Symptomatology, Pathology and Treatment of the Bites of Elapid Snakes

Abstract

A venomous snakebite is not always followed by evidence of envenomation and certainly is not always followed by death. Most snakebites are “startled” bites or “defensive” bites as Reid (1957) calls them and the snake frequently does not inject venom even though several human lethal doses of venom may be present in the venom glands at the time of the bite.