] 06 
THE THANATOPHIDIA OF INDIA. 
also, included in the lethal effects of the poison, is demonstrated 
by the condition of these parts in both warm- and cold-blooded 
animals. That the vagus is affected is shown by the vomiting 
which so constantly occurs, but whether centrically or peri¬ 
pherally is perhaps doubtful. 
It is also indicated by several experiments, that the poison 
when injected into the jugular vein acts immediately on the 
heart, causing rapid increase of its contractions until they cease 
tetanically in systole—the right side in one such case was dis¬ 
tended, but contracted also like the left on removal of the blood 
by puncture of the ventricle. It would appear that there is 
reason to believe that this may result, at least in the frog, from 
contact of the poison with the inner surface of the heart, for it 
has not been nearly so obvious when the poison was brought 
into contact with the exterior of the organ in that animal ; and 
also in most cases of poison by hypodermic injection, the heart is 
not primarily affected, as it has been observed to go on contract¬ 
ing long after respiration ceased; yet in some cases the heart 
is affected synchronously with other seats of action of the virus. 
It would be premature to discuss the changes that result in 
the blood from the presence of small quantities of the poison 
which do not prove fatal in the methods heretofore described. 
Changes of importance allied to other forms of toxaemia do 
doubtless occur, and they must be of much pathological interest, 
and of a character to render them not unlikely to be amenable 
to therapeutic agents. 
In the post-mortem examinations I find it recorded that— 
Blood was generally fluid, dark; sometimes clots in the heart 
or great vessels ; dark blood oozing from the mouth. Lungs .— 
Sometimes pale, sometimes congested, sometimes natural. 
Heart. —Normal ; clots or fluid blood in cavities ; cavities 
stained with dark blood. Abdominal viscera. — Sometimes 
normal, sometimes congested. Liver and Spleen. — Sometimes 
congested. Kidneys. — Nearly always congested. Cadaveric 
rigidity. —Present in some, absent in other cases. Brain . — 
Normal or congested ; fluid in ventricles and at base. Abdo¬ 
men. — Swollen ; distended. Body and Limbs. — Generally 
swollen ; bitten part discoloured ; suggillations ; effusions of dark 
sanguinolent serum into areolar tissue. 
In 62 Fatal Cases, Heath occurred in — 
Hours. 
Minutes. 
Hours. 
Minutes. 
Hours. 
Minutes. 
Hours. 
Minutes. 
28 
48 
34 
3 
1 
30 
15 
30 
3 
8 
42 
27 
7 
61 
18 
70 
216 
5 
10 
4 
17 
3 
24 
3 
30 
30 
7 
2 
63 
i 
12 
30 
15 
3 
56 
144 
5 
1 
30 
1 
30 
8 
10 
2 
3 
30 
4 
30 
1 
12 
2 
12 
8 
2 
26 
4 
2 
15 
30 
24 
9 
6 
30 
3 
30 
26 
3 
9 
... 
