Editing Francesco Redi (section)

===Experimental toxicology===
In 1664 Redi wrote his first monumental work ''Osservazioni intorno alle vipere'' (''Observations on Vipers'') to his friend Lorenzo Magalotti, secretary of the ''Accademia del Cimento''. In this he began to break the prevailing scientific myths (which he called "unmasking of the untruths") such as [[vipers]] drink wine and shatter glasses, their [[venom]] is poisonous if swallowed, the head of the dead viper is an [[antidote]], the viper's venom is produced from the [[gallbladder]], and so on. He explained rather how snake venom is unrelated to the snake’s bite, an idea contrary to popular belief.<ref>{{cite book |author= Francesco Redi |editor= Knoefel PK |title= Francesco Redi on Vipers |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5w8VAAAAIAAJ |access-date= 18 April 2013 |year= 1988 |publisher= E.J. Brill |location= Leiden, the Netherlands |pages= 11–17 |isbn= 9004089489 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160430040248/https://books.google.com/books?id=5w8VAAAAIAAJ&pg |archive-date= 30 April 2016 }}</ref> He performed a series of experiments on the effects of snakebites and demonstrated that venom was poisonous only when it enters the [[blood circulation|bloodstream]] via a bite, and that the [[fang]] contains venom in the form of yellow fluid.<ref name=haw/><ref name=hab>{{cite journal |author= Habermehl GG|title= Francesco Redi¬—life and work|year= 1994 |volume=32 |issue=4  |pages=411–417|pmid=8052995 |doi=10.1016/0041-0101(94)90292-5 |journal= Toxicon|bibcode= 1994Txcn...32..411H}}</ref> He even showed that by applying a tight [[ligature (medicine)|ligature]] before the wound, the passage of venom into the [[heart]] could be prevented. This work marked the beginning of experimental [[toxinology]]/[[toxicology]].<ref>{{cite book |author= Buettner KA |title= Francesco Redi (The Embryo Project Encyclopedia ) |url= http://embryo.asu.edu/view/embryo:124758 |access-date= 18 April 2013 |year= 2007 |issn= 1940-5030 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100619034436/http://embryo.asu.edu/view/embryo:124758 |archive-date= 19 June 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Hayes AN, Gilbert SG |title= Molecular, Clinical and Environmental Toxicology|chapter= Historical milestones and discoveries that shaped the toxicology sciences| journal= EXS|year=2009| volume=99 |issue=1 |pages= 1–35|pmid= 19157056 |doi=10.1007/978-3-7643-8336-7_1|series= Experientia Supplementum|isbn= 978-3-7643-8335-0}}</ref>