Envenomations by Rattlesnakes Thought to Be Dead

To the Editor: Even after suffering potentially fatal injuries, venomous snakes are capable of injuring humans. Klauber performed experiments showing that rattlesnake heads are dangerous for 20 to 60 minutes after decapitation. 1 We prospectively collected data on patients admitted to our toxicology referral center for rattlesnake bites. Thirty-four patients were admitted for rattlesnake bites from June 1997 to April 1998; of these, five patients (14.7 percent) — all men between 20 and 48 years old — were bitten by snakes that had been fatally injured and were presumed to be dead. Patient 1 bludgeoned a rattlesnake on the head with . . .