NOTES ON THE TECHNIQUE OF POISON EXPERIMENTS.

SNAKE

By Surg^.-Oapt. It. II. Elliott, m.b., f.r.c.s. The following paper has been the outcome of ray experience in work with snakes and snake

poison.

offering it for pubencouraged to do so by the reflection that small as my own experience has been, that of many others has been, if possible, I feel much diffidence in

lication, but I smaller. Work with

am

dangerous poison such as the always be attended with risks, and these risks are very perceptibly heightened if the operator deals with living a

thamatophidUl

venom must

snakes.

When f started work a year ago, I did so in what ought to have been a state of bliss if the old adage is true. Little by little one learned small details of technique which, small and obvious as they may appear to be, are not always of at once. thought In conducting syringe experiments, one point was from the first very clearly before my mind, and that was that if one wished to avoid mistakes and disaster, the manipulation employed must be conducted on most methodical

principles.

A firm table should be selected about 6 feet

long by 3 feet broad, this should be devoted to the manipulations connected with the poison and with the antidote under trial. Nobody

Dec.

1895.J

ELLIOTT ON THE

TECHNIQUE

should interfere with this table save the operator, and nothing but the instruments^ etc., in actual use should be placed upon it. Bystanders or

OF SNAKE POISON EXPERIMENTS.

475

assistants should not talk to the operator, and the injecting syringes should never be allowed in any hands other than those of the principal.

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