282 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 



THE EFFECTS OF VENOM UPON THE BLOOD CORPUSCLES OF COLD- 

 BLOODED ANIMALS. 



The following article is reprinted from the University of Pennsylvania 

 Medical Bulletin, July-August, 1903: 



In the course of experiments upon haemolysis carried out during the past sum- 

 mer at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods HoU, I took advantage of the 

 opportunity to study the agglutinative and lytic action of venom upon the blood 

 corpuscles of a wide series of cold-blooded animals. The study is of sufficient 

 interest, I think, to warrant presenting the results in a tabulated form. (See 

 table 41.) 



The blood was obtained from animals belonging to the classes of reptilia, am- 

 phibia, pisces, insecta, Crustacea, vermes, mollusca, and echinodermata. 



The dried venoms were dissolved either in 0.9 per cent or 2 per cent saline solu- 

 tion immediately before conducting the experiments; the venoms employed were 

 cobra, water-moccasin, and rattlesnake; the blood was used in 5 per cent suspension; 

 the temperature was that of the room, and varied between 20° and 30° C. 



In order to determine the minimum hemolytic, leucolytic, or agglutinative 

 quantity (dose) of venom, the reactions were noted at a fixed interval. Thus, 

 for haemolysis and leucolysis, after 12 hours; for agglutination, after 4 hours of 

 contact. 



While solution of the erythrocytes can be readily observed in test-tube reactions, 

 leucolysis can be determined only by direct microscopic examination. In general, 

 there is no difficulty in distinguishing leucolysis and leuco-agglutination; but in 

 some instances the act of defibrination causes considerable alteration of the white 

 corpuscles, and these cells exhibit a tendency to undergo spontaneous agglomera- 

 tion. When the result was mistakable it was indicated by the use of the term 

 "doubtful." 



The action of venom upon washed corpuscles was also studied, and it was deter- 

 mined that haemolysis occurred not at all with water-moccasin and rattlesnake 

 venom, while with the cobra venom a delayed solution would set in. This result 

 with cobra venom recalled the similar one which Professor Flexner ' and I had 

 met with in our studies of cobra-venom haemolysis in warm-blooded animals, and 

 is now sufficiently explained on the basis of the existence of intracorpuscular com- 

 plements as observed by us and by Kyes,- and of Kyes's important researches on 

 lecithin in relation to its action as complement to cobra-venom amboceptor. 



The heat liability of venom agglutinins for the blood cells of cold-blooded ani- 

 mals was found to vary between 68° C. and 72° C. for an exposure of 30 minutes. 

 The temperature of 100° C. maintained for 30 minutes abolishes largely the haemo- 

 lytic power of venom over these corpuscles. Crotalus venom proved most susceptible, 

 as its activity is greatly reduced at 90° C. in 30 minutes. 



* Flexner and Noguchi. The constitution of snake venom and snake sera. Univ. of Penna. Medical 



Bulletin, 1902, XV, 345; Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology, 1903, VIII, 379. 



* Kyes. Ueber die Wirkungsweise des Cobragiftes. Berliner klin. Wochenschrift, 1902, 886, 918. 



Kyes and Sachs: Zur Kenntniss der Cobragift activirenden Substanzen. Berliner klin. Wochen- 

 schrift, 1903, XLI, 21, 57, 82. 



