NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
64
Scientific Memoirs by
Experiments with Cobra-venom on Innocent Snakes.
Experiment
No.
S PECIES OF SNAKE.
L e n g t h o f S n a k e i n i n c h e s .
A m o u n t o f V e n o m i n j e c t -e
d ( a p p r i x i -
m a t e l y ) . Result.
D u r a t i o n o f l i f e f r o m t i m e o f i n j e c t i o n .
Post-mortem
examination.
REMARKS.
XXV
. Ablabes rapii
.
.
1 8 ½ ½ grain Died . 95 mins.
Very slight
streak capil-
lary hæmor-
rhage at seat
of injection.
XXVI
.
Simotes bicatenatus
. 26 ¼ gr. and
after 4
day's
1 ½ grs.
Doubt-
ful.
Doubtful
. . . . . .
A very strong thick
-
set snake. Was still
alive, although
very sluggish se-
cond day after last
injection, or sixth
day after first in-
jection.
XXVII .
Tropidonotus subminia-
tus.
22½ ½ gr.
Died . 11 hours
No obvious
exudation or
discoloration
at site of in-
jection.
Simotes bicatenatus
.
8¼ 1/3 gr.
,,,
2¾ ,,
None made.
XXVIII .
Dipsas gokool
.
. 28½ 1¼ grs.
„
. 3¾ „
, ,
XXIX
.
Dipsas gokool
.
. 30¼ 1¼ „
,,
. 4
, ,
XXX
.
XXXI
.
Simotes bicatenatus . 24½ 2 „
„
.
1¾ days. Very slight in-
flammatory ex-
udation, but
no softening
at site of in-
jection. Vis-
cera general-
ly congested,
intestines in-
jected. No
bloody fluid
in cavities.
XXXII . Dipsas hexagonata
. 32½ ¾ gr.
„
. 5 hours . None made.
XXXIII . Dendrophis pictus
. 33½ ¾ , ,
,,
. 55 minutes
,,
XXXIV . Tropidonotus subminia-
tus.
30½ 11/3 grs.
„
. 55 ,,
, ,
XXXV . Tropidonotus quincun-
ciatus.
175/8 ½ gr.
„
. 10 hours . At site of injec-
tion slight
swelling from
exudation,
but no hæmo-
rrhage.
XXXVI . Uropeltis, sp. .
. 15
½ „
„
. 65 mins.
None made . A young specimen.
Medical Officers of the Army of India.
65
Experiment
No.
SPECIES OF SNAKE.
L e n g t h o f S n a k e i n i n c h e s .
A m o u n t o f V e n o m i n j e c t -
e d ( a p p r o x i -
m a t e l y ) .
Result.
D u r a t i o n o f l i f e f r o m t i m e o f i n j e c t i o n .
Post-mortem
examination.
REMARKS.
XXXVII Gonyosoma gramineum 161/8
½ gr. Died . 85 Mins. None made . Had received con-
siderable flesh-
wound during cap-
ture, but was newly
caught and very
active.
XXXVIII Ablabes collaris .
. 23
1 „
,,
•
29 , ,
, ,
XXXIX . Gonyosoma gramineum 19
1 „
,, • 45 , ,
Inject ion
proved to be
partially i n-
tramuscular
(very super-
ficially) and
attended by
slight
ca-
pillary hæ-
morrhage.
Had received severe
wound below neck
during capture.
XL
. Tropidonotus quincun-
ciatus.
37¾
2 gr s.
„
. 5¾ hours.
In all these experiments the cobra-venom proved to be more or less rapidly
fatal.1 The duration of life after injection of the
venom was in direct ratio (a) to the amount of
venom administered, and (b) to the robustness of the individual operated on :
the more delicate tree-snakes rapidly succumbed, while the relatively shorter
but more robust Simotes offered much greater resistance to the action of the
venom. The snakes operated on were generally of small size, as the larger
species of non-venomous snakes, e.g. the python and rat-snake (Ptyas), could
not at the time be obtained for experiment.
