EXPERIMENTS ON SNAKE POISON. V

By J.

Father, M.D., C.S.I.

(Continued from page 221.) August 5th, 1870. Experiment No. 1.?Some poison was taken from an ophiophagus on the 4th, yesterday; it had dried into a gum-like paste hy noon to-day and was of the usual clear orange color. This was diluted with water into its natural consistency. The snake was sickly and died this morning, so that it is probable that the poison was less active than if it had been taken from a vigorous snake. A drop of this poison wa3 injected with a hypodermic syringe, at 12-27 p. m., into a pigeon's thigh. The bird for the first three

or

four minutes did not seem to be

affected, it then began to droop and erect its feathers. 12-35.? Fell over, cannot stand. 12-36.?Convulsive movements. 1212-40.?Dead?in 13 minutes* 38.?Appears to be dying. Blood coagulated firmly after death. Experiment No. 2.?About one-fourth of a drop of clear

transparent poison extracted from a Bungarus Coeruleus. It was with the greatest difficulty that even this small quantity could be collected, owing to the smallness of the krait's fangs. This was diluted with sufficient 'water to form a good sized drop, and was injected at 12-35 into a pigeon's thigh. No change for the first three or six minutes. 12-43.? 12-47.? Crouching, wings spread out. 12-45.?Convulsed. Paralysed completely, occasional convulsions. 12-51.?Dead? in 16 minutes.

coagulated firmly after death. The quantity of poison extremely small, and even part of that was lost in collecting it: the whole amount must have been considerably less than j of a drop, but it proved fatal in 16 minutes. Blood

was

Experiment No.

(cobra). Half pigeon's thigh over.

a

3.?Poison taken from

drop

at

was

12-39.

12-42.?Convulsed.

a

fresh keautiah

diluted with water and

12-40.?Staggering.

injected

into

a

12-41.?Fallen

12-43.?Dead?in 4 minutes.

coagulated firmly after death. The snake in this experiment was fresh and healthy, poison was shed in considerable quantity, but only half a drop was used: it killed in Blood

4 minutes. Experiment No. 4.?A similar quantity of the same cobra poison diluted with four parts of water was injected into a pigeon's thigh at 12-47. 12-49.?Staggering; head fallen over.

12-50.?Convulsed. as

12-51.?Dead?in 4 minutes. after death. The result

coagulated firmly in the last experiment.

Blood

was

the

same

Experiment No. 5.?A drop of the opbiophagus poison, the as used in experiment No. 1, was injected into a pigeon's thigh at 12-52.?Not affected for the first few minutes. 12-58.

same

?Staggers and is convulsed. 12-59.?Fallen over, convulsed. 1-4.?Gasping. 1-5.?Dead?in 13 minutes. Blood coagulated firmly after death. Experiment No. 6.?A pigeon bitten in the thigh by the krait from which the poison was taken for the 2nd experiment, at 12-55. 12-56.?Purged, staggers. 12-58.?Crouching, purged. 1 p.m.?Cannot stand. 1-4.?Gasping ; convulsive movements. 1-5.?Dead?in 10 minutes. Blood coagulated firmly after death. The snake was exhausted, and hence the comparatively slow action of the poison.

f

December 1, 1870.]

EXPERIMENTS

The object of these experiments

on

ON SNAKE POISON.?BY J. EAYEER.

animals of the same size

to test the relative virulence of the strength, pigeons, poison of the cobra, the krait, and the ophiophagus. The results are not conclusive, as the conditions 'were not the poison had dried equal. The ophiophagus was sickly, and been was small, and had up before being used. The krait of poison obtained was the used quantity lately; frequently Very small. The cobra was fresh and vigorous. and

wa3

The results

were

:?

ophiophagus

16 ? test the certain relative Further experiments are needed to snakes. activity of the poison of these The krait in

Present: Drs. Fayrerand J. Anderson, Curator of Indian Museum.?8th August, 1870. I am indebted to Major McMahon, Deputy Commissioner of Echis Carinata, and three Deihi, for a very fine specimen of of Lungarus Cceruleus, which all arrived safely from Delhi in length. One Bungarus yesterday. The Echis is 22,j inches 27 inches, one being others two the and 48 Coeruleus inches, of the same length. much larger in girth than the other, though and apparently very The Echis is a beautiful little viper, and drew back his fierce; he hissed* loudly when disturbed, head in the attitude as if to strike. 'I he fangs are very long and moveable, and in general character he closely resembles the Daboia Russelli, though differently marked and much smaller. name of this small viper is Major McMahon says, the local Speaking of this individual, he Afae vulgarized into Haf&e. the specimen I now " I have never seen one larger than says : send. They have the reputation of being very deadly, and from the bite of one of his certainly my old snake-man died specimens."

