VENOM HAEMOLYSIS AND VENOM AGGLUTINATION 177 



underwent haemolysis upon introduction of the crotalus complement, but 

 scarcely at all when heterogeneous complements were substituted, which 

 shows that the serum-intermediary bodies in this case required for their lytic 

 function the homologous complement. In other words, the crotalus serum- 

 intermediary bodies are isocomplementophilic. 



Now, what became of the susceptibility of these serumized cells to the action 

 of venom-intermediary bodies? Are they still able to find the venom-inter- 

 mediary bodies and produce haemolysis when a heterogeneous complement is 

 introduced at the same time ? Of course, the crotalus complement can not be 

 employed in this test, for the serum amboceptors will grasp the homologous 

 complement and bring about the haemolysis. The serumized corpuscles have 

 proved to be very resistant to the combined addition of crotalus venom and 

 the serum of guinea-pigs (in the case of corpuscles of the guinea-pigs) or that 

 of dogs (in the case of corpuscles of dogs). In fact, almost no haemolysis 

 commenced even after many hours' contact, whereas complete haemolysis 

 proceeded in the normal manner and rapidity with the corpuscles which had 

 not been previously digested in the inactivated crotalus serum. It would 

 appear from this that the receptors of the corpuscles had been saturated with 

 the serum-intermediary bodies of the crotalus serum and became afterwards 

 unable to fix the venom-intermediary bodies; hence there was no haemolysis 

 in the presence of a heterogeneous complement, which, as already mentioned, 

 is capable of activating the latter set, but not the former set, of the haemolytic 

 amboceptors. It tends to show that the haptophore groups of the crotalus 

 serum-intermediary bodies and the crotalus venom-intermediary bodies are 

 identical and saturate the same set of receptors in the blood corpuscles. 

 If in the foregoing experiment we replace the crotalus venom with water- 

 moccasin or cobra venoms, the inhibition exerted by digesting the corpuscles 

 in the inactivated crotalus serum becomes far less pronounced than is the case 

 with the first venom. What is the reason for these differences? 



It seems most probable that the haemolytic intermediary bodies in these 

 last two venoms differ from the crotalus intermediary bodies in their structure 

 of haptophore groups and unite with quite other sets of receptors of these 

 corpuscles. Hence the addition of heterocomplementophilic intermediary 

 bodies of cobra or moccasin venoms brings about haemolysis, although some 

 delay is also noticed here. 



A reversion of experimental orders of the above led Flexner and Noguchi 

 to exactly the same conviction, but through another path. The washed 

 corpuscles of dog or guinea-pig can be easily venomized with crotalus or 

 moccasin venom without dissolving them, at least during several hours. 

 Now, after venomization, still better if the venom be left in the mixture, the 

 corpuscles are subjected to the action of the fresh serums of crotalus or pine 

 snake. What actually happens there is that a previous treatment of these 

 corpuscles with these venoms in strong concentrations, or the simultaneous 

 presence of these venoms in large enough doses, interferes with the haemolytic 

 action of snake venoms. 