The results recorded by previous observers are shown in the following
table. The snakes were bitten by the venomous
species ; the biting snakes, with two exceptions,
being cobras. In addition to those given in the
table are three experiments by Fontana 2 in which innocent snakes, called
respect i vel y ' aspi ck, ' ' adder, ' and ' orvai ' were bi t t en by vi pers ; but beyond
slight torpidity' in one case no other effect was noted.
1 In experiment No. XXVI the fact of actual death was not ascertained; but this snake when last seen
was evidently dying ; and the deaths of two others of the same species were duly observed— Vide Ex-
periments Nos. XXV III and XXXI.
2l o c .C i t . ,p . 3 9 .
K
Results of these experiments.
Expèriments of previous obser-
vers.
Scientific Memoirs by
Experiments on Innocent Snakes bitten by Venomous Snakes.
No. BITING SNAKE.
BITTEN SNAKE.
Observer.
Length
of
Snake.
Result.
Duration of
life from
t i m e o f b i t e .
REMARKS.
1
Cobra .
. ' Nooni paragodoo '
( Zamenis fasciolatus ?).
Russell1 .
...
Died 1¼ hours.
2
, ,
.
' Tartutta' (Dipsas tri-
gonata?).
, , .
. . .
, ,
2
,,
3
,,
. . ' Dhonr ' ( Tropidonotus
s p . ?
) .
Breton 2 .
...
, ,
2¼ „
4
„ .
. Ptyas mucosus .
. Fayrer 3 .
...
Nil.
. . .
Only observed for one
day.
5
,,
. .
,,
. .
,, . 8 feet. Died 7 days . 3 days after bite report-
ed " quite well."
6
,,
. .
,,
. .
, , .
6 ,, .
, ,
1½
,,
. Bitten at part where
scales scraped off—the
cobra had just fatally
bitten a lizard.
7
,,
. .
,,
. .
,, .
. . . Nil.
...
Only observed for one
day.
8
,, .
,,
.
.
,, .
...
, ,
. . .
Only observed for one
day.
9
,,
. .
,,
.
.
,, .
' Full
grown.'
, ,
. . .
Only observed two days.
1 0
, ,
.
,,
. .
,, .
' Large '
, ,
...
Had ten ' drops ' cobra-
venom (II days old)
injected hypodermi-
cally under mm. of
mouth.
Several days later'
it was ' quite well.'
1 1
, , . .
Tropidonotus quincun.
ciatus.
, , .
'Small' Died 13 minutes.
12
,, . Dendrophis pictus .
„
. 40 inches
, ,
9
,,
Was not spine crushed
in biting ?
1 3
,,
. .
,,
.
.
, , . 'Smaller'
than
above.
, ,
7
,,
1 4
,,
. .
Ptyas mucosus .
.
, ,
.
. . .
, ,
6¾ hours. Was bitten three times
by two cobras.
15
,,
. . Dendrophis (sp. ) .
.
, , . ' Small '
, ,
41 minutes Bitten by two cobras.
1 6
,<
. . Dryophis
(sp.).
.
, , . 3½ feet.
„
36 ,,
,,
, ,
1 7
,,
. . Ptyas mucosus .
.
,,
. ' Large'
„
27½ hours.
1 8
,,
. .
,,
. .
,,
.
Small
, ,
21 minutes Twice bitten.
19
2 0
,,
. .
,,
.
.
Passerita mycterizans.
,,
,,
.
,,
.
,,
.
3 feet .
' Small '
, ,
, ,
2
,,
17 , ,
" Body swollen where
bitten." (Qu. from
hæmorrhage?) No post
mortem exam. made.
1 Daboia .
. Ptyas mucosus .
.
„
. ' Large ' Died
*
*After bite 'sluggish.'
" Recovered subse-
quently." On seventh
day again bitten and
died in 1½d a y s .
1
Bungarus cær u -
leus.
P y t a s m u c o s u s
. .
,,
.
2 feet
Died 5½ hours
1 loc. cit ., p. 56.
