The Venom of Heloderma (Classic Reprint)

Leo Loeb, Carl L. Alsberg

ISBN 10: 1332801374 / ISBN 13: 9781332801374

Editore: Forgotten Books, 2018

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Print on Demand. This book thoroughly examines the properties and toxic effects of the venom of Heloderma, a species of venomous lizard. The author undertook this study at the request of Dr. S. Weir Mitchell and carried out the research using grants from the Carnegie Institution of Washington. To extend the research in various directions, the author collaborated with other scientists who studied various aspects of the problem. The book is a collection of their findings. The author reviews the literature on the subject, discusses methods of collecting the venom, and factors that influence the amount of secretion. It also delves into the effects of heat, standing in solution, dialysis, filtration, addition of acid to venom solution, Roentgen rays on secretion of venom gland, and venom upon animals. Furthermore, the book details the author's original histological, bacteriological, biochemical, and experimental studies on the venom, which provide new insights into its nature and effects. The book concludes with a discussion of the significance of the findings, which contribute to our understanding of the venom of Heloderma and its potential medical applications. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work, digitally reconstructed using state-of-the-art technology to preserve the original format. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in the book.

Codice articolo 9781332801374_0

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: The Venom of Heloderma (Classic Reprint)
• Editore: Forgotten Books
• Data di pubblicazione: 2018
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1332801374
• ISBN 13: 9781332801374
• Rilegatura: Paperback
• Condizione: New
• Tipo di libro: print-on-demand item
• Cataloghi dei venditori:
  • Biology

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Excerpt from The Venom of Heloderma

There exists much difference of Opinion in regard to the real function of the poison gland. Does it merely take up from the blood the poisonous material produced by other cells, or does it actually manufacture the venom from non poisonous substances supplied through blood or lymph? Calmette and Faust accepted the first view. In snakes the blood and, as Flexner and Noguchi found, even the ova contain a venom very similar to that secreted by the poison gland. Calmette and Faust believe, therefore, that the cells of the poison gland have a selective affinity for the venom circulating in the blood. Inas much as Calmette noticed that the heat resistance of the poisonous substance present in the blood differs somewhat from that of the venom secreted by the poison gland, he assumes that a precursor which is poisonous and has been produced by other cells is slightly modified in the poison gland and then secreted. This difference in the heat resistance of the two poisons he regards as a reason sufficient to exclude the view of Phisalix and Bertrand, who regard the venom circulating in the blood as being manufactured in the venom gland and eliminated in the blood through a mechanism related to internal secretion. They found, accordingly, that after extirpation of the venom gland of snakes the blood lost its toxic properties. In H eloderma conditions are less complicated. Here the venom can not be found anywhere in the body except in the poison gland. Neither does the blood become poisonous after extirpation Of the poison glands, as should be expected if the poison glands served merely as a place of elimination for the venom prepared elsewhere. We can therefore be certain that in the case of H eloderma the poison gland is the place where the venom is produced out of non-poisonous material carried to the gland. Such a conclusion is also in accordance with the view that the granules of the gland are the carriers Of the venom.