Question

What are the two types of Ergotism?

Answer 1

Ergotism:

1. It is a kind of poisoning that is caused by the ingestion of cereals, such as rye, that have been infected with the fungus ascomycete Claviceps purpurea.
2. This fungal infection replaces the infected grains with hard, dark seeds that get mixed with healthy grains during harvesting and milling.

Two types of Ergotism:

Spasmodic:

1. The type of egotism that leads to the dysfunction of the nervous system, where the poisoned person feels pain while moving the body.

Gangrenous:

1. The poisoned person may lose parts of his/her body such as toes, fingers, and ear lobes, but in more severe cases, arms and legs are also lost.
2. This type of ergotism leads gangrene to occur by constricting the blood vessels which leads to a decrease in blood flow, once the gangrene has occurred, it results in mummifying the fingers and toes.