THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 215 



Edinburgh), we never succeed in obtaining immunity to the sub- 

 cutaneous injection of a simple lethal dose, and no antitoxin is 

 formed in the blood. 



The ptyalin of the saliva, pancreatic juice, and bile destroy 

 Co&ra-venom in vitro. We must, therefore, assume that these 

 diastases are veritable agents of destruction for ingested venom. 

 The intestinal microbes play no part, any more than the intestinal 

 juice by itself. The gastric juice has very little effect. Papain is 

 almost as active as the pancreatic juice. 



It had already been proved by Fraser, so long ago as 1895, that 

 bile, after prolonged contact and in a sufficient dose, has a strongly 

 destructive effect upon Cobra-venom ; but, contrary to the opinion 

 of this investigator, it is not antitoxic, for it possesses no preventive 

 or curative property, and its effects are produced only in vitro. 



We see from what has been stated above, that venoms intro. 

 duced into a sensitive organism are capable of producing extremely 

 complex effects upon the various tissues or humours. They act on 

 the nerve-cells by their neurotoxin, on the endothelium of the 

 blood-vessels by their hamorrhagin (Flexner and Noguchi), on the 

 red corpuscles by their hamolysin, on the fibrin of the blood and 

 muscles by their proteolytic diastase, and on the fibrin-ferment 

 itself by their thrombase. 



They also act on the leucocytes, according to the experiments 

 of Chatenay,' performed under the direction of Metschnikoff, and 

 according to those of Flexner and Noguchi,^ already cited. 



Thus we understand how complex must likewise be the means 

 of defence that have to be employed in order to afford an effective 

 protection against such poisons. 



The slightly intoxicated organism at first reacts by the inter- 

 vention of the leucocytes ; a hyperleucocytosis is produced, accom- 



1 Chatenay, "Les reactions leuoooytaires vis-4-vis de eertaines toxines," 

 These Paris, 1894. 



* Flexner and Noguchi, " Snake-venom in Relation to Haemolysis, Bacterio- 

 lysis, and Toxicity," Journal of Experimental Medicine, vol. vi., March 17, 1902. 



