252 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 



But if we interpret the results according to the physico-chemical theory 

 of Arrhenius and Madsen the graphic expression will be somewhat different 



(% 2). 



With another sample of cobra venom Myers obtained somewhat different 

 results from the first sample, o.ooi gm. of this venom contained 10,000 -4- 7 

 = 1,428 minimal haemolyzing doses and was neutralized by 0.7 c.c. of the 

 antivenin. His results were as shown in table 29 and figures 3 and 4. 



Table 29. 



Figures 1 and 3 are presented by Myers as directly showing the constitu- 

 tion of the venoms employed in his experiments. Theoretically the first 

 venom contained a very large amount of toxoids of an equal or a weaker 

 affinity to antitoxin than the toxin itself; hence the neutralization of the toxin 

 was first to be effected, leaving, however, a comparatively small number of 

 hsemolytic units unneutralized, or only slowly neutralized, for the subsequent 

 10 fractions out of the entire 13 of the serum. This is assumed to be due 

 either to the interference with the neutralization of the lysin by the presence 

 of an overwhelming quantity of toxoids or to the presence of small quantities 

 of toxins of weaker affinities (syntoxin and epitoxin). Should we have to 

 accept this explanation, a most remarkable fact about the antitoxin develops, 

 namely, the antitoxin has to neutralize many times more toxoids than the toxin 

 itself before the mixture is made neutral, or, at least, harmless. 



Take the above experiments. We have seen that the first one-thirteenth 

 of the serum neutralized 1,600 minimal haemolyzing doses, and that this 

 neutralization was visible through the reaction of haemolysis. The second 

 one-thirteenth has neutralized 200 minimal haemolyzing doses, and the third 

 75 minimal haemolyzing doses, etc. If we assume that each fraction can 

 neutralize 1,600 of haptophore groups either in the form of toxin or in the form 

 of toxoids, 1.3 c.c. of the antivenin must have neutralized at least 13 times 

 that much, namely, 1,600 X 13 = 20,800 haptins, before rendering 0.001 gm. 

 of the venom neutral. Analyzing this number, it becomes evident that 1.3 c.c. 

 of serum neutralized 2,000 lytic haptins and 18,800 non-lytic haptins (toxoids), 

 the latter being 9.4 times more than the former. 



With the second venom we have similar facts, except that there were present 

 in that_sample 17,192 non-lytic haptins against 1,428 lytic haptin units. Of 

 the non-lytic haptin units 47.4 were of prototoxoid and entered combination 

 with the first fraction of antitoxin along with the toxin. 



