NINTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 429 
alcohol, and oil of turpentine are all more or less active in this respect. 
To check bleeding from large vessels compression may be adopted. When 
it is rapid and dangerous and from an artery, the fingers may be used 
for pressing between the wound and the heart (digital compression), but 
if from a vein, the pressure should be exerted on the other side of the 
wound. Tourniquet may also be used by passing a strap around the 
part and tightening after placing a pad over the hemorrhage. The rub- 
ber ligature has now replaced the tourniquet and is bound tightly around 
the limb to arrest the bleeding. Tampons, such as cotton, tow or oakum, 
may be packed tightly in the wound and then sewed up. After remaining 
there for twenty-four or forty-eight hours they are removed. Bleeding 
may sometimes be easily checked by passing a pin under the vessel and 
by taking a horse-hair and forming a figure 8 by running it above and 
below the pin, thus causing pressure on the vessel. Torsion is the twist- 
ing of the blood vessel until the walls come together and form a barrier 
to the flow of blood. It may be accomplished by the fingers, forceps, or 
by running a pin through the vessel, turning it several times, and then 
running the point into the tissue to keep it in a fixed position. 
Ligation is the third method for stopping a hemorrhage. Seize the 
blood vessel with the artery forceps, pass a clean thread of silk around it, 
and tie about one-half inch from its end. The silk should be sterilized by 
placing it in an antiseptic solution so as not to impede the healing pro- 
cess or cause blood poisoning or lockjaw, which often follows the ligation 
of a vein with unsterilized material. Sometimes it will be impossible to 
reach the bleeding vessel, so it is necessary to pass the ligature around 
a mass of tissue which includes the blood vessel. Ligation is the most 
useful method of arresting hemorrhage, since it disturbs healing least 
and gives the greatest security against secondary hemorrhage. 
SUTURES. 
After the bleeding has been controlled and all foreign bodies removed 
from the wound, the gaping of the wound is noticeable. It is caused by 
the contraction of the muscles and elastic fibres, and its degree depends 
on the extent, direction, and nature of the cut. This gaping will hinder 
the healing process so that it must be overcome by bringing the edges 
together by som.e sort of sultures or pins, or by a bandage applied from 
below upward. As suture material, ordinary cotton thread is good if 
well sterilized, as is also horsehair, catgut, silk, and various kinds of 
wire. If sulture is made too light, the subsequent swelling may cause 
the stitch to tear out. In order to make a firm suture the depth of the 
stitch should be the same as the distance the stitch is from the edge 
of he wound. The deeper the suture is the more tissue is embraced and 
the fewer the number of stitches required. In tying a suture use the square 
or reef knot. Closure of w^ounds by means of adhesive plaster, collodion, 
and metal clamps is not practiced to any great extent in veterinary 
practice. 
