TREATMENT OF WOUNDS 111 



that are not allowed to become infected, never overfill 

 with, exuberant granulations — when the cavity is filled 

 the granulations are already maturing into firm tissue. 



The use of gauze for the purpose of absorbing secre- 

 tions in wounds that cannot drain has not given us the 

 same satisfaction as the absorbent powder above men- 

 tioned, and is applicable only in small wounds and espe- 

 cially in wounds of small animals. 



Boric acid will take up large quantities of wound 

 discharges and may be depended upon to preserve from 

 putrefaction any serum it thus absorbs, while iodoform, 

 kept continuously in contact with the walls of a wound 

 cavity, will disinfect them better than any other known 

 chemical. i 



In accidental wounds of this group the practitioner 

 should . choose one of two lines of treatment. The first 

 begins with mechanical disinfection as described for 

 wounds preparatory to closure and is followed up by 

 keeping the wound aseptic with boric acid and iodo- 

 form while the cavity is filling up. If the granulations 

 threaten to overgrow, there is nothing better to control 

 them than plain white lotion. 



The second method begins with a disinfection with a 

 strong chemical substance that will not only destroy the 

 microbes but will also cauterize the tissues into a firm 

 protective coating of dead elements. Both of these plans 

 are good because each first disposes of the surface infec- 

 tions that would soon do mischief. The former is the 

 more refined, the latter the more practicable for veteri- 

 narians. Whenever a veterinarian cannot or will not 

 for any reason surgically disinfect an accidental wound 

 that he decides to treat as an open one, he should apply 

 to it a chemical substance that will do something and 

 not merely delude himself into believing that any ordi- 

 nary antiseptic wash will be of material benefit. Strong 



