GENERAL PROPERTIES AND ACTIONS OF THE VENOM. 



85 



addition of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 mg. of venom dissolved in 1 c.c. of 0.85 per cent 

 NaCl to 1 c.c. of citrate plasma, but without CaCl 2 the plasma remained 

 liquid for 24 hours, when the experiment was interrupted. 



If we add venom to the citrate plasma and afterwards 0.4 c.c. 0. 5 per cent 

 CaCl2 the various quantities of venom again do not exert any specific influence 

 on coagulation. 



In each case the venom had been dissolved in 0.85 per cent NaCl solution 

 and to each test-tube, so much 0.85 per cent NaCl was added that the total 

 volume of fluid in the test-tube was 3 c.c. In this case addition of venom 

 caused a quite insignificant delay in the coagulation of the citrate plasma which, 

 however, did not bear any direct relation to the amount of venom added. 

 From all these experiments we may conclude that venom does not exert any 

 distinct influence on the coagulation of the blood. 



Our results differ from those obtained by van Denburgh and Wight, who 

 state that they found the venom of Heloderma exerting a distinct influence on 

 the coagulation of the blood. In order to clear up, if possible, the cause of this 

 divergence in the results obtained by ourselves and by van Denburgh and 

 Wight, who in some of their experiments had used fresh venom, while we 

 worked with solutions of dried venom, we made a few additional experiments 

 in which we injected into the ear-veins of rabbits an extract of the venom gland 

 of Heloderma after it had been filtered through filter paper. The extract was 

 prepared by rubbing up 0.87 gram of gland with 6 c.c. of 0.85 per cent NaCl 

 solution. 



Fifty seconds after the injection of 0.5 c.c. of the extract into a rabbit 

 weighing 800 grams, the animal was in a dying conditon; 30 seconds later 

 blood was obtained by making an incision into the heart. Respiration had 

 ceased at that time, but the heart was still beating. Some of the dark-colored 

 blood was kept in a porcelain dish ; the rest was distributed into four test-tubes, 



