THE POISONOUS SNAKES OF INDIA. ^1 



-these will come more appropriately when dealing with Viperine 

 poisoning (see page 103). 



Local effects are always more or less in evidence, but these again 

 being much more pronounced in Viperine poisoning are better 

 .considered under that head {see page 103). 



The action of cobra venom can be easily remembered from the 

 word COBRA. CO stands for COrd, and BRA for BRAin, showing 

 that it is the central nervous system that is mainly affected. Again, 

 COBR stand for Clotting Of Blood Reduced, and A gives us 

 the mode of death in the word Asphyxia from paralysis of the 

 respiratory centre. 



Illustratice Cases. 



No. 1. 



Cobra bite. Toxaemia. Death in 65 minutes. Autopsy. 



Reported by Dr. Hilson (Indian Medical Gazette, October 1873): — 



" On a night in -June, at about half-past 12 o'clock, Dabee, a 

 Hindu punkah coolie, was bitten on the shoulder by a cobra, whilst 

 sleeping. On inspecting the wound, there were found over the 

 prominence of the right deltoid muscle, and about three-quarters of 

 an inch apart, two large drops of a clear sei-ous-like fluid tinged with 

 blood, which had apparently oozed from two small punctures, so 

 minute that they could not be perceived by the naked eye. A 

 burning pain was complained of in the neighbourhood of the bite, 

 which rapidly increased in intensity, and extended so as to affect a 

 circular portion of the integument of the size of an ordinary 

 ■saucer ; and, judging from tlie description given of it, it was very- 

 similar in character to that produced by the sting of a scorpion. 



" At 12-45 A.M., or about a quarter of an hour after being bitten, 

 he complained of a pain in his slioulder shooting towards his throat 

 and chest, and said he was beginning to feel intoxicated ; but there 

 was nothing in his appearance at this time to indicate that he was 

 in any way under the influence of the poison. On the contrary, he 

 Was quite calm and collected and' answered all questions intelligent- 

 ly, at the same time that he was fully alive to the danger of his 

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