The nature of the coagulant of the venom of Echis carinatus, a small Indian viper

Abstract The effect of intravascular injection of the venom of the Australian black snake (Notechis porpliyriacus) upon blood coagulation was studied by C. J. Martin, who, noticing the similarity of the resulting changes with those described by Wooldridge, after intravascular injection of “ tissue fibrinogen,” inferred that in both cases the mechanism involved was the same, namely, the introduction of nucleo-proteins into the blood stream, the liberation of these substances after the injection of viper venom being presumably due to the latter damaging the endothelial cells of the blood-vessels. Subsequently it was observed by Lamb that the addition of viper venom to citrated or oxalated blood plasma also caused clotting. Martin therefore abandoned the explanation he had previously suggested and concluded that the coagulant action of viper venom was due to fibrin ferment.