Editing Snakebite (section)

=== Venom metering ===
Venom metering is the ability of a snake to have neurological control over the amount of venom released into a target during a strike based on situational cues. This ability would prove useful as venom is a limited resource, larger animals are less susceptible to the effects of venom, and various situations require different levels of force. There is a lot of evidence to support the venom metering hypothesis. For example, snakes frequently use more venom during defensive strikes, administer more venom to larger prey, and are capable of dry biting. A dry bite is a bite from a venomous snake that results in very little or no venom expulsion, leaving the target asymptomatic.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Naik BS | title = "Dry bite" in venomous snakes: A review | journal = Toxicon | volume = 133 | pages = 63–67 | date = July 2017 | pmid = 28456535 | doi = 10.1016/j.toxicon.2017.04.015 | bibcode = 2017Txcn..133...63N | s2cid = 36838996}}</ref> However, there is debate among many academics about venom metering in snakes. The alternative to venom metering is the pressure balance hypothesis.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

The pressure balance hypothesis cites the retraction of the fang sheath as the many mechanisms for producing outward venom flow from the venom delivery system. When isolated, fang sheath retraction has experimentally been shown to induce very high pressures in the venom delivery system.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Young BA, Kardong KV | title = Mechanisms controlling venom expulsion in the western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox | journal = Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology | volume = 307 | issue = 1 | pages = 18–27 | date = January 2007 | pmid = 17094108 | doi = 10.1002/jez.a.341 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2007JEZA..307...18Y}}</ref> A similar method was used to stimulate the compressor musculature, the main muscle responsible for the contraction and squeezing of the venom gland, and then measuring the induced pressures. It was determined that the pressure created from the fang sheath retraction was at times an order of magnitude greater than those created by the compressor musculature. Snakes do not have direct neurological control of the fang sheath, it can only be retracted as the fangs enter a target and the target's skin and body provide substantial resistance to retract the sheath. For these reasons, the pressure balance hypothesis concludes that external factors, mainly the bite and physical mechanics, are responsible for the quantity of venom expelled.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}