398 POST-MORTEM EXAMINATIONS 



the dorsum exposed) , out on a board by means of copper 

 nails driven through the extremities. 



6. With sterile forceps and scalpel incise the skin 

 in the middle line from the top of the sternum to the 

 pubes. Make other incisions at right angles to the 

 first out to the axillae and groins, and reflect the skin 

 in two lateral flaps. (Place the now infected instru- 

 ments on the board by the side of the body or support 

 them on a porcelain knife rest.) 



Seat of Inoculation. 



7. Inspect the seat of inoculation. If any local les- 

 ion is visible, sear its exposed surface and with the plat- 

 inum loop, remove material from the deeper parts to 

 make tube and surface plate cultivations and cover-slip 

 preparations 



Collect specimens of pus or other exudation in 

 capillary pipettes for subsequent examination. 



8. Inspect the neighbouring lymphatic glands and 

 endeavour to trace the path of the virus. 



9. Sear the whole of the exposed surface of the 

 thorax with the searing irons. 



Pleural Cavity. 



10. Divide the ribs on either side of the sternum and 

 remove a rectangular portion of the anterior chest wall 

 with sterile scissors and a fresh pair of forceps, exposing 

 the heart. Place the infected instruments by the side 

 of the first set. 



11. Observe the condition of the anterior mediastinal 

 glands, the thymus and the lungs. Collect a quantity 

 of pleuritic effusion, if such is present, in a pipette for 

 further examination later. 



1 2 . Raise the pericardial sac in a fresh pair of forceps 

 and burn through this structure with a searing iron. 



Collect a sample of pericardial fluid in a pipette for 

 microscopical and cultural examination. 



