178 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 
If a fairly large amount of the fresh snake serum is added to the washed 
corpuscles alone, complete hemolysis will result in a few minutes. But 
if the same quantity of the serum is added to the venomized corpuscles 
hemolysis is always imperfect or complete only after many hours’ contact, 
this especially being more pronounced (inhibited) when moccasin venom is 
employed. Why is it? It is because the preoccupancy of the receptors of 
the blood corpuscles by venom-intermediary bodies means the possession 
of the majority of the receptors by isocomplementophilic intermediary bodies 
in the case of crotalus venom, but by heterocomplementophilic intermediary 
bodies in the case of moccasin venom; hence hemolysis may be complete in 
the first instance in the presence of the homologous complement, but only 
little in the second instance on account of the non-availability of the venom- 
intermediary bodies, in this case of the crotalus complement. Even if the 
moccasin complement be used, hemolysis proceeds slowly. Again, if, instead 
of homologous serums, some quick-activating heterogeneous serums should 
be employed, the venomized corpuscles undergo hemolysis, the promptness 
of action being proportionate to the amount of venom, provided a certain 
limit is not passed beyond which another phenomenon complicates the process 
of the antihzmolytic action of venom. 
Flexner and Noguchi finally resorted to some other methods to identify 
the haptophore groups of venom-intermediary bodies and serum-intermediary 
bodies. They found that the anti-serum for crotalus serum was quite anti- 
hemolytic against the crotalus hemolysin, but less so against moccasin or 
cobra venoms. Antivenin prepared by Calmette was quite antihzmolytic 
against crotalus serum. ‘The reason why this antivenin was effective in neu- 
tralizing the hemolytic action of crotalus serum, as well as crotalus venom, 
may find its explanation in the fact that Calmette immunized his horses 
with a mixture of several venoms, of which crotalus venom was a component. 
Venom hemolysis was found to proceed uninfluenced by the presence of 
cholesterin. This fact was later confirmed by Kyes and Sachs, who in case 
of venom-lecithin hemolysis found also a marked protection displayed by 
this substance. 
Venom-agglutination occurs with the corpuscles hardened in to per cent 
formalin in Hayem’s solution, but no hemolysis. 
The approximate units of hemolytic activity of various venoms upon 
different kinds of defibrinated blood in vitro are given by Flexner and Noguchi 
in the following table, which also shows the coincidental agglutinative value: 


TABLE 8. 
Minimal hemolytic dose in 1 mg __ Minimal . 
; Agglutinative dose in 1 mg. 
Venom. 
Guinea-pig. ; Dog. Guinea-pig. 
Cobrak.iqss.neee see 378 4 20 
Water-moccasin 200 230 250 
Copperhead ...:.... 100 125 400 

Rattlesnake? ja4 8 5 12 
