The Venom of the Five-Step Snake Fang and its Terrifying Reputation
In ancient times, the notoriety of the five-step snake had spread throughout the country. Li Shizhen also studied the five-step snake and recorded its characteristics in the Compendium of Materia Medica. The scientific name of the five-step snake is the shrew-nosed viper (Chinese viper), and it also has a familiar name called Baihua Snake, which is the name written by Li Shizhen in the Compendium of Materia Medica. According to folklore, if bitten by a five-step snake, a person would certainly die if they walked more than five steps. However, this is just an exaggeration. Currently, no snake can kill a person within such a short time, and even the top ten most venomous snakes in the world cannot do so.
Five-step snake: 'Five steps to death' is an exaggeration
The scientific name of the five-step snake is the shrew-nosed viper (Chinese viper), and it also has a familiar name called Baihua Snake, which is the name written by Li Shizhen in the Compendium of Materia Medica. According to folklore, if bitten by a five-step snake, a person would certainly die if they walked more than five steps. However, this is just an exaggeration. Currently, no snake can kill a person within such a short time, and even the top ten most venomous snakes in the world cannot do so.
The venom of the five-step snake is among the lowest in vipers. Its reputation is due to being mythologized by people. Of course, the editor is not just talking nonsense. The LD50 of the five-step snake is 2.94ml/kg, while the LD50 of the short-tailed viper (a viper) is 0.525ml/kg, and the Urals viper's LD50 is 0.7ml/kg (the lower the LD50 index, the higher the toxicity). Therefore, the five-step snake's venom is far weaker than what it is imagined.
The origin of the name of the five-step snake, five steps within must be poisoned
The origin of the name of the five-step snake cannot be verified. However, the following explanations are reasonable:
1The five-step snake's venom is very potent, and after being bitten within five steps, the person will certainly be poisoned (not death, it is not so serious), so it is also called 'Five steps down'.
2The five-step snake is lazy in character, and a person will only be attacked if they come within five steps of it.
3The five-step snake has excellent camouflage, and it is only discovered when a person comes very close (within five steps).
