[Snakes as a source of drugs from the Han to the Song Dynasties].

This paper examined the history of snakes as a source of drugs from the Han to the Song Dynasties. Snake products, for medicinal purposes, were not widely used in the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties out of worship and fear of snakes.The source of snake products taken for medical purposes might be partly because local people ate snakes in the South area. Palace snakes and pit viper products were taken as drugs in the Tang Dynasty for the treatment of leprosy and ulcers of the female external genitals. Zaocysdhumnades were seldom used as medicine because they were not recorded in medical documents in the Tang Dynasty, but only seen in some notes. They were widely used in medical practice in the late Tang and the early Song Dynasties and were formally recorded in medical documents for the diseases caused by Wind. Their effectiveness, rarity, high value and toxicity contraindication were repeatedly stressed while palace snakes and pit vipers were seldom mentioned and used.

Pathobiological relationships between Mycobacterium leprae and its primitive host.

Newborn snakes were injected with 10(2)-10(4) live or heated Mycobacterium leprae. Death occurred in 5-6 weeks. On autopsy, the snakes injected with live microorganisms showed pathological changes and numerous acid-fast bacteria were found in some organs. Material was also transferred from an experimentally infected snake to a group of normal newborn snakes, causing their death in 3 weeks. Extracts in phosphate-buffered saline, prepared from the tissues of infected snakes, were found to react with anti-M. leprae and anti-M. lepraemurium rabbit antisera. No immunodiffusion reactions were elicited by extracts from the organs of control snakes.