2 Idem , p. 170.
3 Idem, p. 66 et seq.
66
67
Medical Officers of the Army of India.
In these experiments the smaller snakes all died more or less rapidly from
the cobra bite, in accordance with the results of my
own experiments with cobra-venom as previously
given. In the case of the large and powerful 'rat-snake' (Ptyas mucosus),
however, the results were very varied. This want of uniformity is doubtless in
part owing to the experimental errors incidental to biting as a means of intro
-
ducing the poison, and to insufficiently long observation. But, after allowing for
these sources of error, the series of experiments seems sufficient to indicate that
the full-grown rat-snake offers a considerable resistance to the action of the
venom.
Experiments on pythons, and further and more exact experiments on
rat-snakes, are desirable.
Part V.—Effect of Venom on other Cold-blooded Animals—vertebrate
and invertebrate.
A considerable number of observations are available under this head.
Mitchell refers1 to an experiment with rattlesnake venom upon an alligator
as "well illustrating
. . . . the activity
with which venom may be absorbed by mucous
membranes."
Fontana2 found that the smaller lizards "scarcely survive its (the viper's)
bite for a few minutes." Fayrer3 records two cases
of the large water-lizard ( Varanus flavescens ) bitten
by cobras with a fatal result in 27 and 46 hours respectively. Wall reports
4 a l i z a r d (
C a l o t e s v e r s i c o l o r
) d y i n g i n 1 0 m i n u t e s f r o m 4 c c . o fd
a b o i a
v e n o m .
Fontana5 recorded 11 experiments on turtles with the relatively mild viper-
venom: three of the turtles died and eight were
practically unaffected. Cantor6 relates two cases
of Tortoise ( Trionyx gangeticus ) bitten in the lip by sea snakes: the one bitten
by a Hydrophis schistosa, 2 feet 9 inches in length, died in 28 minutes; and the
other bitten by a H. striata, 3 feet long, died in 46 minutes.
Fontana records7 results of experiments on 86 frogs bitten by vipers, and
found that "some died in less than half an hour,
others in an hour, and others again in two or three
hours;" And that generally frogs "die in a few hours if bitten by a viper."
Mitchell records8 experiments on ten frogs with crotalus-venom and all died:
General summary of results.
On Alligator.
On Lizards.
On Tortoise and Turtle.
On Frogs.
1 loc. cit., p. 46.
2 loc. cit., p. 41.
3 loc. cit., pp. 68 and 70.
4 ' Indian Snake poisons.' London, 1883, p. 62.
5 loc . cit., p. 39.
6 Trans. Zool. Soc. (Lond.) Vol. II, 1841, p. 310.
7 loc. cit., p. 97 et seq.
8 loc. cit., p. 55.
K 2
68
Scientific Memoirs by
two dying in an hour, and two living for three to five days. Fayrer gives an
account1 o f t h r e e l a r g e f r o g s
( R a n a t i g r i n a )
b i t t e n b y c o b r a s : t w o o f t h e s e
died in 26 minutes and in 60 minutes respectively, while the third, which had been
bitten by a cobra which had just bitten other animals four times, was reported
next day to have " remained quite well."
Brunton and Fayrer 2 give three experiments on frogs with small doses of
cobra-poison—the frogs dying within 12 hours. Several other frogs were poisoned
by them with cobra-venom to observe the effects on nervous and muscular
irritability. Wall reports 3 four frogs injected with cobra-venom dying in 40, 67,
79 minutes, and 4 hours respectively and one frog as recovering from . 77 grs.
daboia -venom, while a similar amount of cobra-venom proved fatal in about
an hour.
Of my experiments on frogs, the leading results are here tabulated. The
venom was in watery solution and injected into the
dorsal lymphatic sac. Atmospheric temperature
ranged from 80° to 86° Fah. Control experiments were made on two frogs similar
in size to the first two of the series by injecting a similar quantity of water into
sac ; but the frogs remained unaffected, and on the second day they were still well.
