A preliminary communication on the changes in nerve cells after poisoning with the venom of the Australian tiger‐snake (Hoplocephalus curtus)

THE animals used in the experiments were rabbits. -0057 grms. of the dried venom was dissolved in 28-5 c.c. distilled water. (Thus 1 c.c. = -0002 grms. venom.) This was injected subcutaneously. The animals lived from 20 minutes to 36 hours, according to the dose given. The immediate cause of death was respiratory paralysis. The heart continued to beat for some time after the breathing ceased. The chief symptoms manifested by the animals were great restlessness and muscular weakness with tremor. In all cases the rectal temperature fell considerably. (In Rabbit 4 it fell to 30° C. before death, and in Rabbit 5 it fell to 340 C. and subsequently rose as recovery occurred.) Some of the animals which had received a fatal dose of poison ate fairly well after the injection. The following is a tabular list of the animals experimented upon, with the dose of venom and duration of life.