On the nature and physiological action of the poison of Naja tripudians and other Indian venomous snakes. Pt. II / by T. Lauder Brunton and J. Fayrer.

  • Brunton, T. Lauder (Thomas Lauder), Sir, 1844-1917.
Date:
1874
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the nature and physiological action of the poison of Naja tripudians and other Indian venomous snakes. Pt. II / by T. Lauder Brunton and J. Fayrer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    4/68 page 70
    that greater lethargy and less violent convulsions occurred in the pigeon poisoned by cobra-venom than in that poisoned by Daboia; but this might readily be due to individual difference in the bird; and an opposite result is noted in Experiment VII. upon aguineapig. In one pigeon, killed by Daboia-yenom, the blood remained permanently fluid after death ; but in the other, and also in the guineapigs, it coagulated firmly. This is an excep- tion to the rule which has been noticed in experiments made in India, that the blood after Z>a&<no-poisoning remains fluid—in marked contradi- stinction to death from cobra-venom, in which the blood almost invariably coagulates. Coagulation, however, of the blood of a fowl after death from the bite of a Daboia has also been noticed by one of us (Dr. Fayrer) in India ; and therefore the coagulation in our experiments was not due to the lower temperature of the atmosphere. Experiment I. August 27th, 1873.—Three milligrammes of dried Da&oia-poison, re- ceived some weeks ago from Balasore, were injected into the thigh of an old and vigorous pigeon at 2.48. 2.53. No apparent effect, except that the bird is lame on that leg. 3.2. The bird is sluggish. Respirations hurried. Lameness con- tinues. 3.18. Still sluggish, but it is not deeply affected. 3.30. Disinclined to move. When placed on the table it sunk on its breast. No nodding of the head. 3.45. Sudden and violent convulsions. 3.46. Dead in 58 minutes from the time of injection. Electrodes inserted into the spinal cord soon after death caused move- ments of the wings, but not of the legs. Blood taken from the bird, just before death, partially coagulated after death. Blood taken from it after death, coagulated more firmly—but less firmly than some taken from another pigeon poisoned with cobra-venom. Experiment II. A young full-grown pigeon had 3 milligrammes of dried Da&oia-poison injected into the peritoneum at 3.5 f.h. At 3.13 it was observed to pass suddenly into violent convulsions, flap- ping its wings strongly. It continued in this state for a minute ; and at 3.14 it died, 9 minutes after the injection. Electrodes inserted into the spinal cord, in the neck, caused violent muscular contractions all over the wings and legs. The cord was thus evidently not paralyzed; but its irritability soon ceased. The blood remained permanently fluid, and became bright red on exposure to air: under the microscope (400 diameters) the corpuscles seemed normal. Rigor mortis came on.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3