Experimental clinicopathological study of the Habu (Trimerusurus flavoviridis) venom. I. A light microscopic study of terminal degeneration in some brainstem nuclei of the cat following intracisternal injection of the venom.

Central neurotoxic effect of habu venom was studied in cats after intracisternal injections. Thirteen nuclei from the medulla oblongata, eleven from the pons and ten from the midbrain were observed. In the medulla oblongata, the nuclei most affected were the gracile and cuneate nuclei and the nucleus of the spinal tract of the trigeminal nerve; in the midbrain, degeneration was mainly observed in the superior and inferior colliculi. The present findings are discussed and correlated with the behavioral and physiological changes which have been reported previously.