260 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 



" q calc. " were calculated on the hypothesis that i c.c. of antivenin is equiva- 

 lent to 1.2 c.c. of the venom solution and that K = o. In this case the devia- 

 tion of the calculated values with the increase of antivenin is much greater 

 than hi the cases of crotalus and cobralysins. 



From these observations Madsen and Noguchi point out that the neutrali- 

 zation of the toxic principles of cobra, moccasin, and crotalus venoms by their 

 specific antivenin shows analogy with the results obtained by Madsen, 

 Arrhenius, and Walbum with many other toxins and antitoxins, and can be 

 interpreted according to the view held by Arrhenius and Madsen. With the 

 haemolytic components of these venoms the neutralization shows almost a 

 straight line and there is only slight dissociation. 



The results obtained by Kyes * regarding the neutralization of cobralysin 

 by antilysin show also that the reaction between these two bodies is very 

 strong and gives a straight line. Criticizing the results obtained by Myers 

 and by Flexner and Noguchi, who found a marked curve indicative either of 



ICO 



CO 



TABLE 38. 



i c.c. 0.05 per cent solution of moccasin 

 venom + n c.c. of antivenin 4- i-n c.c. of 

 i per cent NaCl solution. 



FIG. 15. Ancistrodonolysin-antilysin. Dog's blood. 



the presence of toxoids in Ehrlich's sense or of the strong dissociation in 

 Arrhenius and Madsen, Kyes points out the importance of the presence of 

 sufficient amount of activators (lecithin) in order to obtain the real expression 

 of the reaction. With a defective supply of venom activator it would be 

 natural to obtain a false result. Kyes proves his claim by a very interesting 

 series of experiments in which the amount of activator was used in variable 

 proportions. In the case of sufficient supply of activator he obtained a 

 straight, and in the defective supply of activator a curved, neutralization line. 



1 Kyes. Cobragift und Antitoxin. Berl. klin. Woch., 1904, XLI, 494. 



