9

Medical Officers of the Army of India.

      On the following morning the surface of the coagulum was dull scarlet
and the substance plum-coloured. When turned out of the vessel the edges of
the clot became dull scarlet. The bodies of the red corpuscles were well pre-
served and 3.5 c.c. of limpid bright red serum were present.

      Experiment VIII. —Action of 0.0005 gramme of dried venom on 26.3
grammes of blood: —

      This experiment was conducted in precisely the same fashion as the
preceding two, save that a contained only 0.0005 gramme of dried venom.

      The blood was introduced into the capsules at 10-58 A.M., 26.3 grammes
being introduced into a, and 30.46 grammes into b.

      a. Coagulation occurred within four minutes. The surface of the clot
was at first dark red. It gradually brightened to scarlet, and then presently
began to darken anew.

      11.30 A.M. —Surface dark red; substance plum-coloured.

      12 Noon. —Surface almost black; substance plum-coloured; no sign of any exudation
of serum.

      1 P.M. —Surface and substance nearly black; no visible contraction of the clot, but a
little dark-red serum present.

      On the following morning the coagulum was practically black throughout.
There was no appreciable retraction of the clot from the sides of the vessel, but
about 0.25 c.c. of very dark opaque serum, depositing an abundant whitish
precipitate on dilution with distilled water, was present. The sides and
artificially exposed surfaces of the clot showed no change of colour on exposure
to air. The peripheral portions of most of the red corpuscles were absent, leav-
ing the nuclei free. The texture of the coagulum was soft and gelatinous.

      b. The blood coagulated rapidly, and the surface of the clot soon became
vivid scarlet.

      11-30 A.M. —Surface vivid scarlet; substance dark red; exudation of serum just be-
ginning.

      12 Noon. —Surface bright scarlet; substance dull red; exudation of serum advanc-
ing.

      1 P. M. —Surface vivid scarlet; substance plum-coloured; clot well contracted from
the sides of the vessel, and a large quantity of clear, straw-coloured serum
present.

      On the following morning the surface of the clot was dull scarlet and the
substance of it plum-coloured. The coagulum was widely shrunk from the sides
of the vessel and lying free in 9 c.c. of clear, straw-coloured serum. When the
coagulum was removed from the serum it rapidly became bright scarlet on the
surface and dull red on the sides, and surfaces artificially exposed by section
also became scarlet on exposure to air. The texture of the clot was firm and
the red corpuscles were well preserved.

      In the above experiments the mixture of the venom and the blood was

B