CHAPTER XXI. 

 TOXICITY OF THE TISSUES OF VENOMOUS SNAKES. 



Flexner and Noguchi ^ determined the relative toxicity of the tissues of 

 Crotalus adamanteus and found that it greatly depends upon the amount of 

 blood contained in the organs. The fresh tissues obtained from snakes bled 

 to death were injected intraperitoneally, in the form of sterile emulsions, 

 into guinea-pigs weighing about 300 gm. each. The results, as shown in 

 table 20, are of interest, but do not, however, represent pure experiments, in 

 that with each injection more or less of the blood was introduced. On 

 account of the high degree of toxicity possessed by the blood, the organs in 

 general were seen to exert injurious effects. The symptoms noted agree 

 with those of crotalus-serum poisoning, in keeping with which the organs 

 containing the most blood after death are found to be the most toxic. Of 

 somewhat special interest are the poisonous properties exhibited by the egg- 

 contents. 



Table 20. 



The cause of death in the case of crotalus-egg injection may be due to the 

 action of the neurotoxin. 



Phisalix^ also found that the egg of Vipera berus presents toxic effect similar 

 to that described by Flexner and Noguchi with the crotalus egg. 



• Flexner and Noguchi. Constitution of snake venom and snake sera. Jour, of Path, and Bacteriol., 



1903, VIII, 379. 

 sPhisalix. C. R. Soc. Biol., 1905, LVII, 15. 



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