EXPERIMENTS ON COBRA POISON AND ON A REPUTED ANTIDOTE.

By J. Fatuee, M.D., C.S.I.

Present: Dr. Forbes Watson, Dr. Father, Dr. J. Laudee

Brunton, and Mr. IIigoins.

5th November, 1872.

At Dr. Forbes "Watson's request, the folio-wing experiments were made in the chemical laboratory of St. Bartholomew's by the kind permission of Dr. Russell, Professor of Chemistry. The poison used was some that I sent to England nearly a

year ago. It has become much altered, and is of a dark-

brown syrupy consistency, and very foetid from decomposition ; it had proved itself in some former experiments to be active.

Experiment I.?Two pigeons were first experimented on. A diluted solution of the poison?about one or two drops in 20 drops of water?were injected into the thigh of each. The first bird injected showed symptoms of the poison in

about three or four minutes, and died with the usual symptoms in about seven minutes.

The second, a more lively bird, was injected in the same way. In about three minutes Mr. Higgins began to administer his antidote, and repeated it several times. The bird died in

about twenty-five minutes with the usual symptoms, and this was probably due to the poison, being highly diluted and in very small quantity, not having entered a vein, as apparently ?was the case with the first bird.

Experiment II.?Two large rabbits of equal size?one an albino?were next injected in the thigh with exactly equal quan- tities of the diluted poison, and the dose was very small. In a

few minutes Mr. Iliggins began to administer his antidote to the albino, which was probably the most sensitive of the two, as it

showed symptoms of poisoning sooner than the other. The

antidote was repeated several times, ?without any apparent

effect, and the rabbit died before the other which had no

antidote. The second rabbit, -when oil the point of death,

quite unconscious, and with feeble convulsive movements com-

mencing, had its trachea opened and artificial respiration applied. There was no return of consciousness or of voluntury movement ; the tail was observed to move, when the animal

was touched, long after the eyelids were irresponsive to stimuli, and the heart was kept beating vigorously for nearly two hours when the experiment was concluded. In the other case

(the antidotal one) the heart also continued to contract, and the peristaltic action of the intestines to go on for some

minutes after apparent death. The blood removed from the

body after death formed a firm coagulum. Experiment III.?Mr. Iliggins then used a solution of

some inspissated poison of a South American snake, which he said was a viper, and called the bocca d'orado (technical name unknown), very poisonous. A solution of it, of considerable

strength, was made and injected into the thigh of two rabbits, one to be left to nature, the other to have the antidote. No

symptoms of poisoning resulted in either, and the poison was

again injected, but without effect. Mr. Higgins said he thought the poison had become inactive from keeping. It is not how-

ever so old as the cobra poison that was experimented with. The antidote is that described at page 121 of

"

Thanatophidm of India"?"the bile of a poisonous snake." Mr. Higgins'a directions were there recorded.

The result of tho experiments hero were as conclusive as

those in Calcutta, and must, I think, for the cobra poison (and I should think for any other snake poison) be regarded as con-

clusive. I fear Mr. Iliggins has been deceived by appearances and imperfect evidence, as I have pointed out has been the case with others. There could bo no doubt about his own belief; and the very kiud and straightforward manner in which he

January 1, 1873.] COLUMBIDJ-2.?BY W. J. MOORE.

aided and witnessed the experiments lie sought for, are quite proof of Ins real and honest desire to make known what he believes to be a great discovery. The experiments were conducted by Dr. Lauder Brunfcon and

myself, in deference to the expressed wish of Dr. Forbes

Watson, of the India Office, to whom the subject of this

antidote had been referred for report by the Foreign Office. Experiment IY.?A largo and powerful rabbit had a drop

and a half of the above cobra poison diluted with about 10 or

15 drops of water injected into the jugular vein, which was carefully exposed by Dr. Brunton for that purpose. Immedi-

ately following it was injectcd live drops of liquor ammonite diluted with four parts of water. The rabbit was dead in 50

seconds.

The result of these experiments shows how essential it is

that investigations of this nature should be carried on with the greatest care, and be repeated as frequently as possible.

It is easy to see how errors may arise that might deceive any one. If, for example, we had not had the cobra poison to test this antidote?the snake-bile and it had been used in the

treatment of the animal inoculated with the American snake-

poison?the result would have been very different; and to the antidote might have been attributed what was really the

consequence of the virus being perfectly inert. I was glad also that Dr. Forbes Watson and Dr. Lauder

Brunton had an opportunity of testing the injection of liquor ammonia) into a vein in a case of snake-poisoning.

I may add that the two rabbits inoculated with Mr. Higgins's poison were alive and well on the third day after the inocula- tion.

Present: Da. Fayeee and Dr. Laudee Beuntojt.

1th Novemler.

Experiment I.?A -very small quantity of cobra poison, diluted with water, was injected into a rabbit's jugular vein. The rabbit became paralysed in the forelegs almost immediately, and was dead in 1G0 seconds. The heart's action ceased very

rapidly, thought not immediately with apparent death. I

believe that alarger quantity injected into the jugular vein, being carried direct to the heart, paralyses its action rapidly, in this

respect differing from the usual mode of death where the

action of the heart continues long after apparent death. The

lungs were pallid and not in the least congested. The blood

coagulated firmly after death. Expeeiment II.?A rabbit was previously prepared by having .

a canula introduced into the trachea. A feeble dose of the

cobra poison was then injected into its hip. In about 20

minutes it showed manifest signs of poisoning, paralyses gradu- ally coming on,?power of moving or co-ordinating the limbs lost.

In a few minutes more it was dead apparently to all

consciousness. Artificial respiration was commenced, and though to all

appearance the animal was dead, the heart continued to beat

vigorously, and went on doing so for three hours, when I was

obliged to leave. The temperature was gradually failing, having fallen from 101 to i)6 in that time. Tho action of cobra poison, evidently in some, if not all

respects, resembles that of the ctirara or wourali, which kills by paralysing the peripheral distribution of the motor nerves. Animals so poisoned have been recovered by artificial respira-

tion, after being for hours in a state of seeming death. I do

not yet feel at all certain whether cobra poison acts on tho

nerve-centres alone, or on the peripheral extremities, as in

curara; perhaps it may be a combination of both. But it

appears to me that this method of sustaining life by artificial

respiration, which might be done in ordinary bites, offers the

most reasonable prospect of enabling the patieut to livo until

the excreting organs shall have eliminated the poison from the

system. I at the same time cannot but express my fear that

irreparable mischief may have been clone by the poison, which

may prevent recovery in cases where severe poisoning has

occurred.

1 hope to pursue the subject further, meanwhile I believe that the most rational ground of hoping for relief is indicated.