62 CROTALUS DURISSUS. 



medicine was given three times in the course of that evening ; at 

 a quarter after nine the pain had become excessive, and lie was 

 attacked with fainting fits every fifteen minutes ; in the course of 

 the night his pulse became very quick, and he began to talk indis- 

 tinctly ; the medicine was given every hour. On the following day 

 the pulse had risen to 132, and was very feeble ; the swelling had 

 not extended beyond the shoulder into the neck, but there was a 

 fullness down the side, and blood extravasated in the cellular mem- 

 brane, as low as the loins on the right side ; the hand and arm 

 very cold, painful when pressed, and vesicated just above the elbow 

 on the inside of the arm ; the warmth of the body had returned, 

 but the patient was very low j and as there was recurrence of 

 vomiting, so that the stomach could not retain even brandy, two 

 grains of opium were ordered to be taken every four hours ; the 

 faintings still recurred ; the vesications and red spots continued to 

 increase in size. 



The opium was left off on the following day (October 19), and 

 he was ordered to take as much wine and brandy as could be got 

 down. Two days after he was occasionally delirious, and the irri- 

 tability of the stomach continued, so that the brandy and jelly only 

 were retained. On the 22nd, his pulse having become full and 

 strong, wine was ordered instead of brandy. Six days after a slough 

 formed on the arm, and he was attacked with diarrhaea. On the 

 29th his pulse became quick and feeble, and an abscess on the 

 outside of the elbow being opened, discharged half a pint of a 

 reddish brown pus, mixed with sloughs of cellular membrane ; bark 

 was ordered, but given up the next day, in consequence of the 

 recurrence of the diarrhaea. He continued gradually to sink, 

 vomiting still continued, mortification took place in the axilla, and 

 he died in the afternoon of the 4th of November, eighteen days 

 after being bitten. On dissection, the body externally was found 

 natural, with the exception of the arm that had been bitten. The 

 wounds made by the fangs were healed ; the lungs were healthy ; 

 the cavities of the heart contained coagulated blood ; the cardiac 

 portion of the stomach was moderately dilated with fluid ; while 

 the pyloric portion was much contracted, the internal membrane 

 had its vessels gorged with blood. The intestines and liver were 