The Echis Carinata appears to be common about Delhi. Eyperiment No. 1.?A full-grown pariah dog was bitten in the The snake bit savagely, thigh by the Echis Carinata at 12-30. and embedded his fangs thoroughly. The dog howled as though As the snake closed his jaw and before one fang penein

pain.

small drop of clear fluid, the poison, was seen on the part. 12-26. 12-22.?The dog is restless, and drags the bitten leg. ?The hind quarters seem very weak, he walks with difficulty. 12-34.?Lying down, rises but with difficulty, and drags the

trated,

a

hind limbs. 12-42.?Lying down; breathing hurried. The muscles generally in a state of tremor. 12-59.?The dog can

hind legs. 1-6. stand, but when he moves he drags the a box. head aginst resting 1-18. a in attitude, dejected Standing ?He seems rather better. Tries to walk about, but drags the 1-30.?Some blood drawn legs. Refuses water when offered. from a nerve in the thigh ; it became a bright, red fluid imme-

into a poor and rather imperfect clot. diately, and slowly formed he was; limb swollen and 1-45.?Very sluggish, but better than down, apparently asleep. bite. the 2-2.?Lying about discolored and he is very 2-5.?The breathing is still hurried, sluggish, but takes notice when spoken to. There is no salivation or at the mouth. I saw him again at 5-45 p.m.

frothing

He

was

lying down, quite

conscious, but very much indisposed to move ; the bitten limb swollen ; this was partly due to the puncture whence the blood was and the hind legs very weak. abstracted, dog died at

10 p.m., in nine and a half hours. The blood remained fluid after death. There was no coagulation. It is that blood taken from the of whilst The

worthy

dog

note,

hour after being bitten, and when well under the influence of the poison, formed a rather imperfect clot.

living,

*

one

I subsequently discovered that this sound is not by friction of the lateral scales.

hissing

The rigor mortis was complete when I saw the dog at 8 a.m. of the 9th. The bitten limb was swollen and infiltrated with black blood. This was partly due to the puncture made to withdraw blood before death. Experiment No. 2?A fowl was bitten in the thigh by the Echis Carinata at 12-24. 12-25.?Restless and uneasy.

same

12-26.?Falh over, wings outspread. 12-27.?Convulsed. 1227-30.?Violently convulsed. 12-28.?Dead?in four minutes. Just before death the fowl vomited

quantity of fluid. body five minutes after death : it was thin and red, became bright red when exposed to the air, but did not coagulate. It remained perfectly fluid, never coagulated. In this it resembles the blood of animals poisoned by Daboia, which behaved in the same manner. I think it is quite certain that the poison of these two vipers so affects the blood that it will not coagulate after death. The bitten limb was intensely swelled and discolored with The blood was removed from

4 minutes. The cobra killed in in 13 ,, The

but is caii^d

241

a

the

black ecch^'mosis. Experiment No.

3.?Another fowl bitten by the same Echis thigh at 1-38 p.m. One fang has been broken in the last experiments, and the other it would not insert; at least the bite

in the was

doubtful.

No effect

produced by 2 p.m. So it was again tried, and this tirna it bit, but reluctantly ; it is evidently exhausted. The fowl was very slightly affected, being rather sluggish at 2-15. I saw it again at 5-45 p.m., and it had just died, in 47 minutes. Bitten at 1-38.?Died at 5-45. The snake had evidently been nearly exhausted when it bit

this fowl. The blood was removed from the body, and it was exactly like that in experiment No. 2.?It remained fluid. The first fowl died in four minutes. Gunther says of the Echis Carinata, " No case is known of its bite having proved fatal." I think its powers are under-estimated. A snake that can kill a fowl in four minutes, and a dog in 10 hours must be very dangerous, and its bite might well prove fatal to weak or young persons. This fowl died in 4 hours and 7 minutes; the blood was the same in both. Experiment No. 4.?A full-grown pariah dog was bitten in thigh by the Bungarus Coeruleus, from Delhi, four feet in length, at 12-31.?For the first few minutes no apparent effect. 12.44.?The dog is looking sluggish, stands with his head the

stretched, and in a vacant look. 12-50.?Vomited very freely. 12-59.?Lying down, apparently affected with ataxy; cannot co-ordinate his muscles of locomotion; frothing at the mouth; Avhen made to stand, shakes about in a state of obvious helplessness. 1-2.?Lying down; very restless, making efforts to 1-5.?Tried to get up, fell move the limbs in every direction. 1-10.?Convulsed generally. over, with convulsive movements. 1-15.?Sardonic grin; convulsive twitchings of diaphragm and

abdominal muscles ; convulsions.

1-23.?Dead?in 52 minutes.

