On snake poison : its action and its antidote / by A. Mueller.

  • Mueller, A.
Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On snake poison : its action and its antidote / by A. Mueller. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    45/108 (page 29)
    on some centres, passing others by comparatively little disturbed, is markedly shown by the cobra poison of India as compared with that of our Australian cobra (hoplocephcilus cuvtus.) The unfortunate victims ot the former are tortured by an ever-increasing dyspnoea, and finally die from asphyxia, under what are supposed to be carbonic acid convulsions. They retain their consciousness more or less unclouded to the last, the poison spending all its force on the respiratory centre, and leaving the brain intact. Here we hardly ever see actual dyspnoea after the bite of hoplocephalus or any other Australian snake. Respiration becomes quicker at an early stage, and then, from hour to hour, shallower; but our patients soon pass from sleep into coma, and suffer no respiratory distress even when, in consequence of general paralysis, the respira- tory muscles cease to act, which usually takes place a few minutes before the heart stands still. Feoktistow records the following observations on cats with reference to the respiratory centre :—Small intravenous injections of the fresh poison (0 07 0'13 mllgr.) produced a great increase in frequency of respirations (280-360 per minute.) Section of both vagi at once reduced this frequency, from which he infers that small doses act as an irritant to the respiratory centre. When small doses were repeated several times, the respiratory movements were gradu- ally retarded, and asphyxia set in through paralysis of the centre. Large doses produced this effect at once, without any previous acceleration. Very large ones