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After visiting Venezuela, Sir Walter Raleigh, in his writings, mentions poison arrows. The poison used was referred to as "ourari".
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The French Academy of Sciences sponsors an expedition to Ecuador, and samples of curare are brought back to France.
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Charles Waterton demonstrates that the effects of curare are reversible.
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Claude Bernard publishes his curare experiments on frogs. The results show that curare affects the transmission between motor nerves and muscle fibers.
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In Great Britain, the toxin was used in experimental animal surgeries (where the animals were conscious). This contributed to the passing of anti-vivisection laws such as the Cruelty to Animals Act.
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Harold King isolates the active part of curare, calling it tubocurarine.
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Harold Griffith tests the use of curare in surgery as a muscle relaxant.
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Daniel Bovet creates many artificial varieties of curare, beginning with gallamine. One of them, succinylcholine, is still widely used.