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Art. XI. — On the Katipo, a poisonous Spider of New Zealand. By 

 F. W. Wright, L.M.B. Toronto, L.M.P. New Zealand. 



[Read before the Medical Section of the Auckland Institute, October 20, 1869.] 



I have presumed to offer for the consideration of the Medical Section of the 

 Auckland Institute the following memorial on the Katipo, a poisonous spider 

 of New Zealand, with a case that occurred in my own practice, believing that 

 the subject deserves a general notice, as it certainly requires colonial investiga- 

 tion at the hands of the medical profession. 



In the month _of December, 1868, a person of the name of John Huff, 

 living near my residence, came into the surgery complaining that he had been 

 bitten on the shoulder by a spider. He was in the employment of Messrs. 

 Archard and Brown, of Stanley-street, Mechanics' Bay. He was occupied, 

 at the time, in carrying firewood, to supply the furnaces of a brick-kiln ; the 

 wood was stacked near the kiln in sedge or coarse grass ; this happened 

 between the hours of eleven and twelve o'clock, a.m. At noon he came home 

 to dinner, sat down to table, but upon attempting to eat, found he could not 

 open his mouth, or was scarcely able to articulate, in consequence of stiffness 

 about the jaws. He was alarmed and came into the surgery, when it was 

 difficult to understand what he had to say ; all I could learn from him was that 

 he had been bitten by a spider, on the shoulder, in the Bay. Upon examining 

 the spot, I found the surface raised, to an extent as large round as a tea-cup ; 

 this elevated surface was white, and was surrounded by a halo of red, not 

 unlike an exaggerated wheal of the nettlerash. He complained of considerable 

 pain in the part, and during the examination became faint, and soon almost pulse- 

 less. His pulse was unusually slow, scarcely counting more than twelve or four- 

 teen beats in the minute. His countenance and the general surface of the body 

 assumed a hue of extreme pallor, which gradually turned to a blue tint. His 

 extremities were cold and flaccid ; his respiration almost ceased, and indeed I 

 had fears that he was about to expire. Dr. Pinching being in my house at 

 the time, I called for his assistance. He was astonished at the feebleness and 

 prostration of the patient, from such an apparently trifling cause. 



From his extreme faintness it was necessary to lay him on the floor, when 

 I applied spirits of ammonia to the wound, which had the effect of lessening 

 the swelling and abating the pain. I also administered ammonia and water, 

 afterwards combined with brandy, in considerable doses ; under this treatment 

 his pulse gradually improved, his circulation and respiration became more 

 natural, as was evidenced by his return to a more natural colour. Although a 

 stout strong man, this state of depression remained for upwards of two hours 

 before he was able to return home. In the evening I found him considerably 

 improved, having taken a slight dose of medicine. For several days he could 

 not return to his work, but complained of great lassitude, and nervous 

 depression, which he was sensible of for many days after. 



It must be evident from the symptoms of this case, that the man was 

 powerfully affected by a narcotic and irritating poison, which being absorbed 

 into the circulation, affected the heart, brain, and nervous system, to a very 

 considerable extent, almost amounting to fatal syncope, — that the stimulants, 

 by exciting the heart's action, gradually aroused the excretory functions, so as 

 ultimately to remove the poison from the system ■ for although suffering under 

 its influence for a considerable time, it does not appear to have left any per- 

 manent effects behind it, for the man has since been in perfect health. 



In corroboration of the nature of this accident, I append the following 

 very graphic description of the bite of the Katipo, furnished by the Rev. Mr. 

 Chapman, whose long residence as a missionary to the Maori race, in the 



