SPECIFICITY AND THERAPEUTIC VALUES OF ANTIVENINS 



239 



neutralized 0.00059 g m -)j but completely failed to neutralize the poisons of 

 brown and black snakes and also that of the death adder. 



The anticoagulating property of cobra venom is effectively stopped, but 

 that of Naja bungarus is decreased little or not at all. 



CROTALUS ADAMANTEUS ANTIVENIN. 



Flexner and Noguchi 2 succeeded in producing pure crotalus antivenins in 

 rabbit and dog by means of certain modified solutions of the crotalus venom. 

 The strength of one of the preparations was such that i c.c. of it neutralized 

 11 minimal lethal doses of unmodified crotalus venom. With this antivenin 

 they tested its protective action against the venoms of cobra, daboia, and 

 water-moccasin. They found that 2 c.c. of this serum had no antitoxic action 

 whatever against only one lethal dose of these first two, but possessed some 

 against the last-named venom. Two minimal lethal doses of the moccasin 

 venom were thus made non-fatal with 1 c.c. of the serum. They noticed, 

 however, that the haemorrhagin of this venom remained but little neutralized, 

 while the antivenin was very effective in removing the haemorrhagic action 

 from the crotalus venom. From this fact Flexner and Noguchi were led to 

 assume that a multiplicity of _hsemorrhagins occur in the venoms of different 

 species of snakes. 



1 Lamb. Specificity of antivenomous sera. Second communication. Sci. Mem. Off. Med. Sanit. 



Dept. Govern. Ind., 1904, n. s., No. 10. 

 ' Flexner and Noguchi. Production and properties of anticrotalus venin. Jour, of Med. Research, 



1904, n. s., VI, 363. 



