136 INDIAN SNAKE POISONS, 



CHAPTBE VI. 



SOME PEACTIOAL CONSIDERATIONS CONNECTED WITH 

 THE SUBJECT OE SNAKE-POISONING, ESPECIALLY 

 BEGABDING PfiEVENTION AND TREATMENT. 



As there is no agent at present known that can counter- 

 act the effects of snake-poison when introduced into the 

 system, it will he seen that it is of the highest im- 

 portance to prevent any of the poison entering the 

 circulation. As long as the poison remains at the spot 

 where it is injected hy the snake, it is harmless. It is 

 only when it enters the circulation that it is capable of 

 doing injury. The exact position of the poison deposited 

 by the snake is, therefore, worthy of careful study. 

 When a snake obtains a fair hold of his victim both 

 fangs — one on each side of the upper jaw — pierce the 

 skin, and the poison is injected through each. There 

 are thus, beneath the skin, two separate deposits of 

 venom, from which absorption takes place simul- 

 taneously. Death, therefore, as a rule, is quickef in 

 cases of the natural bite, than after the artificial injection 



