484 



Dr. L. Kogers. On the Physiological 



[Mar. 31, 



unsteady gait. By the time this stage is reached, it will be found that 

 the animal is breathing more deeply than normal, while the number of 

 respirations is also increased to a variable, but often considerable, 

 degree. From this time the picture is one of progressive paralysis, 

 affecting all the muscles of the body, and ending with respiratory con- 

 vulsions. The animal nods more and more deeply, until the nose or 

 beak touches the floor of the cage, only to be raised again with a 

 jerky motion. It is now unable to stand upright, and the eyes remain 

 closed. The respirations are now very deep and laboured, and in case 

 of birds, the beak is half open, and gaping takes place with every in- 

 spiration, while the head is more and more lowered until its vertex 

 instead of the beak rests on the floor, and the animal is unable to raise 

 its head. Very soon after this stage of paralysis is reached, convul- 

 sions set in, and the respirations immediately fall very greatly in 

 frequency, while the}? remain deep in character, although less regularly 

 so than before, some being shallow, so that Cheyne-Stokes breathing 

 is somewhat simulated. The convulsions recur, and soon respiration 

 entirely ceases, but the heart continues beating for some time, 

 usually two or three minutes in the case of warm-blooded animals, 

 after the breathing has entirely ceased. When the convulsions com- 

 mence, the animal rolls over on its side in a state of nearly complete 

 paralysis. Every word of the above description of the symptoms pro- 

 duced by the poison of the Hydrophicke is equall} r true of Cobra 

 poisoning, so much so that if two animals are severally given minimal 

 lethal doses of these two poisons, it is impossible to distinguish which 

 animal has received which poison by the clinical symptoms produced, 

 a fact which I have repeatedly demonstrated. 



Post mortem, after death from the poison of the Hydrophidas, there 

 is little or nothing noteworthy found. The seat of injection is free 

 from extravasation of blood, and presents little or no serous effu- 

 sion. The blood is of a dark colour, no doubt due to the respiratory 

 paralysis. It is fluid on opening the heart, but rapidly clots when 

 placed in a small test-tube, doubtless owing to the large amount of 

 COo gas in it. On standing it exudes serum, which is usually clear, 

 but may be very slightly blood-stained, although very much less so 

 than in the case of Cobra-poisoning under the same circumstances. 

 There is no intravascular clotting to be found post mortem in the portal 

 or other veins, as C. J. Martin first demonstrated in Pseudechis 

 poisoning, and as occurs in acute Daboia poisoning as recently shown 

 by Lamb. Xo other naked-eye changes have been found after death 

 from sea-snake poisons. 



In the case of cold-blooded animals, such as fish, which have fre- 

 quently been used in these experiments, the symptoms are essentially 

 the same in kind as in warm-blooded animals, although less easy to 

 observe. After small doses there is the same long latent period, often 



