Venoms, venomous animals and antivenomous serum-therapeutics / by A. Calmette ; translated by Ernest E. Austen.

  • Calmette, A. (Albert), 1863-1933.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Venoms, venomous animals and antivenomous serum-therapeutics / by A. Calmette ; translated by Ernest E. Austen. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    to man and to mammals in general. The study of their venom, too, is of considerable interest, since it should lead to the quest of means of protection sufficiently efficacious to preserve us from their attacks. Venomous reptiles are not always easy to distinguish from those devoid of any inoculatory apparatus. For this reason both classes alike have at all times inspired mankind with a lively dread, which is displayed among the various races in legends and religious beliefs. In ancient days the cult of the snake occupied a prominent place. In Genesis the serpent is the incarnation of the Evil One, tempting and deceitful. In Greece it was the symbol of wisdom and prudence. In Egj^pt it was associated with the Sacred Scarabæus and the flowers of the lotus to represent Immortality ! At Rome epidemics ceased when the snake sacred to Æscu- lapius was brought from Epidaurus. According to Kraff, the Gallas of Central Africa consider the snake as the ancestor of the human race, and hold it in great respect. In India the cult of the Seven-headed Naja, or serpent-god, was formerly almost as flourishing as that of Buddha. It is still regarded as a crime to kill a Cobra when it enters a hut ; prayers are addressed and food is offered to it. Its presence is an omen of happiness and prosperity ; it is believed that its death would bring down the most terrible calamities on whomsoever should have brought it about, and on his family. Nevertheless, in the Indian Peninsula alone, the Cobra, the Krait, and a few other extremely poisonous species of snakes cause every year an average of 25,000 deaths. The number of fatalities from the same cause is likewise considerable in Burma, Indo- China, the Dutch Indies, Australia, Africa, the West Indies and Tropical America generally. The temperate regions of the globe are less severely affected ;