THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 209 



while normal serum heated, even in larger doses, is without eifect. 

 The lysin and the antivenomous serum appear also to enter into 

 stable combination ; by heating to 80° C, after dilution of the 

 mixture neutral antivenomous serum + venom, the property of 

 dissolving is not restored to the latter. 



Pursuing his researches upon the bacteriolytic actions, Noc has 

 also shown that the fresh serums of the rabbit, horse, guinea- 

 pig, rat, and man are capable of destroying them completely. 

 We must conclude from this that venom has the property of 

 fixing the alexin of these fresh serums, and in fact it is easy to 

 show that this fixation takes place by experimenting with haemo- 

 lytic alexin, which is much more easy to study ; it is sufficient 

 to eliminate the intervention of the haemolysin proper to Cobra- 

 venom. 



With this object, Noc employed horse-corpuscles (which are 

 readily dissolved by fresh rat-serum), and neutralised the haemo- 

 lysin proper to the venom by antivenomous serum, which has no 

 effect upon fresh horse-corpuscles and upon the alexin of rat-serum. 



For experimental purposes six tubes are prepared with contents 

 as follows : — 



(1) 0'5 c.c. of fresh rat-serum. 



(2) O'o c.c. of fresh rat-serum + 0"5 milligramme of Cobra- 

 venom (0*5 c.c. of a solution of 1 in 1,000). 



(3) 0"5 c.c. of fresh rat-serum -\- 1 milligramme of venom (after 

 fifteen minutes' contact of the venom with the alexin in tubes 2 

 and 3 the venom is neutralised by 1 c.c. of antivenomous serum 

 in the case of tube '2, and by 2 c.c. in that of tube 3). 



(4) 1 milligramme of venom. 



(5) 1 c.c. of antivenomous serum. 



(6) 0"5 c.c. of fresh rat-serum -|- 1 c.c. of antivenomous serum. 

 To each tube 2 drops of defibrinated horse-blood are added, and 



the tubes are placed in the stove at a temperature of 35° C. 



In tubes 1 and (5, which contain fresh rat-serum alone, and fresh 

 serum 4- antivenomous serum, haemolysis appears in a few minutes. 

 14 



