SCORPION POISON 151 



exlicauda, Wood). In Korea, however, of 81 cases collected by Mori,'^ 

 four were fatal. The majority of serious results following scorpion 

 bites, as well as bites of poisonous insects to be considered later, are, 

 however, due to infection of the wound, which occurs readily because 

 of local necrosis and hemorrhages, and also because of the unfavorable 

 conditions existing in tropical climates. Apparently these bites favor 

 local infection much as do those of vipers. 



When general symptoms do occur, they are described as resembling 

 strychnine poisoning, with trismus, stiffness of the neck and eventu- 

 ally of the respiratory muscles, which seems to be the chief cause of 

 death (Cavorez). Thompson," however, observed only seldom severe 

 symptoms, consisting of general paralysis that passed off in a few 

 hours. Most experimenters with scorpion poison describe it as chiefly 

 a nerve-tissue poison, and it also seems to act as a hemolysin and ag- 

 glutinin (Bellesme and Sanarelli), but Todd*^^ found it without ac- 

 tion on corpuscles and not capable of combining with nervous tissues. 

 Houssay^^ states that scorpion poison (B. quinquestriatus) is above 

 all a muscular poison of the veratrine type, and a powerful peripheral 

 excitant of the salivary and lachrymal secretions. 



Calmette^° gives the lethal dose for a guinea-pig as 0.5 milligram, 

 while Phisalix and Varigny put it at 0.1 milhgram and state that 

 scorpion blood is also poisonous. Wilson^ ^ found the toxicity of the 

 venom equal to 0.1 gram per million, that is, one gram of poison will 

 kill 10,000,000 grams of guinea-pig, ^^ hence it is much stronger than 

 cobra venom. It is quite stable, and keeps many months in an ice 

 chest; is not affected by heating to 100° for a brief period, but is de- 

 stroyed after 12 or 13 minutes' heating. The active constituents are 

 precipitated by saturating with ammonium sulphate, or by an excess 

 of alcohol. They are destroyed by either pepsin or trypsin (Kubota).^^ 

 The average amount of toxin in an Egyptian scorpion {Buthus quin- 

 questriatus) is sufficient to kill about 35 kilos, which agrees with the 

 fact that fatal poisoning by this scorpion is rare in adults, but reaches 

 60 per cent, in children. The venom is harmless when taken into the 

 stomach, and is said to be made inactive by ammonia, calcium hypo- 

 chlorite, and peroxide of hydrogen. Calmette claims that antivenin 

 for cobra in part neutralizes scorpion poison, a statement which could 

 not be corroborated by Todd, who succeeded, however, in preparing 

 an efficient antiserum by immunizing horses with scorpion venom. ^^ 



5^ Korean Med. Soc. Jour. (Chosen Igakukai-Zasshi), 1917, p. 47. 



" Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. of Philadelphia, 1886, p. 299. 



«8 Jour, of Hygiene, 1909 (9), 69. 



"Jour, phvsiol. path, gon., 1919 (18), 305. 



'"> Ann. Inst. Pasteur, 1895 (9), 232. 



'' Records of Egyptian Gov't., School of Med., 1904; abst. in Jour, of Phvsiol., 

 1904 (31), p. xlviii. 



'^ Exactl}^ the same toxicity is shown by Korean scorpions (Mori).''^ 



" A successful serum has also been prepared in Brazil (see Brazil-Medico, 

 1918 (32), 161). 



