112 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 



may be the seat of haemorrhages. In cases in which haemorrhages took 

 place from the mucous tracts during life, these surfaces are intensely congested 

 and haemorrhagic. 



Autopsies in cases of death from the viperine snakes present intense haem- 

 orrhage and oedema at the point bitten. If the venom goes into subcutaneous 

 tissue the underlying muscles are frequently disorganized and even diffluent 

 from extravasation of blood. Haemorrhages may also be found in any of the 

 organs and along the alimentary tract. Kidneys are congested and haemor- 

 rhagic. The blood is fluid. 



VARIOUS SYMPTOMS OF SNAKE POISONING ENCOUNTERED IN MAN. 



One or other of the following symptoms or conditions is described as 

 having occurred during life or after death (Fayrer) : 



Local : Pain in the bitten part. Tingling of the bitten part. Burning sensation 

 in the bitten part and up the limb. Loss of feeling in the bitten part and 

 up the limb. (Edema in the bitten part and up the limb. Swelling in the 

 bitten part and up the limb. Discolorations blue-black in the bitten part 

 and up the limb. Sloughing of the part bitten. Erysipelatous inflamma- 

 tion of limb or part. Haemorrhage from the punctures. 



General and constitutional: Drowsiness. Thirst. Restlessness. Uneasiness. Rapid 

 or sudden unconsciousness. Foaming at the mouth. Stertor. Coma. In- 

 sensibility. Nausea. Vomiting. Vomiting of black fluid (of blood). Swelling 

 of face and body. Fever. Tossing of limbs. Rolling of head. Hurried 

 respiration. Cold, clammy sweats. Saliva running from mouth. Pupils 

 contracted. Pupils dilated, insensible to light. Heart's action weak, flutter- 

 ing, intermittent. Twitching of diaphragm. Pulse feeble, haemorrhagic, lost. 

 Anxiety. Despondency. High spirits. Feeling of a glow over the body. 

 Difficulty of articulation. Loss of articulation. Rigidity. Stiffness. Con- 

 vulsions. Coma. Spasms. Subsultus tendinum. Facial paralysis. Haemop- 

 tysis. Haematomesis. Haematuria. Haemorrhage from eyes, nose, mucous 

 membrane of passages, from under thumb and great toe-nails. Loss of voice. 

 Staring. Throbbing headache. Delirium. Peculiar odor in excreta. Dim- 

 ness of vision. Vertigo. Loss of vision. Oppression of epigastrium. Choleraic, 

 husky voice. Dryness of throat. Feeling of swelling of tongue. Coldness. 

 Froth in lips. 



The above descriptions agree mostly with the cobra poisoning. 

 In the post-mortem examinations Fayrer found recorded: 



Blood generally fluid, dark; sometimes clots in the heart or great vessels, dark blood 

 oozing from the mouth. Lungs sometimes pale, sometimes congested, some- 

 times natural. Heart normal; clots or fluid blood in cavities; cavities stained 

 with dark blood. Abdominal viscera sometimes normal, sometimes congested. 

 Liver and spleen sometimes congested. Kidneys nearly always congested. 

 Cadaveric rigidity present in some, absent in other cases. Abdomen swollen, 

 distended. Body and limbs generally swollen; bitten part discolored; sug- 

 gillations; effusions of dark sanguinolent serum into areolar tissue. 



