Review of southern African spiders of medical importance, with notes on the signs and symptoms of envenomation.

Medically important spiders in southern Africa are discussed in terms of their morphological features and distribution, the signs and symptoms of envenomation and the possible treatment thereof. A simple pictorial key is provided to enable the non-specialist to identify the neurotoxic and cytotoxic species. The following spiders are now known to be medically important in southern Africa: Latrodectus indistinctus (neurotoxic), Chiracanthium lawrencei (cytotoxic), Loxosceles sp. (cytotoxic) and Sicarius sp. (cytotoxic - haemotoxic).