venomization

The Effect of Washing the Corpuscles after Venomization.—Attention has been drawn to the fact that the property of venom which is being described is operative only in the presence of an excess of venom. Corpuscles once protected can be diluted with water indefinitely without any laking taking place, so long as the excess of venom is not removed by washing, and other evidences of protection, such as increased resistance of the corpuscles to heat and to various chemical laking agents, can be demonstrated. If, however, the venomized corpuscles are subjected to repeated and thorough washing with 0.9 per cent salt solution, it is found that the protection disappears and, moreover, the corpuscles are now more easily laked than normal blood cells.

1905 April 25, Hideyo Noguchi, “A study of the protective action of snake venom upon blood corpuscles”, in Journal of Experimental Medicine, volume 7, number 2, →DOI, →PMCID, page 201