226 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIV. 



Such, then, is a short sketch of Cobra venom intoxication. We may 

 now pass on to the consideration of the effects of an injection of the 

 venom of Russell's Viper or Duboia. Experiments with this poison and 

 clinical observations on actual cases show quite a different picture 

 to what I have described in the case of Cobra venom. I have had 

 the privilege of studying the action of Daboia poison on many varieties 

 of animals — mice, rats, fowls, pigeons, guinea-pigs, rabbits, monkeys, 

 dogs and horses. At the outset it would be well to clear the ground 

 by stating that, as far as my experience goes, it would appear that 

 Daboia venom has no direct action on the central nervous system. I 

 have never seen paralysis of the legs, even in the prolonged cases, follow 

 its injection. The respiration is only interfered with as a result of its 

 action on the blood and heart. Its action seems to be confined en- 

 tirely to the circulatory system, viz,^ the blood plasma — that is, the fluid 

 part of the blood, — the blood corpuscles, the capillary walls and the 

 heart. 



We may divide all cases of Daboia intoxication into two groups — 



(1) those cases in which death follows very rapidly — say, within 

 10 or 15 minutes or sometimes it is only a few seconds — after 

 the injection of the venom ; and 



(2) those cases in which death is prolonged for some hours or even 

 some days after the injection of the poison. 



Let us take the first group. 



When a small quantity of Daboia venom is injected directly into the 

 blood stream of an animal — say, into the marginal vein of the ear of a 

 rabbit, — or when a comparatively large quantity is put under the skin, — 

 say, of a pigeon, — death follows rapidly, sometimes in a few minutes. 

 You will notice that the aniuial first becomes unsteady on its legs, 

 its powers of equilibration are seriously affected ; then it falls down, 

 and almost immediately violent convulsions set in. Death follows 

 in a few seconds after the onset of these convulsions. From the 

 observation of these symptoms Cunningham was led to believe that 

 they resulted from the direct action which the poison had on the 

 central nervous system. This, however, I have shown to be quite 

 an erroneous hypothesis. What, then, has really taken place ? On 

 opening the animal immediately after death, if the dose has been at 

 all a large one, the whole of the blood is found to be clotted solid ; 

 the cavities of the heart, the veins of the lungs and abdomen, and even 



