CHAPTER V 



MAMMALS 

 THE CAT 



Two or three specimens will be needed for a complete dissection 

 of the cat, one for the muscles and skeleton and one or two for 

 the remaining organs. The animals should be killed with chloro- 

 form or ether, as needed, and preserved in cold storage or in 

 formalin. If the weather is not too hot, it is an excellent plan 

 to pin the skin tightly over the body and keep the specimen in 

 a cool place when it is not being dissected. It is very convenient 

 to have at hand a refrigerator, well supplied with ice, in which the 

 animal may be kept during the progress of the dissection. As soon 

 as it begins to smell, it should be completely skinned, with the 

 exception of the feet and head, and preserved in a solution of 

 J per cent or i per cent formalin. The body must always be 

 completely covered by the fluid, and the latter must be changed 

 as often as it becomes stale. A stronger solution of formalin than 

 that mentioned tends to render the muscles and other organs hard 

 and leathery. 



It is also a good plan, although not necessary to the success 

 of the dissection, to inject the arteries of the animal first with 

 a 5 per cent solution of formalin, or other embalming fluid, 

 which preserves the internal organs and hardens the brain, and 

 then with a red injection mass, in order to make the arteries easier 

 to study. An animal which has been embalmed need not be kept 

 in a preserving fluid when not being studied, but must be covered 

 with moist cloths to prevent drying out. It is best to make the 

 injections through the femoral artery, near the base of the hind 

 leg. The veins can also be injected, if desired, at the same time, 

 with a blue injection mass,— the systemic venous system through 



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