PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF VENOM OF BLACK SNAKE. 193 
spoken of as cases in which the bird has been bitten, and the 
snake is biding his time, until, from the sudden operation of the 
poison, his victim falls dead beside him. 
(e)—The gases of the blood after venom injections. 
The analogy between the fluid condition of the blood which 
may obtain after the injection of the venom, and its condition 
subsequent to the intravenous injection of a solution of commercial 
peptone has been pointed out. It must, however, be borne in 
mind that this condition is produced in the case of peptone 
injections only after the introduction of large quantities, eg., ‘3 
gramme per kilogramme of body-weight ; whereas the amount of 
venom required to produce the same result is 00005 grammes 
per kilo. 
It has been shown that after peptone injection, the quantity of 
CO, in the blood is altered. Lahousse,! Salvioli,? and Blachstein® 
have drawn attention to the fact that the total amount of CO, 
contained in the blood of an animal after the injection of peptone 
is very considerably decreased. (Grandis* has also shown that at 
the same time the aétual tension of CO, is considerably increased. 
The CO,, combined with the sodium carbonate of the plasma is, 
to a very large extent, carried by the blood from the tissues as 
Sodium bicarbonate. Solutions of sodium bicarbonate at the 
temperature of the body very readily part with CO, to an 
atmosphere in which the partial pressure of this gas is low. 
Accordingly in the pulmonary circulation the CO, is to a large 
_ Measure discharged. When the partial pressure of a gas in a 
fluid is higher than usual, though at the same time the actual 
quantity of such gas is diminished, the only explanation of the 
facts is, that the capacity of the fluid to dissolve or combine the 
as has been lessened. Salvioli® pointed out that the alkalinity 
of the blood of an animal, injected with peptone, was less than 
oa Bois Reymond’s Arch.,’’ 1888. 
2 Spier Ital. de Biol.,”? Vol. xvi. 
Ss Du Bois Reymond’s Arch.,” 1891. 
Du Bois Reymond’s Arch.,”’ 1891. 5 Loc. cit. 
M—July 3, 1895, 
