426 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



Cobra venom is almost entirely composed, and which Adder 

 venoms have a small percentage of, there is comparatively little 

 danger of a fatal issue to a healthy man, or large animal such 

 as a horse or ox. Therefore polyvalent serums should always be 

 of as high neutralizing power against the neurotoxin as possible. 



Cobra venom is more difficult to procure in South Africa 

 than Adder venom, and should the operator faU short of it, he 

 can easily procure enough neurotoxin by heating Adder venom 

 to 75° C. when the haemorrhagin is destroyed, leaving the nerve 

 poison portion unchanged. 



The serum, otherwise known as plasma, is the liquid portion 

 of the blood, and is transparent and almost colourless, changing 

 to straw yellow on exposure to light. Slightly more than one- 

 half of the blood is serum, the rest is made up of corpuscles. 

 To obtain the serum the blood is allowed to stand in a pail till 

 it has clotted firmly. It is then a firm red mass composed of 

 fibrin and corpuscles, the serum or liquid portions having been 

 squeezed out. 



Instructions in Brief for the Use of Anti-venomous 



Serum. 



(i) Anti-venene * is the serum of horses highly immunized 

 with Cobra and Viper venoms [Coluhrine and Viperine). 



Its curative properties have been tested on animals against 

 these venoms and found to be highly effective. 



(2) In case of either Cobra or Viper bite when the patient is 

 at hand and before symptoms have set in, 20 to 30 c.c. of 

 anti-venene should be injected under the skin into any part 

 of the body where the skin is loose, such as in the region of 

 the flanks. For preference inject into the loose tissues or 

 folds of the abdomen at the sides between the last rib and 

 pelvis. Children require as large a dose as adults— often larger. 



(3) In a case when a patient is not seen until symptoms 

 of poisoning have set in, the same amount of serum may be 

 given by injection direct into a vein. But when the snake is 

 large and the bite is a full one with both fangs, an extra dose 

 is desirable if given under the skin or into the muscles. 



(4) If serum has been injected under the skin, and if the 



* Anti-venene is another name for anti-venomous serum. 



