SNAKE VENOMS, THEIR PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION. 233 



was privileged to make recently on an actual case of Cobra bite at tbe 

 laboratory at Pare — this dose would in many cases fail to save the life 

 of the patient. 



A short account of this case might perhaps interest you. An 

 officer of the laboratory, while assisting in estracting the poison from 

 a full-sized Cobra, put his fingers where he had no business to, that 

 is, in the neighbourhood of the snake's mouth. In a moment the animal 

 had buried one of its fangs in the point of the right thumb. The 

 thumb was at onue withdrawn, but Dot before the total amount of 

 poison in the gland haa been injected . The symptoms, both objective 

 and subjective, &c., which followed, were carefully noted as they 

 occurred. Locally there was much pain at the site of the injection. 

 Swelling of the parts soon began and gradually became well marked. 

 A bloody serum oozed out from the puncture and continued to do so 

 for 24 hours. 



Fortunately for the experiment no fresh serum was available, and 

 we had to inject two bottles of a serum which had been the property of 

 this Society and which was at least four years old. Just the week 

 previous to the accident I had tested this serum with Cobra venom on 

 rats and had found that it had little or no neutralising power. The 

 patient then wont on with his work. About three hours after the bite 

 he began to get lethargic and lazy, did not wish to work and preferred 

 to lie down. This was soon followed by sickness and violent vomiting. 

 Then he noticed that his legs were weak, he was unable to move 

 about and had perforce to adopt the prone position. It appeared then 

 that the serum had had little or no effect and that the case was 

 hopeless. Just at this time, however, some fresh serum arrived. Ten 

 cubic centimetres were at once injected and the symptoms watched. 

 In about half an hour the paresis of the legs showed signs of improve- 

 ment. A short time later our patient was able to walk away and 

 drive to the club. Locally, the pain and swelling continued for some 

 time. A small slough formed. This, on separating, left a deep hole 

 which gradually healed up. A depressed scar is now the only sign of 

 the accident remainino-. 



It is, of course, apparent to you that the dose of antidote 

 necessary in the case of any cobra bite must depend on two un- 

 known quantities, vk. : (1) on the amount of venom injected by 

 the snake, and (2) on the smallest quantity of venom which can 



