C.—Effects of Venom upon the White Corpuscles: Leucolysin.
The white corpuscles themselves do not escape the action of venom. It is possible in vitro to prove this action upon leucocytic exudations obtained, e.g., by injecting sterilised cultures of Bacillus megatherium into the pleura or peritoneum of the rabbit. After a few hours this exudation is removed by means of capillary tubes, and, on mixing these with weak doses of venom, we see, in the course of a microscopic examination, that the large mononuclear cells are the first to be dissolved, then the polynuclears, and lastly the lymphocytes. The leucolysis is much more intense and more rapid with Cobra-venom than with that of Crotalus (Flexner and Noguchi, Noc).
CHAPTER IX.
PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING (continued).
Proteolytic, Cytolytic, Bacteriolytic and various Diastasic Actions of Venoms: Diastasic and Cellular Action on Venoms.