You're Toxic

When doing research on my last poisonous snake, I wondered how many different kinds of venom there really are. Of course I thought this would be a great thing to talk about on a blog. With my research, I found that there are mainly two types of venom among snakes: neurotoxic and haemotoxic. Of course the word nero refers to nerves, so nerotoxin negatively effects the nerves. It may cause random spasms or even shut the nerves down entirely. Without the prey's nerves functioning properly, the prey will not be able to escape. In the same way as nero is to nerves, haemo is to blood. Haemotoxins are actually natural blood thinners. All the snake requires is a minor wound and the prey will bleed out. There are also certain paralytic venoms. These render the prey helpless against their attacker. Here are a few:

Phosphomonoesterase
Arginine ester hydrolase
Phosphodiesterase
Thrombin-like enzyme
Acetylcholinesterase
Collagenase
RNase
Hyaluronidase
DNase
Phospholipase A2 (A)
5'-Nucleotidase
Phospholipase B
L-Amino acid oxidase
Phospholipase C
Lactate dehydrogenase
Adenosine triphosphatase

Snake venom is produced through toxic enzymes. There are about 20 different kinds of toxic enzymes. A snake can carry from 6 to 12 different enzymes, there are no snakes known that have all 20. Some may assist with digestion while others may act like the ones mentioned above. 
Snake venom is actually a common study for herpetologists. At 'milking' stations, snake venom is collected and submitted for research. Anti venom can be produced from these samples for those who are so unlucky as to be bitten by one of these toxic beauties. It is one of the key reasons why no fatalities have come from those bitten by the most poisonous snake of all. Haemotoxins are also very precious to medicine. Those who suffer from blood clots that cause strokes and heart attacks are benefited from snake research. In small amounts, doctors have found the haemotoxins of snakes are crucial to these people's survival. 

Links: http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2003/stoneley/types.htm