106 



THE MODERN SYSTEM 



doubled, or good twine ; commence by care- 

 fully passing your needle from without, in- 

 wards to the bottom, and so on from within 

 outwards. Care must be taken to make the 

 puncture far enough from the edge of the 

 wound, lest the ligature should tear quite 

 through the skin and flesh. The other stitches 

 are only repetitions of the same process. The 

 threads having been all passed, you are in 

 general to be2;in tving them in the middle of 

 the wound ; though if the lips of the wound 

 be carefully held together by an assistant, it 

 will not be of great consequence which stitch 

 is tied first. The common rule is, that one su- 

 ture is sufficient for every inch of the wound ; 

 but that in some instances a stitch must be 

 more frequently made, particulaily when a 

 wound gapes very much, in consequence of 

 a transverse division of muscles. As we have 

 already explained, it is necessary to pierce the 

 skin at a sufficient distance from the sides of 

 the wound, lest the thread should cut through 

 the flesh in a short time ; the distance I gene- 

 rally use is about three or four-tentlis of an 

 inch. When a wound is very deep, it would 

 be conspicuously absurd, and even, in many 

 instances, dangerous, to drive the needle 

 through a vast thickness of parts. Other 

 wounds, of con.siderable length, might not be 

 in some places four-tenths of an 'nch deep. 



though it is true, sutures (the interrupted one at 

 least,) could never be requisite at such points. 

 The interrupted suture obviously receives 

 its name from the interspaces between the 

 stitches; and it is the one most frequent! v 

 employed. Its action is always to be assisted 

 and supported, either by bandage, if the 

 wound be in the limbs, or in other situations, 

 by adhesive plaister, &c. 



The Glover's Suture. This had also the 

 name of the continued suture. It was exe- 

 cuted by introducing the needle first into one 

 lip of the wound from within outwards, then 

 into the other the same way, and in this man- 

 ner the whole track of the wound was sewed 

 up. But the glover's suture is now almost 

 got into disuse, as improper to be employed in 

 cases of common wounds. When we re- 

 member, in making this suture, how many 

 stitches are unavoidable, how unevenly, and 

 in what a puckered state the suture drags the 

 edgres of the skin tosetlier, and what irritation 

 it must produce, we can no longer be sur- 

 prised at its now being never practised. 



The Twisted Suture is not very appiical)le 

 to the Horse, though by some writeis it is 

 recommended for certain wounds, as the eye- 

 lids, lips, nostrils, &c. : it may be advantageous 

 in some cases, but I prefer the interrupted to 

 stil others, and on all occasions. 



