05-05-2025
Fast Five Quiz: Are You Prepared to Confront Spider Bites?
Approximately 50,000 extant species of spider are known. Nearly all species are venomous, but only a small fraction possess fangs of sufficient size to affect humans. In the United States, there are two genera of medically relevant spiders: the recluse or brown spiders ( Loxosceles species) and the widow spiders ( Latrodectus species). Spider venoms are highly complex and specific compounds, and effects of envenomation can range from localized cutaneous reactions to life-threatening complications, although mortality from North American spider species is rare.
How much do you know about the presentation, management, and epidemiology of spider envenomation? Check your knowledge with this brief quiz.
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Cite this: Richard H. Sinert. Fast Five Quiz: Are You Prepared to Confront Spider Bites? - Medscape - May 05, 2025.
