274 C. J. MARTIN. 
time, had lost its spontaneous coagulability, and the fibrinogen in 
the urine did not clot spontaneously, but only after the manipula 
tions which I have already described to induce coagulation in the 
blood itself under the same condition. 
Brier SuMMARY OF THE AcTION oF Pseudechis Poison. 
Pseudechis venom is comprehensive in its action. Tt affects 
principally the three most vulnerable points ina higher organism; 
the blood, the heart, and the respiratory centre in the medulla, 
Its method of destroying life essentially depends upon the con- 
centration with which the venom reaches the circulation. When 
this concentration attains a certain limit, death may be almost 
instantaneous, from coagulation of the blood in the vessels termit- 
ating the circulation. This happens when small animals are 
bitten, or when the poison is introduced in adequate amount 
directly into the circulation. When the concentration falls short 
of that necessary to raise the coagulability of the blood to such an 
extent as to occasion thrombosis, the blood shortly afterwards 
loses its capacity to clot when shed. In this condition any further 
injection of venom is unable to produce thrombosis. 
The action of the poison upon the heart and respiratory centre 
is usually simultaneous. With higher concentration of venom the 
heart is the more rapidly affected, but the continuous operation of 
the poison in small concentration more quickly affects the 
respiratory centre in the medulla ; so that, by varying the rapidity 
with which the poison reaches the circulation, the death of an 
animal may be compassed in any one of three ways: either by 
clotting the blood in the vessels, cardiac failure, or respiratory 
paralysis. 
Further, if the victim escapes the three possibilities of a fatal 
issue above mentioned, it may succumb to the effects of the patho- 
logical changes in the lungs and kidneys. This last risk is se 
ever, not a large one, except with dogs, and if the animal survives 
the nervous and circulatory depression, it usually recovers with 
wonderful rapidity. 
