40 WOUND TREATMENT 



placed; even with the most scrupulous care and atten- 

 tion, it is impossible to render the best planned stall 

 free from micro-organisms, and every act of the attend- 

 ant seems calculated to secure infection of the wound. 

 As for the average stable, both in town and country, 

 and the crude methods of treatment adopted by the 

 owners of animals, the wonder is that serious or fatal 

 sequels are not more common. For not only is the 

 stall a veritable breeding ground for micro-organsims, 

 but also everything brought in contact with the wound 

 is teeming with germs. Hands begrimed with dirt, filthy 

 sponges, dirty stable buckets, and soiled bandages are 

 much in evidence, while often even the water for per- 

 forming the perfunctory cleansing of the wound is any- 

 thing but pure. How, then, do wounds heal under such 

 circumstances ? I think you will agree that the explana- 

 tion is to be found in the natural powers of resistance 

 possessed by the horse. If this vital resistance to the 

 action of micro-organisms did not exist, we should meet 

 with far more cases of septicemia, pyemia, and similar 

 conditions, than we do at present. 



No doubt of late years it is not unusual to find disin- 

 fectants in the hands of many owners of animals, and 

 these agents are applied to wounds in concentrated solu- 

 tions with a total disregard for ordinary cleanliness. 

 The result is that instead of promoting healing they re- 

 tard it, as they exert a caustic and irritant action on 

 the tissues. At the same time the deeper portions of 

 the wounds are not cleansed and abound in micro- 

 organisms. 



A similar error is committed with reference to the dis- 

 infection of stable floors, the dirty surface being allowed 

 to remain while disinfectants are scattered thereon. 



Then again, while wounds are being dressed it is not 

 uncommon to find the dressings laid on the stable floor 



