NCJ Number
235991
Date Published
1996
Length
477 pages
Annotation
The Pathology of Drug Abuse, Second Edition is a comprehensive guide to the pathology, toxicology, and pharmacology of commonly abused drugs.
Abstract
As in the first edition, the focus is on the investigation of drug-related deaths, practical approaches to the detection of drug abuse, and the medical complications associated with each of the abused drugs. The drugs and drug types covered in this edition are cocaine, other naturally occurring stimulants, synthetic stimulants, hallucinogens, narcotics, anabolic steroids, and organic solvent and aerosol abuse. Just over 30 percent of the new material in this edition involves information on drugs of abuse gained since the first edition. There are approximately 800 new references, 2 new chapters, an extensively updated chapter on cocaine, and new or redrawn illustrations and figures. The origin and history of each of the abused drugs are explained, including how and where they were discovered, as well as how they evolved into abused drugs. Information on each of the drug types includes unique drug-associated medical syndromes, such as excited delirium in adults and entrocolitis in the newborn. The information in this volume is particularly useful for pathologists, forensic scientists, pharmacologists, toxicologists, emergency medicine specialists, occupational and environmental medicine specialists, as well as others who need information on abused drugs. Chapter references, a subject index, and appended data on the "predicted normal heart weight as a function of body height in 392 women and 373 men."