Page:AJWall Indian Snake Poisons.djvu/173

136 CHAPTER VI.

there is no agent at present known that can counteract the effects of snake-poison when introduced into the system, it will he seen that it is of the highest importance to prevent any of the poison entering the circulation. As long as the poison remains at the spot where it is injected hy the snake, it is armless. It is only when it enters the circulation that it is capable of doing injury. The exact position of the poison deposited by the snake is, therefore, worthy of careful study. When a snake obtains a fair hold of his victim both fangs — one on each side of the upper jaw — pierce the skin, and the poison is injected through each. There are thus, beneath the skin, two separate deposits of venom, from which absorption takes place simultaneously. Death, therefore, as a rule, is quicker in cases of the natural bite, than after the artificial injection