DOCUMENTS 351 



L. — Lachesis ferox (known as the Gragc, in French Guiana). 



XXXIII. — Case reported by Dr. Lhomme. 



"In May, 1898, A., aged 48, a European convict undergoing 

 sentence, was admitted to the Penitentiary Infirmary, of Koches de 

 Kouvous (French Guiana), suffering from a poisonous bite. 



" The man liad been bitten while engaged in felHng timber, at 

 the place called Passouva. The locality is one that is infested witli 

 snakes, especially at the end of the wet season. Two venomous 

 species in particular are found there in considerable numbers, the 

 rattle-snake and another called the Grage by the blacks, which 

 appears to be a Lachesis. 



" The patient arrived at the Infirmary in the evening, about 

 twelve hours after the accident. We endeavoured to obtain precise 

 details, but, owing to special circumstances, A., who was alone, 

 had been unable to see what animal had bitten him. The clinical 

 signs, however, pointed to a venomous snake ; inflammatory pheno- 

 mena and pain set in soon after the wound was inflicted, and in 

 a very short time became acute. 



" Clinical Signs. — On examining the patient we found that the 

 whole of the right arm was swollen. The skin, which was of a 

 dark red colour, was acutely inflamed. The slightest touch or 

 the least movement caused the patient to cry out. The hand 

 showed traces of the bite, in the shape of two small red marks, 

 each surrounded by a bluish areola. The general condition was 

 good. The thermometer, however, indicated a slight rise of tem- 

 perature, and the pulse seemed a little soft. The urine on being 

 examined on the day after the accident contained a small quantity 

 of albumin. Organs normal. General health before the accident 

 excellent. Nothing worth mentioning in the previous history. 



" Progress. — The conditions that we have just described dis- 

 appeared very quickly, once the treatment was applied. The pain 

 soon ceased, the temperature fell, and the patient was able to 

 get a few hours sleep. By the following day the inflammatory 

 phenomena had noticeably diminished. The oedema of the forearm 



