VENOM H#MOLYSIS AND VENOM AGGLUTINATION 189 
tive effects of a physical nature has already been shown. But it is not at all 
improbable that these fatty substances have acted as mordants and enabled 
the interaction of venom and lecithin compounds of proteins to take place, 
and hence hemolysis. At the same time we must not forget that most normal 
fatty acids can not take the place of acrylic acids as venom activators; that 
the inherent hemolytic powers of higher members of the latter acids are 
nearly ro times greater than any other acid, organic or mineral; that lower 
alcohols, which have quite large lecithin-solving property with but little 
hemolytic power, fail to accelerate venom hemolysis to any marked degree; 
and finally that mineral as well as organic bases favor slightly if at all the 
attack of venom on the blood corpuscles. There is one thing which seems to 
be necessary for the venom-activating property of these acrylic acids and their 
compounds —that is, the powerful hemolytic quality. It is still undetermined 
just how far the lipoid solvent property of these acids and soaps is concerned 
in their inherent hemolytic property and also their venom-activating property. 
The alterations of physical factors, such as the diminution of the osmotic 
tension of the fluidal media through the introduction of these particular 
chemical bodies, may play certain important parts in regard to the bursting 
of the delicate lipoid-like membrane of the blood corpuscles. 
Gengou ! found that sodium citrate when used in 2.1 per cent solution can 
stop the hemolysis caused by cobra venom and suitable blood serum. This 
antihemolytic property is, however, removed by adding sufficient calcium 
chloride to such mixture. The introduction of the latter salt will cause the 
formation of calcium citrate and sodium chloride, thus removing the inhibit- 
ing effect of the soluble citrate from the mixture. Gengou used just enough 
calcium chloride to remove the citrate soda and did not notice the antihemo- 
lytic property of the lime salt. He employed the laked solution of the 
washed corpuscles of guinea-pig’s blood as a venom activator and obtained a 
similar result in regard to the antihzemolytic action of sodium citrate. 
TABLE Io. 
Mixture = (1) Washed corpuscles of ox, rdrop. (2) 0.4 per cent cobra-venom solu- 
tion, 0.2 c.c. (3) Fresh guinea-pig serum in doses indicated in the table. (4) Solu- 
tions of respective chemicals in doses to make up the total quantity of the resulting 
fluid, 1 c.c. per tube. 
Hemolysis produced. 

Calcium chloride 
o.8 per cent solution. 
Slight in 24 hours 
None in 24 hours 
None in 24 hours 
None in 24 hours 
None in 24 hours 

Sodium citrate 
2 per cent solution. 
Slight in 24 hours 
Trace in 24 hours 
None in 24 hours 
None in 24 hours 
None in 24 hours 
Sodium chloride 
0.9 per cent solution. 
Complete in 20 min. 
Complete in 20 min. 
Complete in 40 min. 
Complete in 20 min. 
None. 
Noguchi compared the antihemolytic powers of sodium citrate and calcium 
chloride with cobra venom and was able to confirm Gengou’s observations. 
1Gengou. Compt. rend. de la Soc. de Biol., 1907, LXII, 409. 
