164 Medical Bacteriology. 



B. mallei. Male guinea pigs, infection of lymphatics. 



(liphtheriae. Guinea pigs, rabbits and fowl, subcutaneous and intratracheal . 

 Bacillus pestis. Bats, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits, subcutaneous. 



Kiripestifer. Rabbits and mice, subcutaneous. 



STERILIZATION OF INSTRUMENTS. These are best sterilized by boiling in a solution 

 of soda or borax for 15 minutes. This is accomplished in an especially designed ap- 

 paratus or in an ordinary enamel stew pan. In case of emergencies the instruments 

 may be dipped in benzene or alcohol and burned. This is less injurious to the instru- 

 ment than heating in the direct flame. 



Use blank, p. 168, for preservation of data. 



OBSERVATION OF INOCULATED ANIMALS. After inoculation the animals should be 

 placed in separate cages, or if placed together they must be described or marked so as 

 to be easily identified. They must also be kept under constant observation and the 

 following conditions noted: 



1. Temperature. 



2- Loss of Weight. 



3. Peculiar position in cage. 



4. Loss of appetite. 



5. Condition of the coat or hair. 



6. Condition of the secretion of the air passages, conjunctiva and kidneys; diarrhea 

 or hemorrhage from the bowels. 



7. The condition of the seat of inoculation. 



The animals should be fed regularly, weighed at the same hour each day and the 

 temperature taken at the rectum. 



POST MORTEM EXAMINATION. 



Perform the autopsy as soon as possible after death. When delay cannot be 

 avoided, place the animal in the ice- chest until such time as is convenient. 



A. 



1. Inspect externally and note presence and character of any lesion. 

 2- Sterilize a suitable post-mortem board with corrosive sublimate solution, 1 to 

 1000, place the animal belly upwards and tack the four legs fast to the board. 



3. Wash the surface of the thorax and abdomen with corrosive sublimate solu- 

 tion, make an incision through the skin at the pubis, introducing one blade of the scis- 

 sors, and extend the incision as far as the chin. 



4. Carefully dissect the skin away from the abdomen, thorax, axillary, inguinal, 

 and cervical regions, and fore and hind legs, and pin it to the board as far as possible 

 from the thorax and abdomen. It is from the skin that the chances of contamination 

 are greatest. 



B. 



All incisions from now on are made with sterilized instruments. 



1. Take an ordinary potato-knife, heat it quite hot, and place it on the abdomen in 

 the region of the linea alba until the fascia begins to burn ; the knife is then held trans- 

 versely to this line over the center of 'the abdomen, making two sterilized tracks through 

 which the abdomen may be opened by crucial incisions: two burned lines are also made 

 along the sides of the thorax. 



