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Curare is a generic name for toxins extracted from plants and first used by indigenous people of South America. These poisons were employed as weapons by applying to darts that were packed into hollow blow-tubes or by applying them to the tips of arrows.
Curare Toxin
Curare effectively stops and kills prey by asphyxiation. When introduced directly into the bloodstream, the toxin paralyzes respiratory muscles, making it impossible to breathe. When taken orally into the digestive tract, curare toxin is not fatal. This allows curare-poisoned prey to be safely eaten.
Discovery
The use of curare was first discovered by westerners in the South American colony of Guyana.
Medicinal Use
It was developed for medicinal uses in the 19th century. Curare has been used as an antidote to strychnine poisoning, via hypodermic injection.
Anesthetic
Curare has also been used as an anesthetic and muscle relaxant. Early in the 20th century, it replaced the use of ether and chloroform, which posed more serious risks to patients undergoing surgery.
Curare Today
Curare has gradually been replaced by safer and more effective anesthetics in the operating room. It is still used in some surgical operations in which the patient must be completely immobile.
Source:
Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden: Curare, A South American Arrow Poison
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