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.

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    out the body are in evidence, we have every reason to assume. The co-ordination and automatic regulation of the lower motor-centres must necessarily escape observation when the function of these centres is partially suspended, and when, moreover, the powerful currents of nerve force the cerebellum and basal ganglia receive from the motor cortical centres of the cerebrum are partially if not wholly withdrawn. E. Action of the Motor Cortical Centres of the Cerebrum. In all but the very lightest cases of snakebite- poisoning there are always symptoms manifested that cannot be referred to any other cause than an invasion of the centres now under consideration. They range from mere stupor, confusion of thought and delirium to the deepest coma, with complete extinction of con- sciousness and insensibility to all external impressions. Coma is a frequent and in serious cases an almost in- variable symptom in Australia. After the bite of our death adder only we find persons sometimes collapse and expire suddenly, when still conscious and able to answer questions rationally. Coma invariably develops from sleep. It is, in fact, sleep intensified. An almost iri •esistible desire to sleep is one of the first symptoms to be observed. If the dose of poison imparted by the snake has been small, the desire may pass off or the sleep may not assume the form of coma, but in all