October 21, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



383 



In the first of these, " A Contribution to the 

 Literature of Fatal Spider Bites," various 

 cases are reported, one of which was fatal in 

 fourteen hours. They call attention to the 

 fact that the genus Lairodectes, under various 

 local names, in widely separated parts of the 

 world, has the reputation of being poisonous; 

 it is even classed, in this respect, with the 

 rattlesnakes, by some Indian tribes. This very 

 widespread reputation would seem to be fair 

 evidence in favor of the view that this spider 

 has marked poisonous characters. 



After discussing the above-mentioned cases, 

 the authors make the following statement: 



... it seems to us, after analyzing the evidence, 

 that it must at least be admitted that certain 

 spiders of the genus Latrodectes have the power to 

 inflict poisonous bites, which may (probably ex- 

 ceptionally and depending upon exceptional con- 

 ditions) bring about the death of a human being 

 (p. 211). 



In a later communication, " The Spider 

 Bite Question Again," in the same volume of 

 Insect Life, the editors quote a letter from Dr. 

 E. E. Corson, of Savannah, Georgia, in which 

 four cases are described in detail of supposed 

 bites from spiders, though in no case was the 

 animal actually captured or seen. Two of 

 these cases were adult colored men; one was 

 a very strong, healthy white man; the fourth 

 was a two-year-old boy. None of these 

 victims died, though some of them were most 

 seriously affected, the symptoms being prac- 

 tically the same in each case as tliose to be 

 described below for the two cases under dis- 

 cussion. As in these two, and practically 

 every case recorded, the victims were bitten 

 on the penis while using an outdoor closet. 



U. L. Kellogg'^ in an article entitled " Spider 

 Poison " discussed the subject of bites from 

 Latrodectes in a most interesting manner. 

 He quotes the same statement from Comstock, 

 given above, in regard to the skepticism of 

 students of spiders as to the serious nature 

 of their bites; and he says 



To this I may in turn add that at least one stu- 

 dent of spiders, .though incomparably leas experi- 



i Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 1, 1915, pp. 107- 

 112. 



enoed than Comstock, does share the belief in the 

 unusually poisonous nature of Latrodectes mactens. 



The chief case cited by Kellogg is one that 

 he quotes from one of his former students. 

 Dr. Coleman. It will be noted that in this 

 case the spider was captured and identified as 

 L. mactans. The case is as follows, in Dr. 

 Coleman's words: 



Patient B came to my ofiiee one morning at 8.15 

 o'clock, showing signs of an acute poisoning of 

 some sort. 



The glans of the penis had been bitten by a 

 spider while the patient was sitting in an out- 

 closet. The only thing felt was a sharp sting. (The 

 spider was captured, so there is no doubt as to the 

 species; it was a female of Latrodectes mactens.) 

 In aibout ten minutes there appeared dizziness and 

 weakness of the legs, followed by cramps in the 

 abdominal muscles. 



The patient left the field where working and 

 started to walk to town, a distance of a little over 

 a mile. The pains grew worse and the penis started 

 to swell and turn red. When the office was reached, 

 the pains, o-f a cramp-like character, in the ab- 

 domen, were intense, also around the heart and 

 thighs. Physical examdnation showed the heart to 

 be running at a rate of 40 per minute, of small vol- 

 ume but regular. The respiration was labored. 

 The pupils were dilated and the face very red and 

 congested. The penis was swollen to a great size, 

 fully three inches in diameter at the glans, and the 

 color was a miottled purple. The contractions were 

 clonic in character, giving the greatest pain in the 

 chest 'and abdomen. There were no pains below 

 the knees or elbows. 



The treatment consisted of hypodermic injections 

 strychnin 1/40, followed in ten minutes by nitro- 

 glycerine 1/100. Local applications to the site of 

 bite of the crystals of potassium permanganate. 

 The heart went as low as 27 'beats to the minute. 

 After three hours' work, using repeated injections 

 of strychnin, the heart-rate was increased to 45. 

 The pains were not qui'te so severe and the patient 

 was taken home. The administration of strychnin 

 was stopped and the use of brandy hypodermdc- 

 ally injected was substituted, a dose of 10 mm. be- 

 ing given every hour. Heat was applied to the 

 feet and (back. At 5 p.m., or about nine and one 

 half hours after the first symptoms, the heart-rate 

 had been raised to 55 and then as the pains were 

 still severe, a J morphin with 1/150 atropin was 

 given. The pains eased up and the patient dropped 