Experiments with Cobra-venom on Frogs.
Experimen t
No.
SPECIES OF FROG.
Size.
Amount of
Venom injected
(approxima-
tely).
R e s u l t .
Duration of
life
life from
time of
injection.
Post-mortem
examination.
REMARKS.
XLI. Ground frog 4 . Medium
1 / 3
g r a i n
. Died. 15 minutes Appearances
normal.
XLII.
, ,
,, •
1/ 3 ,,
.
, ,
13
,, .
Ditto.
XLIII. Bufo galeatus . Large • 1 gr. dried
venom.
,,
27¾ hours Wound slightly
swollen and
congested.
One grain freshly dried
(without heat) venom
was applied to wounded
crural muscle through
valvular cutaneous
o p e n i n g .
XLIV. B. melanostictus Very
large.
1½ grs. dried
venom.
„
48 „ . Wound soften-
ed and slough-
ing.
A p p l i e d a s a b o v e .
XLV. Ground frog
. Largish
½ , g r a i n
. „
32 minutes Appearances
normal.
XLVI.
,,
Medium
5 / 8
„ •
,,
9
, ,, •
Ditto.
XLVII. Polypedatus ma-
culatus .
. Large . ¾ „
.
, ,
28
„ .
.....
XLVIII. Ground frog
. Medium 1 gr. dried
venom.
„
85
„
......
Applied as above.
XLIX. Polypedatus ma-
culatus .
. Large . ¾ grain
. ,,
25
,, .
......
L. Bufo sp. .
.
„
.
1 1 / 3 g r a i n s
. „
About
11
hours.
... . .
LI
,,
•
•
„
•
1½ „
.
„
5 hours .
......
1 l o c . c i t . , p p . 6 8 a n d 7 0 .
2 Proc . Roy. Soc. , Vol . XXII (1874), p. 73.
3 loc. cit., p. 10 et seq.
4 All the ground frogs used were of the same species—which I have not yet identified.
Own experiments on Frogs.
Medical Officers of the Army of India.
69
On Fish.
Fontana found1 that from the -viper-bite eels "die later" than "the other
kinds of fish " he had experimented upon, and not
unt i l t he end of 18 or 24 hour s. Fayr er r epor t s2 a
case of a fish ( Op h t h i o c e p h a l u s ma r u l i u s ) , 1 4 i n c h e s l o n g , b i t t e n n e a r t h e t a i l
by a cobra dying in 50 minutes.
On Invertebrates and Plants.
Upon leeches3 spermatozoa and infusoria, on many of the lower forms of
p l a n t s 4 a n d o n c e l l mo v e me n t i nV a l l i s n e r i a ,
& c . ,
5
snake-venoms have been found to have little or no
toxic effect.
Part VI.—What is the Cause of the Serpents' Immunity
from their Venom?
How is the organism of the Venomous Snake able to resist the action of a
chemical poison6 which is fatal to most other animals ?
Having obtained information Concerning the effect of venom upon several
other species of snakes—venomous and non-venomous—and on various other
animals, we are now in a better position for considering the difficult problem here
presented.
Fact of being cold-blooded.
The immunity is not to be explained upon the mere fact of the animal being
cold-blooded. For, although venom acts cœteris
paribus with greater force and rapidity on warm-
blooded animals, and most so on those whose temperature is highest, viz, birds
yet, as we have seen, the other reptiles and other cold-blooded animals were
affected by venom, and in several instances with a severity and rapidity little
inferior to that exhibited by warm-blooded animals.
Fact of possessing anatomical
f o r m p e c u l i a r t o o p h i d i a n s .
Nor can the fact of having the anatomical conformation peculiar to
ophidians explain the immunity. For, as we have
seen, most, if not all, the non-venomous snakes are
susceptible .to venom. As Fontana long ago remarked ( 7) "if a comparison be
instituted between two cold-blooded animals—one that dies of the disease of the
venom, and the other that survives its action—they will be found to possess
the same organs, the same circulation, an equal tenaciousness of life, and they
.will both of them appear perfectly alike....what is it then that causes
the venom to be a poison to the one, and not to the other?
loc. cit., p. 41. 2
loc. cit., p. 68. 3 FONTANA boa, cit., p. 35.
