THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 201 



piiscles, not 011I3' against the action of lecithin (complement), 

 hut also against distilled water, ether, &c. 



Nogiichi, seeking more thoroughly to elucidate the mechanism 

 of this protective action, finds that Cobra-venom forms a precipitate 

 with hlood-serum, when the latter is relatively poor in salts or 

 when it is diluted with water. It likewise forms a precipitate with 

 the aqueous extract of red corpuscles, and precipitates the globulins, 

 haemoglobin, or globin of the corpuscle, when treated separately. 

 The precipitates are insoluble in water, but dissolve with the 

 assistance of a small quantity of acid or alkali, and also in a great 

 excess of saline solution. 



Noguchi supposes that red corpuscles, when treated with strong 

 solutions of venom, are protected against destructive agents on 

 account of the formation by the venom and certain constituents 

 of the corpuscle (chiefly haemoglobin) of a compound insoluble 

 in water. When this compound is removed by repeated washings 

 in physiological solution, the corpuscles can easily be haemolysed 

 afresh by the ordinary destructive agents. Venom, none the less, 

 exerts a noxious influence upon the corpuscles in all cases ; but 

 when strong solutions are employed, this effect is masked by the 

 protective action. 



All kinds of red blood corpuscles are not equally sensitive to 

 the protective action of strong doses of venom. In this respect 

 all degrees are observed in the action of venom. Thus the cor- 

 puscles of the dog are not protected at all by Cobra-xenom. But 

 it is interesting to observe that this venom in no way precipitates 

 either the aqueous extract of dog's corpuscles, or the haemoglobin, 

 or the globin of this animal. 



The venom of Crotalus and that of Ancistrudoii likewise possess 

 protective power, which is, however, less marked than in the case 

 of Co ira- venom. 



Noguchi finally points out that corpuscles treated with venom 

 are not hfemolysed by fluorescent substances such as eosin. They 

 are also refractory to the haemolysing action of tetanolysin. 



