112 ON WOUNDS. 



diseased abscess incapable of cicatrization. In 

 this state of the wound it is necessary to destroy 

 the callous surface, cither by the knife or by 

 caustic, in which processes the animal is put to 

 great pain, and nature generally employs treble 

 the time in performing by this artificial and mis- 

 applied treatment, that which she could have 

 effected with ease and expedition, if left to her 

 own uninterrupted operations. 



THE COMPOUND WOUND 



Requires, in some respects, a different 

 treatment from that of the simple wound. For 

 as the different parts which may be affected by 

 the same injury (for instance, muscle and bone) 

 possess a different action in themselves, it is ne- 

 cessary to assimilate them as much as possible to 

 each other. Thus, when the bone is injured at 

 the bottom of a wound, and inevitably exposed 

 to the air, a certain process called exfoliation, 



must 



