Purified phospholipase A2 from Bothrops alternatus venom is one single protein species with a molecular weight of 15,000 and isoelectric point 5.08. When injected i.p. or i.v. at a dose of 0.7 microgram/g body weight it is lethal to mice, eliciting a typical syndrome of dyspnea, tachycardia, arrhythmia and irreversible shock. Post mortem and histopathologic studies have demonstrated that the lungs (massive pulmonary hemorrhage), heart (foci of myocardial and endocardial necrosis with interfibrillar hemorrhage), liver (congestion, hepatocytic microvacuolization with zones of massive necrosis) and kidneys (foci of tubular and glomerular necrosis) were severely injured. Except for the less extensive hemorrhages and the significantly longer survival time, the observed lesions are similar to those observed after the injection of lethal doses of whole venom. The lethal potency of the purified enzyme (LD50 i.p. 0.14 microgram/g body weight) is 46-fold greater than that of the whole venom (LD50 i.p. 6.4 micrograms/g body weight). The contribution of phospholipase A2 to the overall lethal effect of B. alternatus venom is suggested by the decreased lethal potency of a venom sample in which a significant amount of phospholipase A2 has been removed and the full restoration of the lethal potency upon supplementation of the depleted sample with purified enzyme. It is concluded that phospholipase A2 is a major component responsible for lethality of the whole B. alternatus venom, while the contribution of other venom components appears to be significant mainly in reducing the time of survival.