VENOM OF SNAKES. 119 



Since the snake had just ejected most of its venom, and fearing 

 anaphylactia on account of previous injections of Calmette's serum, 

 I did not use serotherapy. At 5 p.m. the pain became unbearable ; 

 the whole limb was swollen and oedematous, with a sensation as 

 tl^ough it were in imminent danger of bursting ; the inguinal ganglia 

 began to ache and were sensitive to the touch. I renewed the 

 hypochlorite dressing every ten minutes. At 7 p.m. a few steps 

 that I was obliged to make increased the suffering. In the evening 

 at 9.30 my temperature was 98° F. The following morning at 

 8 A.M., 97 '7° F. During the night I had slight dehrium. Walking 

 was impossible for two days, because of the ganglionic swelling. 

 The urine contained traces of albumin for eight daj^s. Then 

 everything was restored to natural condition, except that for a 

 fortnight after the inguinal gangUa were still slightly painful. 



We will now describe the lesions traced in the principal organs 

 during the autopsy of men and animals killed by snake-bite. 



When autopsy is performed on an individual killed by the bite 

 of a cobra or a Russell's viper, provided in the latter case that 

 death ensues slowly, the blood remains fluid. In case of rapid 

 death due to the bite of Russell's viper, the blood is coagulated. 

 This fact is due to the presence in venoms of numerous substances 

 (such as proteolytic and hemolytic substances) to which Flexuer 

 and Noguchi have especially drawn notice. 



The liver of the subject is very much congested ; it is friable, and 

 the knife mangles it rather than cuts it. The microscope shows 

 that many cells are undergoing fatty degeneration. 



The kidney is affected with hyperhemia and is full of interstitial 

 hemorragic centres. The necrosed cells of the tubuli contorti leave 

 their basal membrane and obstruct the canal. 



The lungs display numerous small congestions ; it is noticeable 

 also that the pulmonary vesicles appear to have contracted. 



The nervous centres seem affected with hyperhemia, but their 

 microscopic aspect does not permit one to infer that there are 

 important lesions. The histological examination shows the dis- 

 appearance or modification of the corpuscles of Nissl and the opacity 

 of the nucleus. 



The Anti-venomous Serotherapy is entirely due to the researches 

 of Calmette. To obtain his serum, which must be only considered 

 as curative (and never as preventive, because of the anaphylactic 

 accidents that would follow), Calmette injected into a horse 

 progressively increasing doses of venom. He commences by 

 injecting infinitesimal doses of venom whose toxicity has been 

 destroyed by heating. The serum of the animal may be used when 

 the latter can withstand an injection of 2 grammes of cobra's dry 

 venom (that is, 80 times as great as what would ordinarily kill a 

 horse). It takes on an average sixteen months to obtain this 

 result. 



