TREATMENT OF WOUNDS 83 



rubbing them with alcohol, and then painting the fingers in 

 weakened tincture of iodin combines the best resources we 

 have. The latter — the iodin — is objectionable, because of 

 the staining and because it blunts the tactile sense, so much 

 depended upon when digital work is actually necessary. 



Wearing clean gloves while doing the preparatory 

 work, the washing and rinsing of the hands as above 

 proposed, avoiding unnecessary manipulations with the 

 fingers, and wearing sterilized, skin-tight gloves while 

 suturing are just so many practical means of averting 

 wound infection from the hands, and when these simple 

 means are resorted to hand infections are comparatively 

 rare. There remain the unavoidable infections when 

 the bare hands must be used. 



Sponges 



Absorbent cotton is the best sponging material for 

 general use in veterinary practice, especially where a 

 large number of sponges will be needed during a given 

 operation. Gauze comes second, and while decidedly the 

 safer, absorbent cotton is delivered in clean packages 

 and is easily sterilized whenever absolute purity is de- 

 manded. Our plan of handling cotton for important 

 operations is to place a sufficient amount in the sterilizer 

 with the instruments and when well boiled cool it off in 

 a basin of mercuric chlorid solution (1 to 1,000) made 

 with sterile water. This is then the assistant's basin. 

 During the operation he takes his sponges from this 

 basin as fast as they are needed and of course casts 

 them aside when soiled. This plan tends to keep the 

 assistant's hands safer by their repeated contact with 

 the antiseptic solution containing the cotton. 



Where there are plenty of especially assigned assist- 

 ants to look after the surgical paraphernalia, as in 

 college clinics, sterile gauze sponges used in the same 



