74 INDIAN SNAKE POISONS, 



muscles of the abdominal wall contract forcibly, the 

 glottis is closed, the legs are drawn up over the abdomen, 

 the perineum is bulged out; then suddenly relaxation 

 occurs, and the ordinary respiratory rhythm is resumed. 

 As the paralysis becomes more marked this gradually 

 fades into a deep inspiration, and this, in its turn, is 

 abolished, the respiration becoming slower, though the 

 excursus is maintained in a remarkable way. 



Daboia-poisoning is characterised, then, by the long 

 time it takes to abolish respiration after the body 

 paralysis is complete, and by the very irregular character 

 of the respiratory movements during the progress of 

 the paralysis, and also by the very great acceleration 

 that occurs in the earlier stages and the increased 

 excursus. The two species of poisoning could be dis- 

 tinguished from one another in the vast majority of 

 cases by the character of the respiration alone. It is 

 very unusual for the convulsions of asphyxia to occur 

 in daboia-poisoning if the primary convulsions have 

 been at all marked. 



Effect of Daboia-Poison on the Circulation, Tem- 

 perature, Special Senses, Secretion, and the 

 Blood. 



In regard to its influence on the temperature and 

 circulation, it cannot be said that daboia-poisoning 

 differs much from cobra-poisoning. The temperature is 



