THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF SNAKE-VENOMS 169 
draw up separately a clinical description of the symptoms observed 
after a bite from a Cobra (CoLUBRIDA), for instance, and another 
list of those that accompany a bite from Lachesis or Vipera berus 
(VIPERIDÆ). 
The bite of a Cobra, even of large size, is not very painful; it 
is characterized especially by numbness, that supervenes in the 
bitten part, rapidly extends throughout the body, and produces 
attacks of syncope and fainting. The patient soon experiences a 
kind of lassitude and irresistible desire to sleep; his legs scarcely 
support him ; he breathes with difficulty and his respiration becomes 
of the diaphragmatic type. 
By degrees the drowsiness and the difficulty of breathing become 
ereater; the pulse, which at first is more rapid, becomes slower 
and gradually weaker, the mouth contracts, and there is profuse 
salivation, the tongue appears swollen, the eyelids remain drooping, 
and, after a few hiccoughs frequently accompanied by vomiting 
and involuntary emissions of urine or fecal matter, the unfortunate 
victim falls into the most profound coma and dies. The pupils 
react to luminous impressions up to the last moment, and the heart 
continues to beat sometimes for two hours after respiration has 
ceased. 
All this takes but a few hours, most frequently from two to 
SIX or seven, rarely more. 
When the reptile by which the bite is inflicted is one of the 
Solenoglypha, such as a Lachesis for example, the seat of the bite 
immediately becomes very painful and red, then purple. The 
surrounding tissues are soon infiltrated with sanguinolent serosity. 
Sharp pains, accompanied by attacks of cramp, extend towards 
the base of the hmb. The patient complains of intense thirst, and 
extreme dryness of the mouth and throat; the mucous membranes 
of the eyes, mouth, and genitalia become congested. 
These phenomena often continue for a very long period, even 
for more than twenty-four hours, and are sometimes accompanied 
by hemorrhages from the eyes, mouth, stomach, intestines, or 
bladder, and by more or less violent delirium, 
