consumer drugs, household cleaning substances, cosmetics/personal care products, pesticides, toys and such to just name few. For consumers, this is very useful information for daily living since most people use these products. I can use this information for

Industrial wood alcohols, which never intended for human consumption, began finding its way into the American palate. Necessary for products such as shaving cream, anti-freeze, and mouthwash toxic wood alcohol was poisons. Leaving many of those who consumed the resulting product would find themselves in hospitals with alcohol poisoning, many near death. Officials would declare, “Drinking these produces are paramount to self suicide.” Doing nothing claiming that no one should have drunken these products in the first place.

In the very early 1900s, the country’s attention began to turn from the problems of primitive man to the safety of a consumer society who no longer was watching their food supply grow on their own property. Mass production was in its infancy, as well as modern pharmacology, and although the ability to produce food and drugs in a factory setting was there, the necessary safety precautions had not yet been laid out. People were getting ill or even dying in huge numbers because there was no regulations on the production of consumer goods. While this was not such a problem when dealing with toys, farm equipment, or even clothing, it was a massive problem when dealing with food or

During 1800’s society was dynamic because of the comparisons of risks with using chloroform. With a wide range of confusion amongst the public but despite this religions had mixed views about chloroform some would refuse its use and others had no reasons for their opinion whereas others have no concerns due to the Queens uses. Few religions views had the support of media whereas others supported Simpson’s views and medical support was varied, but widely discussed but most of them felt that chloroform was unethical. The Church of England preached against the use of chloroform but their views began to change once the Queen utilized chloroform. A journalist for New Vision walked into a chemist and brought half a litre of chloroform then repeated

In this paper, I will discuss the background of forensic pathology, the pros and cons of forensic pathology, and the similar and different in a forensic pathologist and a coroner. There are various disciplines in Forensic Science that can help with a crime, and solving that crime. One of these various disciplines is Forensic Pathology which the study of disease, and its causes, moreover; it involves the discovering the cause of the death where a death is sudden or suspicion to law enforcement. While a Forensic Pathologist can be helpful to law enforcement, and helpful in assisting in crime investigation, there are cons to being forensic pathologist. Furthermore, forensic pathologist can be confused with coroner even though they do the same

This truth forms an essential link between the enforcement of law and protection of the public in the administration of justice.” Forensic pathology is clearly a crucial role in the justice system. You have to be a little weird and crazy to have a passion for the kind of work that the coroners and M.E. go through on an everyday basis. They use past knowledge to make decisions on how death occurred and they come across many different postmortem changes in dead bodies. Every field is important in forensics, but pathology advocates for truth and justice to dead

Crime scene investigation and medical examiner television shows are always interesting and exciting to watch, but what happens when you make the contents of that television show your life? Often times, the one you see doing the investigating with not only the body at the scene, but also inspecting the body of the victim in their exam room is called the Forensic Pathologist. A Forensic Pathologist is often called to the scenes where a death has occurred so that they can legally gather information and observations so that they can proceed with the investigation. For example, they will try to find the time of death. It is very important that the forensic pathologist be contacted very early on in the investigation, due to the amount of evidence that needs to be overlooked. Forensic pathologists are educated as physicians, and are also licensed for the practice of medicine. Regional tests are given, which means that if you decide to move at any time after taking the regional test, you will be required to take it again if you move to a new state. Autopsies are a daily occurrence, and the goal of the forensic pathologist is to recreate the series of events that led up to the death of the victim.

In the spring of 1918, the first wave of one of the deadliest influenza pandemics began plaguing its victims (Peters, ix). Over the span of three lethal waves, the pandemic claimed approximately forty million victims, eradicating nearly twenty percent of the entire world’s population, or about one out of five individuals (Peters, ix). To make matters more dire, the ill-suited medical community was exceptionally unprepared for such a wide-scale pandemic: Doctors had very basic tools, knew little about diseases, and had no experience with vaccinations or prevention (Peters, 1-5; “The 1920s: Medicine and Health: Overview”, n.p.). People blindly faced the epidemic, relying on folk remedies such as consuming wine, drinking antiseptic, and

The specialized personnel that I would need at the crime scene include a medical examiner, sketch artist, photographer, forensic scientist, fingerprint specialists and investigating officers. The responsibility of the medical examiner is to determine the cause of death, time of death, and take custody of the body (Fisher, 2004).