132 OPHIDIANS. 
“ Among the most constant and curious lesions in the cases 
of secondary poisoning are the ecchymoses, which are found on . 
and in the viscera of the chest and belly, most frequently affect- 
ing the intestinal canal. They may and do occur in any cavity 
and on any organ. These spots contain blood, whose globules 
are more or less deformed, but still of dimensions not less 
than usual. 
“ Owing to the changes of the blood, or the tissues, or both, 
extravasations are met with in the lungs, brain, kidneys, 
serous membranes, intestines, and heart. As a result we may 
have functional derangement grafted on the main stem of the 
malady, and the accompaniments of bloody serum in the 
affected cavities, bloody mucus in the intestinal canal, and 
bloody urine in the bladder.” 
From the preceding experiments Dr. Mitchell naturally 
arrives at the conclusion : 
“That the venom of Crotalus, like that of other snakes, is 
a septic, or putrefacient poison, of astounding energy; a view 
long held by toxicologists. 
“The rapid decomposition of the blood, and of the tissues 
locally acted upon by the venom, leaves no doubt upon the matter, 
and makes it apparent that an incipient putrefaction of this 
nature may so affect the blood as to destroy its powers to clot, 
and perhaps, also, to nourish the tissues through which it is 
urged,”* 
The alterations thus brought about are probably the results 
of a continued fermentative change, which, by a small amount 
of poison, is gradually made to involve in fatal change the 
whole mass of the circulating fluids. Like all fermentations, 
however, the rapidity depends upon temperature, and on the 
amount of the primary ferment. 
* See Sfigmas, pp. 177-184. 
