Unlike snake venom, there appears to be no necrotic component in the Platypus' venom - although some muscle wastage has been observed in cases of envenomation in humans, it is likely that this is due to the inability to use the limb while the effects of the venom persist. Coagulating effects have been seen during experiments on laboratory animals, but this has not been observed consistently. The different chemicals in the poison have a range of effects from lowering blood pressure to causing pain and increasing blood flow around the wound. Of the four, three are defensin-like proteins (DLPs) unique to the Platypus. The crural gland produces a cocktail of venom, composed of over 250 different chemicals but with four major toxins. The spur normally lies flat against the limb but is raised when required. The spur is attached to a small bone which allows articulation the spur can move at a right angle to the limb allowing a greater range of attack than a fixed spur would allow. Female platypuses, in common with echidnas, have rudimentary spur buds which do not develop (dropping off before the end of their first year) and lack functional crural glands. Venom is produced in the crural glands of the male, which are kidney-shaped alveolar glands located in the upper thigh connected by a thin-walled duct to a calcaneus spur on each hind limb.
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