POSSIBLE RECOVERY. 433 
writers and lecturers that a dose of venom sufficient to kill a 
healthy man will assuredly prove fatal if no actual antidotal 
measures are taken, such as the injection of anti-venene serum, 
for the reason that the venom destroys the nerve centres beyond 
the possibility of, recovery. In other words, the venom actually 
annihilates the life of the nerve centres, by so altering the structure 
of their cells that it is quite impossible for recovery to take 
place. 
Others ridicule the idea of a man’s life being saved after 
breathing has ceased. Consequently they maintain that in 
cases of snake bite it is useless to resort to artificial respira- 
tion. 
In animals injected with fatal doses of Cobra venom no 
destruction of the nerve cells was observed if they died within 
six hours. But in all cases where life was prolonged for twelve 
hours or more, it was noticed that preparations of nerve-substance, 
stained by Nissel’s method, showed that the venom had acted upon 
considerable numbers of nerve cells. In some instances the outer 
coating of the cell had vanished ; in others the whole cell was 
completely destroyed. This was particularly noticeable in the 
spinal cord. 
However, except in extreme cases due to an excessive dose 
of Cobra venom, sufficient nerve cells are not destroyed to be the 
actual cause of death. 
Snake venom, like other hypnotic drugs, poisons the nerve 
centres in the brain, medulla oblongata and spinal cords, more or 
less in accordance with the nature of the poison and the quantity 
introduced into the blood. Alcoholic liquor also causes exten- 
sive destruction of nerve cells, but does not usually destroy 
sufficiently to be a direct cause of death. 
Animals which have been paralyzed by snake venom often 
recover. I have kept such animals for many months, and in 
no case have they showed any symptoms afterwards of damaged 
nervous systems. 
Human beings who recover from snake bite become healthy 
and strong again. I have seen men lying insensible and appar- 
ently too far gone to recover. Yet they rallied and made 
complete recoveries. The case of Mr. James Williams, my 
assistant, is an excellent illustration. He was bitten by a 
Tree Snake or Boomslang (Dispholidus typus), and was as near 
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