TREATMENT OF WOUNDS 97 



as a draiu. At the end of ten days the sutures may be 

 removed, but as the traumatic cavity will require another 

 week, or even a fortnight, to cicatrize, the drainage must 

 be continued. In wounds whose cavities have consider- 

 able size three weeks should be sufficient time to heal 

 them. Infected wounds of the same size require six weeks 

 to two months or even longer for healing. 



The accidental wounds of this class interest the prac- 

 titioner most. They include almost every bodily injury 

 that animals sustain accidentally by contact with objects 

 capable of lacerating the skin and underlying muscles. 

 Kicks on the buttocks, the thigh, the shoulder, the breast ; 

 wire cuts in the heels, the forearm, the hock ; and almost 

 all manner of traumatism from collisions, nearly all 

 belong to this class. 



The veterinarian here is confronted with the problem 

 of healing up an ugly wound often of considerable di- 

 mensions, not infrequently invading the muscles deeply — 

 that is, bruised, torn, and soiled. The desiderata are to 

 heal the wound quickly and to leave behind as little 

 blemish as possible. The ugly scars that mar the bodies 

 of so many splendid horses attest the poor initial treat- 

 ment such wounds have received. 



I am bearing fully in mind the obstacles that con- 

 front the country practitioner arriving on the scene of 

 such an accident. The patient is often intractable, the 

 surroundings are not inviting, help is scarce, and last 

 but not least the character of the work required to give 

 the wound a strictly refined treatment is not compre- 

 hended by those in charge. ' ' I guess you had better sew 

 it up, doc," is the usual idea of the treatment required. 

 There is seldom any conception of what this suggestion 

 entails if followed out in strict accordance with the rules 

 of modern surgical procedure. 



With this prevailing notion of things the rent is 



