Open AccessI. On the action of cobra venom.—Parts I and II
Author(s) -
Arthur R. Cushny,
Sizue Yagi
Publication year - 1918
Publication title -
philosophical transactions of the royal society of london. series b, containing papers of a biological character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9266
pISSN - 0264-3960
DOI - 10.1098/rstb.1918.0001
Subject(s) - paralysis , anesthesia , respiration , cobra , spinal cord , medicine , phrenic nerve , artificial respiration , respiratory paralysis , anatomy , respiratory system , peripheral nervous system , central nervous system , surgery , computer science , programming language , psychiatry
The work of Fayrer(1), and afterwards of Brunton and Fayrer(2), established the fact that in cobra poisoning the failure of the respiration is the cause of death, the circulation surviving for some time after the breathing ceases, and the heart continuing to beat for hours if the aëration of the blood is maintained by artificial respiration. They satisfied themselves that a curara-like paralysis of the motor nerve ends occurs in certain conditions, but they remained in doubt whether the failure of the respiration is entirely due to this, and were inclined to believe that it is due in part to paralysis of the respiratory centre; the phrenic nerve proved insensible to the strongest stimuli in some experiments, while the sciatic remained irritable, and there was a want of co-ordination of the diaphragmatic and thoracic muscles in others, which appeared to arise from paralysis of the phrenic nerve. In 1883 A. J. Wall (3) concluded that, while the peripheral motor nerves are weakened, this is accompanied by a similar weakening of the central nervous system, and especially of the spinal cord.