4 MITCHELL, loc. cit., p. 52. Vide also foot-note, p. 25, Part VI.
BRUNTON AND FAYRER, loc. Cit.
Snake-venom possesses all the characters of a strictly chemical poison as opposed to those of a
living ferment or enzyme. Amongst the direct evidence on this head are the experiments ,by ALBERTONI
and BUFALINI with the blood of envenomed animals (Rivista di chinzica Med., Farm., December 1883). And
culture-experiments by Prof. FORMAD of Philadelphia in regard to crotalus venom (Mitchell and Reichert
"Researches upon the Venoms of Poisonous Serpents" [Smithson. Contrib.], Washington, 1885, p. 137) and
b y Dr . WOL F E NDE N i n r e g a r d t o c o b r a v e n o m( I n d . M e d . G a z .
1 8 8 5 ) , g a v e n e g a t i v e r e s u l t s . l o c . c i t . , p . 2 7 6 .
SILLIGURI,
November 17th, 1888.
L. A. WADDELL, M.B.
Government of Indi a Cent ral Pri nt i ng Offi ce. —No. 6 S. C. —17-2-89. —270.
Scientific Memoirs by Medical Officers of the Army of India.
This hypothesis would also lend itself to explain the relative or absolute
protection possessed by one species of highly viru-
lent snake against another highly venomous snake
of a different genus or family ( e. g. the Daboia against the Cobra). For, Mitchell
and Rei cher t have shown1 t hat t he var i ous ser pent - venoms exami ned by t hem
are mixtures of two or three proteids ( viz. ' V e n o m - a l b u m i n , ' ' v . - g l o b u l i n , ' a n d
'v.-peptone'); and that the venom of one species of snake differs from that of
another, mainly, if not entirely, in the different proportions in which these con
-stituent proteids are present. The Daboia and Cobra might, in this way, be re
-garded as being protected against each other2 to that extent to which their venom
contains a corresponding proteid, and thus have to contend against only a moiety
of the poison.3
The hypothesis here put forward can readily be tested by experiment; and
to this test I propose submitting it when opportunity offers.
1 loc. cit. And Dr. WOLFENDEN has generally confirmed this observation as regards cobra-venom
(Ind. Med. Gas., 1885).
2 V i d e
p . 6 3 .
3 The venoms of the Cobra and Daboia appear to have much in common: "The general symptoms
produced by the poison of the Daboia are nearly the same as by that of the Naja." BRUNTON AND
FAYRER, loc. cit., p. 68.
72
The inter-immunity of venom
-ous snakes explainable.
SCIENTIFIC MEMOIRS
BY
MEDICAL OFFICERS OF THE ARMY OF INDIA.
EDITED BY
SIR BENJAMIN SIMPSON, M.D., K.C.I.E.,
SURGEON-GENERAL WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
PART IV.
1889.
1—Are Choleraic Comma-Bacilli, even granting that they are the proximate
.
cause of choleraic symptoms, really efficient in determining the epidemic
diffusion of cholera ?—Surgeon-Major D. D. Cunningham, M.B.
(Page I)
2.—Notes on the Life-history of Ravenelia sessilis, B. and Raveneli
a
stictica, B. and Br.— D. D. Cunningham, M.B. (Page 20)
3.—On the Life-history of a new Cæoma on Smilax aspera, Linn.—
A. Barclay, M.B. (Page 37)
4.—Are Venomous Snakes auto-toxie?—An Inquiry into the Effect of Serpent
-Venom upon the Serpents themselves.—surgeon L. A. Waddell, M.B.
(page 47).
CALCUTTA
:
PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA
,
1889.
Price Two Rupees.
Description of the Plates.
