This discovery was part of a continuing study on circulatory shock and proteolytic enzymes related to the toxicology of snake bites, started by Rocha e Silva as early as 1939.
O descubrimento formaba parte dun estudo continuo do shock circulatorio e de encimas proteolíticos relacionados coa toxicoloxía das trabadas de serpe, iniciados por Rocha e Silva xa en 1939.