XIV VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 



of the works of Flexner and Noguchi, Calmette, and Ehrlich, Kyes, and Sachs, 

 but the new field was directly opened by the three investigators last named. 

 Thus Preston Kyes, in part with Sachs, succeeded in Ehrlich's laboratory in 

 preparing a compound of the hsemolytic principles of snake venom and 

 lecithin, and the effect of this discovery on toxicology in general has been 

 very important and far-reaching. The hsemolytic compound, which was 

 designated venom lecithid, is highly thermostabile and it differs from its 

 original venom or lecithin in various physical and chemical properties. 

 Although the lecithid formation represents one of the phases leading to the 

 destruction of certain cells, there is no reason to assume that venom cytolysis 

 in general is always produced in the same mechanism. 



Quite recently Faust succeeded in obtaining from cobra venom a constitu- 

 ent of considerable toxic value with a chemical constitution falling to the group 

 of glucosides. This he calls ophiotoxin and shows it to contain no nitrogen. 

 Nothing so far has been mentioned as to its capability of forming its anti- 

 body in the animal body. While the hemolytic constituent is completely 

 separable from the neurotoxic by means of lecithid preparation, it is note- 

 worthy that ophiotoxin acts not only upon the nervous system, but also upon 

 the blood corpuscles, no complementing substance being required to produce 

 hsemolysis. 



Faust may be quite right in placing ophiotoxin in the group of sapotoxins, 

 yet ophiotoxin is not shown to represent all the cytolytic principles charac- 

 teristic of the native venom; hence we may not be justified in classifying the 

 latter among these derivative substances. 



It is quite interesting, however, that among the Amphibia some genera 

 are provided with certain forms of venom-secreting glands. The amphibian 

 venoms are not so complex in composition or behavior as the reptilian ven- 

 oms. Thus the genus Bufo secretes from the dermal glands bufonin and 

 bufotalin, both having definite chemical structure. The genus Salamandra 

 also secretes from its skin-glands two alkaloids of known chemical composi- 

 tion, namely, salamandarin and salamandridin. Numerous fishes possess 

 certain poison glands. The order Sauria seems to contain only one poison- 

 ous genus, Heloderma, which secretes a venom from the sublingual glands. 

 Among the mammalia there is only one animal which is provided with a 

 venomous gland and venom apparatus. This, Omithorhynchus paradox, 

 has in its hind legs a grooved spur connected through a long subcutaneous 

 duct with a venom gland situated near the thigh. The action of its venom 

 is described as resembling that of snake venom. 



The phylogenic position of the poison gland of Ophidia has been cleared 

 up through the exhaustive studies of Leydig, Duvernoy, Ranvier, Gracomini, 

 Flemming, Cholodkowsky, Stannius, Meckel, and others. It corresponds 

 with the glandula oris of the birds and the glandula parotida of the mam- 

 malians. 



^Histological and anatomical studies have revealed that the oral cavity of 

 the Amphibia contains only mucous glands, while that of the Reptilia, besides 