PLATE
a lower and b upper surface of leaf attacked by aecidial form ; natural
size,
2. Lower surface of leaf gathered in spring with credo and teleutospore-
pustules, showing circular arrangement ; natural size.
3. Transverse section of leaf through. spermogonium X 350.
4.
through aecidium, x 150. Fig. 5 is drawn from
the sortie section at an unattacked part.
5. Transverse section of normal leaf, x 150.
lea( through uredo-bed, x 150
5)
PLATE
Portion of transverse sect:icn of leaf through an aecidial patch, showing
between spongy cells, x 350.
8. Group of aecidiospores from dried specimen, moistened in water, x 350.
9. Group of uredospores, also from dried herbarium specimen, moistened,
in O utline only, X 350.
10.
Accidiospore showing commencing germination ; only one germ tube,
X-• 350.
Aecidiospore showing two germ tubes, x 350.
12. Fresh uredospore, in water, x 350.
13.
Telcutospore in outline, showing young, still undivided promycelia
from each cell, x 300.
14. Upper ends of two promycelia from same spore just before division,
330.
5, The same from another spore :a, three sporidia have been formed, one
of which has thrown out a germ-tube (or abnormally a sterile sterig
m a ? ) ;b
, t w o
s p o r i d i a a r e r i p e a n d r e a d yt
o
b e c a s t o f f ;
C,o n e
s p o r i -d
i u m r i p e a n d
a b o u tt
o b e
c a s t o f f , w h i l e t o e
o t h e r s a r e
s t i l l
mature, X 350.
16. Uromyces (teleutospore) from leaf of Solidago Vergaa-urea, x 350.
17.
1 7 .
, , a , s h o w i n g p r o m y c e l i u m s t i l l u n d i v i d e d ;b
,
s h o w i n g u p p e r
end of another promycelium consisting of tour cast-off sporidia, still
however attached to one another, two of which have thrown out germ
tubes, x 350. 1 8 .
18. Section Showing portion of aecidium to illustrate the manner in which
aecidiospores are formed, x 350.
19. Portions from other similar sections to illustrate more clearly the
same thing, X
ICAR. 15. VI. / 650.
Vol. VI
1936
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AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF RINDERPEST VIRUS IN
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AND
RAO SAHIB K. KYLASAM AYYAR, G.B.V.C.,
Superintendent, Serum Institute, Madras.
(With Plate I and 82 Charts.)
(Received for publication on 30th July 1935.)
In connection with the problem of combating rinderpest in India, several
methods of protecting cattle against the disease have been evolved from time
to time, but the question of cost stood in the way of the serum-simultaneous
method being adopted throughout the country, though this method seemed to
offer an efficient protection. In the search for a cheaper method of affording
protection against the disease what is known as " the goat-virus-alone " method
has come into prominence during the last three or four years. Stirling [1932,
1933] has recorded his views on the use of goat virus-alone on a fairly large scale
in the Central Provinces and Kerr and Menon [1934] have also recorded the work
done with goat-virus-alone in Bengal. It appears that the initial supply of material
for these goat-virus-alone inoculations was from the Imperial Institute of Veteri-
nary Research, Muktesar. Edwards [1927] says that " prolonged and intensive
research has led to means being devised whereby the virus can be easily propa-
gated in goats by successive inoculation with small quantities of blood," but
this virus was then intended only " to overcome the distressing complication
often observed after the serum-simultaneous inoculation caused by the unwitting
introduction of virulent piroplasms with rinderpest." Since Koch [1896-97]
made his observations on the behaviour of the rinderpest virus in goats, there
have been attempts in various parts of the world to find out the extent, if any,
of its practical application in immunising cattle against rinderpest. Bliss [1922]
in China and Topacio [1926] appear to have been the first to put it to practical
use. It is generally accepted that rinderpest virus may be attenuated by succes-
sive passages through goats, yet in none of the available literature is any mention
made of experimental work designed to show how and under what conditions
rinderpest virus becomes attenuated through goats to such a degree as to make
it safe for use on bovines as an immunising agent without the anti-serum.
A