170 VENOMS 



If the quantity of venom absorbed be sufficient to cause death, 

 the patient exhibits, a few hours after being bitten, stupor, insen- 

 sibiHty, and then somnolence, with increasing difficulty of respira- 

 tion, which ends by becoming stertorous. Loss of consciousness 

 seems complete a good while before coma appears. Asphyxia then 

 ensues, and the heart continues to beat for nearly a quarter of an 

 hour after respiratory movements have entirely ceased. 



In certain exceptional cases death is very rapid ; it may super- 

 vene suddenly in a few minutes, even before the local phenomena 

 have had time to manifest themselves; in this case the venom, 

 having penetrated directly into a vein, has produced almost imme- 

 diate coagulation of the blood, thus causing the formation of a 

 generalized embolism. 



If the venom be introduced in a highly vascular region, or 

 directly into a vein, the result is almost invariably fatal. On the 

 contrary, if the derm be scarcely broken, or if the clothing has 

 acted as a protection, scarcely any absorption will take place. We 

 are here confronted with the same factors of gravity as in the 

 case of bites inflicted upon human beings by animals suffering from 

 rabies. 



In experiments we are able to eliminate all these factors, and 

 to follow in an animal inoculated with a known quantity of venom 

 the whole series of phenomena of poisoning, the intensity of which 

 can be graduated. Let us see, then, how the various animals that 

 it is possible to make use of in laboratories behave with regard to 

 venoms of different origins. 



B. — The Physiology of Experimental Poisoning. 



In the monkey, the first apparent sign of the absorption of 

 Co6ra-venom, or of the venom of any other species of Colubrid^, 

 is a sort of general lassitude ; the eyelids next become half closed. 

 The animal appears to be seeking a suitable spot in which to rest ; 

 it gets up again immediately, and walks with a jerky action ; its 



