INDIAN SNAKE POISONS,
and then gradually fade away in gentler and gentler attempts at inspiration. The cat is an animal that shows a peculiar power of resisting cobra-poison, presenting a marked contrast to the dog. Chart No. IV. is from a cat, in whom this resisting power was prominent. After the retardation of respiration is accomplished, it will be noticed that an occasional deep respiration occurred; it is as if the animal, aware of its lessening breathing power, made conscious efforts to assist respiration. A similar feature appears to have been frequently noticed in the human subject, under like circumstances.
The series of tracings in Chart V. shows graphically the instantly destructive action of cobra-poison on the respiratory function, when a large quantity of the poison suddenly enters the circulation. They are taken from a dog, in whom the following observations were made.
Experiment XII
.
A powerful pariah dog had one cubic centimetre of fresh cobra-poison injected into its saphena vein. No change was noticed for thirty seconds; at the end of that time normal respiration abruptly stopped, its place being taken by violent and irregular contractions of the respiratory muscles. The action of the heart continued strong, but increased greatly in frequency. Very soon all movement ceased, with the exception of that of the heart, which continued acting for about ten
