130 Messrs. T. L. Brunton and J. Fayrer on the [Jan. 22, 



excreted in the urine as quickly as it is absorbed by the gastric walls. But 

 if absorption be quickened by increasing the quantity administered and 

 giving it on an empty stomach, curare will have the same effect as when 

 it is placed in a wound or injected into the circulation. A like result is 

 obtained by arresting its excretion, either by ligaturing the renal vessels 

 or extirpating the kidneys. Snake-venom is also poisonous when absorbed 

 by the mucous membrane of the stomach. 



On the other hand, when we wish to prevent the accumulation of a 

 poison in the blood and thus to arrest its action,we must either lessen its 

 absorption, quicken its excretion, or combine the two means. 



In the case of curare the former of these is sufficient ; and all the bad 

 effects of the introduction of this poison into a wound may be prevented by 

 applying a ligature between the wound and the heart, and only loosening 

 the bandage occasionally, for an instant or two at a time. The same 

 obtains in snake-poisoning. In this way only a little of the poison is 

 absorbed each time the ligature is slackened, and this is excreted by the 

 kidneys before another quantity is absorbed. If the poison can be removed 

 from the wound itself by other means, instead of making the whole of it 

 pass through the circulation, the danger it causes will, of course, be sooner 

 over. Our power to quicken excretion is, in most cases, much less than 

 that to retard absorption ; and it is therefore on the latter that we mainly 

 rely in cases of poisoning in general, as well as snake-bites in particular. 



The various methods of mechanically arresting the introduction of the 

 virus, by excision, cautery, and chemical agency, have been fully discussed 

 in the ' Thanatophidia of India;' and we purpose now to consider its excre- 

 tion or removal from the organism. 



Before doing so, however, we must inquire whether its removal is likely 

 to be of any service or not ; for, as we have already pointed out in our 

 previous communication, the action of the poison may be of two kinds. 

 1st. It may resemble curare in destroying the power of the nervous 

 system so long as it is present in the blood, but leaving it in a condition 

 to resume its functions as soon as the poison has been removed. 2nd. 

 Its action may be identical with, or similar to, that of a ferment, decom- 

 posing or altering the nervous and muscular tissues in situ (in somewhat 

 the same way as the pancreatic or gastric ferments would decompose them 

 if they had been placed in the intestinal canal), and thus rendering them 

 utterly incapable of ever again performing their functions. 



If the action of the poison is of the latter kind, no treatment can be 

 expected to be of any avail if the dose has been large ; but if it is of the 

 former, we may still entertain a reasonable hope of averting a fatal result, 

 even when the dose of venom has been large. 



We have shown in our previous communication, that, by means of 

 artificial respiration, life may be prolonged for many hours, and time 

 thus afforded for the excretion of some of the poison; but the means at 

 our disposal have not enabled us to maintain respiration sufficiently long 