The thorax opened at 1-30. The blcod in the great vessels and heart very dark and treackly looking ; but it reddened somea tolerably firm what on exposure to the air, and soon formed into was considerable, but there The clot. and complete quantity of clots and serum whilst I saw it until 2-30. no

was

separation integument was

raised over the bite : the punctures were skin; the areolar tissue was discolored not perceptible extent. and oedematous, but not to any great bitten was fowl No. 5.?A by a Bungarus CooruExperiment fromDelhi) in the neck at 12-50. ^-SO28 inches The

below the

leus,

long (also Crouching. 12-56.?Drooping,

head fallen over. 12-59.? Convulsed. 1-7.?Dead?in seventeen minutes. The blood was removed from the fowl's body after death, and it

SO.

at once. This krait was very thin and sluggish. Experiment No 6.?A fowl was bitten in the thigh by another 28 inches long, but much thicker Coeruleus, about

coagulated firmly Bungarus

THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.

242

12-58.?No effect.

than that of

12-40.

Bitten

effect. 1-14.?Not affected.

experiment No. 5, at again by same krait. 1-7.?No

The fowl remained unaffected. Experiment No. 7.?Another fowl bittenhy the same krait as experiment No. 6 in the thigh, at 1-13.?It bit well and drew blood. No effects followed. The fowl remained quite well. in

The krait

was

Delhi. or

vigorous ; its fangs were uninjured, before,?it was one of the three from were poisonous, but it from some reason

active and

and it had not been used The other two

other was not venomous.

of the recoveries from snake bites, of antidotes. Experiment No. 8.?A Bansbunniah Keautiah (cobra) 52 inches in length, was severely bitten on the body by a Bungarus, Such cases

and the

explain supposed effect

some

Ceeruleus, 48 inches in length, at 1-22 p. m. Up to 8 a. m. of the next day the cobra was unaffected. On the 10th August at 1 p. m. it was found dead. It was bitten on the 8th. This may have been due to natural causes, but the snake was well when it was bitten, Experiment No. 9.?A Bungarus Cocruleus, 28 inches long, the one that bit the fowl on the neck (vide experiment No. 5), was bitten at 12-55 by a very powerful cobra, (Tentuliah Keautiah) in the body. The fangs of the cobra were heard to strike the krait's

spine. 1-8.?Very sluggish, can hardly becoming paralysed. 1-35.?Dead. I think there can be if the

no

move.

1-32.?Gradually

doubt that the krait died of the

penetrated to the spinal cord, rapid, and though there had been paralysis of the part posterior to the bite, it would not have involved the entire body. The symptoms were precisely like that seen in innocent snakes when they die from the cobra bite. Experiment No. 10.?A fowl bitten by a cobra in the thigh poison;

even

fangs

had

death would not have been

so

1-48.?Fell over. at 1-47. 1-49.?Convulsed. 1-50.?Dead. The blood of the above was taken immediately after death, and about twenty drops injected into another fowl's thigh. At

5-45 p.m., it was sluggish, but not otherwise apparently affected. it was drowsy, a.m. of the 9th August crouching, head nodding; evidently deeply under the influence of the poison* fowl very drowsy and cannot stand. 10th 1 At 8

p.m.?The August, p.m.?The fowl can now stand and eat, it is nearly well. It has evidently got over the effects of the poison. Experiment No. 11.?About twenty drops of the blood of the fowl killed by the Echis Carinata, in 4 minutes, injected into a fowl's thigh at 2 p.m. 5-45 p.m.?Fowl seems unaffected. 9th August, 8 a.m.?Fowl seems unaffected. 1 p.m.?The fowl is not affected. 10th August, 1 p.m.?The fowl is well. The following important facts seem to bo proved or confirmed by the foregoing experiments. The Echis Carinata is a dangerous and deadly snake: it killed a fowl in four minutes, and a dog in nine and a half hours. Like the Daboia, its poison destroys the coagulability of the blood after death. The Bungarus Cocruleus is also very dangerous: it killed a dog in fifty-five minutes. The blood after death from this poison coagulates firmly. It, like other snakes, may, when apparently in vigor, bite without producing any evil effect. It may in fact be exhausted. The krait (B. Ceeruleus) succumbs to the poison of the cobra. 1

Doubtful whether the cobra will succumb poisoned by a cobra

The blood of an animal

to

that of the krait.

into another of the Echis in the second ani-

injected

animal, poisons it, though slowly. In the poisoned blood, the effect was not produced

ca3e

mal. Experiment No. 12.?About thirty drops of the blood of the dog poisoned by Echis Carinata injected into a fowl's thigh, at 1 p. m. of 9th August. It was drowsy in the afternoon. 10th August, 1 p. m.?The fowl i3 quite well, it has not suffered. (To le continued.)

x

/

[December 1,

1870.

Experiments on Snake Poison.

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