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PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF VENOM OF BLACK SNAKE. 269 
urine was albuminous, but contained no blood pigment. Death 
occurred from exhaustion. 
These observations of Wall are very interesting, and in no way 
resemble the operation of any other snake venom so far recorded, 
but as he points out, remind one of some infectious disease, 
Perhaps they are indeed directly attributable to the operation 
of some organisms, which have gained access, owing to diminished 
resistance caused by the venom. _In this respect Ewing’s' obser- 
vations on the disappearance of the germicidal properts of serum 
after poisoning by Crotalus venom, are suggestive. 
Feoktistow* confirmed Mitchell’s observations on the extensive 
hemorrhages in many of the organs, after the introduction of 
Crotalus poison, and he found the same conditions followed, when 
the poison of Vipera berus was used. This observer never saw 
any hemorrhages in the central nervous system, but the conditions 
of the brain and cord were very seldom investigated. He came 
to the conclusion that the severity of the hemorrhagic process was 
dependent upon the quantity of venom introduced, and the time 
which elapsed before death occured ; and he summed up his 
remarks on this subject with the following statements :— 
(1) “By poisoning with large doses of concentrated venom, 
hemorrhages were very severe and extensive, even when 
the animal only survived a few seconds.” 
(2) “ By medium doses which killed in two to three hours, the 
hemorrhages with cats were usually confined to the endo- 
cardium and lungs; whereas with dogs, oe heemor- 
thages were to be found in nearly all the organs.” 
(3) “By minimal lethal doses the pathological changes are 
greater the longer the animal lives.” 
2 Intravenous injection is much more active in causing 
hemorrhages than when the poison is subcutaneously 
introduced, whereas, after the bite of the reptile (concen- 
trated venom) the hemorrhages are as marked as 
intravenous injection.” 
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1 Loe. cit. .2 Loe. cit. 
