THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF SNAKE-VENOMS 177 



On the other hand, it has been shown by Th. Madsen and 

 H. Noguchi, in a very interesting study of venoms and anti- venoms,^ 

 that, when we examine the relation between dose and toxicity, we 

 find that the interval separating the moment of inoculation from 

 that of death diminishes only up to a certain point in proportion 

 as the dose is increased. In the case , of the guinea-pig, with 

 O'OOOS gramme of Cobra-venom the interval is 3 hours 75 seconds ; 

 but after this, an increase in the dose produces only a relatively 

 inconsiderable acceleration of death. There is therefore no strict 

 ratio between the dose inoculated and the time that elapses until 

 death supervenes. 



D. — Effects of Venom in Non-lethal Doses. 



When the quantity of venom introduced into the organism is 

 insufBcient to cause death, the phenomena that precede and 

 accompany recovery differ very greatly according as the snake 

 from which the venom was derived belongs to the CoLUBHiDiE 



or VlPERlD^. 



After a non-lethal bite from a Cobra or Krait, for example, 

 convalescence usually takes place very rapidly, and, apart from the 

 local oedema of the subcutaneous tissue surrounding the wound, 

 which in very many cases leads to the formation of a suppurating 

 abscess, no lasting injury to health is observed. The venom 

 is eliminated by the kidneys, without even causing albuminuria, 

 and sensation gradually returns, in twenty-four or forty-eight hours, 

 in the part affected by the original lesion. 



If the bite has been inflicted by a Viperine snake, the local 

 lesion, which is much more extensive, almost always results in the 

 formation of a patch of gangrene. Hsemorrhages from the mucous 

 membranes, and sanguineous suffusions into the serous cavities, 



' " Communication de I'lhstitut Serotherapique de I'Etat danois," tome i., 

 Copenhagen, 1906. 



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