EXPERIMENTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF SNAKE-POISON. 
147 
It is, I think, clear from these experiments that vitality is ex¬ 
hausted by paralysis of the nerve-centres in the encephalon and 
medulla oblongata, that the spinal cord is not affected in the 
same degree, and that the heart’s action is not, in ordinary 
cases, paralysed. If, as I have suggested, artificial respiration 
could maintain vitality long enough to admit of the elimination 
of the poison from the system, then there may be hope that in 
this measure the means of preserving life may be found. This 
is a subject that requires further investigation and experiment. 
Present, Dr. Fayrer and Dr. Lauder Brunton. 
November 1th, 1872. 
Experiment No. 4. 
A very small quantity of Cobra poison, diluted with water, 
was injected into a Rabbit’s jugular vein. The Rabbit became 
paralysed in the forelegs almost immediately, and was dead in 
160 seconds. The heart’s action ceased very rapidly, though 
not immediately with apparent death. I believe that a larger 
quantity injected into the jugular vein, being carried direct to the 
heart, paralyses its action rapidly, in this respect differing from 
the usual mode of death where the action of the heart continues 
long after apparent death. The lungs were pallid and not in 
the least congested. The blood coagulated firmly after death. 
Experiment No. 5. 
A canula was placed in the trachea of a Rabbit. 12.57.— 
A small quantity of Cobra poison was injected into the hip. 
Symptoms of poisoning came on slowly. 1.25.—The animal is 
still breathing, but the limbs are almost completely paralysed. 
Artificial respiration was begun. Temperature in the rectum 
101 8. 1.37. -Paralysis is now complete. The animal is 
perfectly motionless, and not the slightest movement of the eye¬ 
lids occurs when the cornea is touched. Temperature in rectum 
100°-8. 1.55.—The animal appears quite dead, but the heart 
pulsates vigorously. 2.30.—-Cardiac pulsations as before. 
Temperature 98°'6 F. 2.32—Heart as before. Temperature 97°. 
4.10.—Heart still heats vigorously. Temperature 95°’4. The 
continuance of the artificial respiration was now entrusted to an 
assistant. 5. Heart beating well. 5.20.—-Heart beating 
feebly and its action jumping. 5.30.—Heart beating slowly. 
6.30.—Heart beating a little quicker. 7-30.—Heart as before. 
8-—Heart beating more slowly. 8.30.—Cardiac pulsations are 
very feeble. 9.30.—Very feeble and slow. 
The hour was now late, the Rabbit was still completely 
motionless, and its body felt cold to the touch. The artificial 
respiration was therefore discontinued, although the cardiac 
pulsations had not ceased. Life was evidently prolonged for 
some hours in this case by artificial respiration. 
The action of Cobra poison, evidently in some, if not all 
respects, resembles that of the Curara or Wourali, which kills 
by paralysing the peripheral distribution of the motor nerves. 
Animals so poisoned have been recovered by artificial respira¬ 
tion after being for hours in a state of seeming death. I do 
not yet feel at all certain whether Cobra poison acts on the 
nerve-centres alone, or on the peripheral extremities, as 
Curara; perhaps it may be a combination of both. But it 
appears to me that this method of sustaining life by artificial 
respiration, which might he done in ordinary bites, offers the 
most reasonable prospect of enabling the patient to live until 
the excreting organs shall have eliminated the poison from the 
system. I at the same time cannot but express my fear that 
irreparable mischief may have been done by the poison, which 
may prevent recovery in cases where severe poisoning lias 
occurred. 
May Qth, 1873. 
During the months of March and April, 1873, I received 
three instalments of dried Cobra poison from Mr. Richards of 
Balasore.* 
Experiment No. 6. 
A small quantity of the dried poison, about a grain or two, 
dissolved in a few drops of distilled water, was put into a young 
Rabbit’s mouth. The animal swallowed it at once without 
objection or difficulty. Put down, it ran about—this was at 
12.54—at 12.58 it was affected, weak on the limbs, twitching, 
gasping, in two minutes more it was paralysed, went into con¬ 
vulsions, and was dead in seven minutes from the time of taking 1 
the poison. It was noticed that rigor mortis came on very 
rapidly. The chest was opened in about two minutes after 
death. The heart had ceased to contract, the blood coagulated. 
Experiment No. 7. 
About a grain of Cobra poison dissolved in about ten drops 
of water was injected into a vein in the neck of a young Rabbit. 
In thirty-one seconds the Rabbit was convulsed, in sixty it 
was dead. 
The thorax was opened immediately. The heart had ceased to 
beat and was firmly contracted. A large vein coming from the 
left side to join the auricle was pulsating in a peculiar way, 
and continued for a few seconds to do so, but there was no 
movement in any part of the heart. 
The blood coagulated. 
I may here introduce the following extracts from a paper on 
the nature and physiological action of the poison of Naja 
tripudians and other Indian venomous snakes, by Dr. T. Lauder 
Brunton and myself, which was published in the Proceedings of 
the Royal Society, No. 145, 1873:— 
“ The futility of all the methods of treatment hitherto had 
recourse to is probably explained by the mode of death : their 
inutility had long since been demonstrated by Fontana, who, 
ninety years ago, among other things, showed that the outward 
and inward use of ammonia, as well as its injection into the 
veins, was as powerless for good as were all other remedies. 
“ There is apparently some analogy between the nature of the 
action of the Cobra virus and that of Curara, death in both cases 
being brought about by arrest of respiration through paralysis of 
the respiratory apparatus. 
“ In the case of the Curara it has been demonstrated by 
experiment that this is due to paralysis of the peripheral distri¬ 
bution of the motor nerves; and it has been further shown that 
if respiration be continued artificially for a sufficient length of 
time, perfect recovery may take place, as we have ourselves 
observed, the poison being eliminated from the system, and not 
having, during its presence, so far compromised the integrity of 
the parts of the nervous system where it took effect as to inter¬ 
fere with a resumption of their functions after its removal. Now 
it is evident that artificial respiration and the use of any remedies 
that may expedite elimination, with the application of artificial 
warmth to sustain temperature up to the normal standard, are 
the measures which may be regarded as antidotal in a rational 
sense to this form of poisoning; and such they have proved 
themselves to he ; for if an animal apparently dead from 
Curara poisoning be kept warm and artificial respiration he 
kept up for some hours, it will perfectly recover. 
It is in the application of similar principles that we may 
hope to realize a similar result in cases of snake-poisoning; and 
it is with this object that the investigations by Dr. Lauder 
Brunton and Dr. Fayrer, since his return to England, of which 
the present paper is an instalment, have been pursued. 
“ Our investigations so far confirm the opinion by Dr. Fayrer 
already recorded, that death is due to the action of the poison 
on the nerve-centres, to which it is conveyed by the blood with 
* Late of Bancoorali. 
