CORAL TOXICITY

Course overview

CORALS ARE INVERTEBRATES THAT FALL WITHIN THE CLASS ANTHOZOA OF THE PHYLUM CNIDARIA. THEY ARE ONE OF THE IMPORTANT REEF BUILDERS IN TROPICAL OCEANS. MANY CORALS LIKE ZOANTHID CORALS ALSO KNOWN AS SOFT CORALS ARE A VERY POPULAR COMPONENT OF AQUARIUMS (HOME OR PUBLIC) DUE TO THEIR BEAUTY AND LOW MAINTENANCE. SPECIES OF ZOANTHID CORALS LIKE PALYTHOA AND ZOANTHUS SPECIES CAN CONTAIN A HIGHLY TOXIC AND POTENTIALLY LETHAL CHEMICAL COMPOUND KNOWN AS PALYTOXIN. CORAL TOXICITY, THEREFORE, IS PALYTOXIN TOXICITY. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CORAL TOXICITY AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE HEALTHCARE TEAM IN IMPROVING CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.