EXPERIMENTS UPON THE LIVING ANIMAL. 95 



comma bacilli by Nicati and Rietsch. In such 

 cases antiseptic precautions must be rigidly 

 followed, and use made of iodoform and other 

 antiseptic dressings. The disinfection of the skin 

 of the animal, of the instruments employed, and 

 of the hands of the operator, are details essential 

 to secure success. To inoculate tubercular matter, 

 sputum may be rubbed up with distilled water, 

 filtered, and the filtrate injected into a tracheal 

 fistula, or the first steps of the operation of 

 iridectomy may be performed, and tubercular 

 material inserted in the anterior chamber of the eye. 

 The advantage of the latter method consists in that 

 it enables the results and changes to be observed 

 from day to day. A cultivation of micro-organisms 

 may also be mixed with sterilised water, and then 

 injected with a syringe directly into the circulation. 

 In rabbits this may be performed without difficulty 

 by injecting the large vein at the base of the ear 

 with a Pravaz' syringe. Before every inoculation 

 the instruments must be sterilised, as already ex- 

 plained, by employing an Israel's case, and after 

 each operation all instruments should be placed in 

 sublimate solution, wiped dry, and sterilised in the 

 hot-air steriliser, before they are put away. If these 

 precautions are not observed, instances of accidental 

 infection are sure to occur. 



