INCISION. 



95 



lie immediately beneath the point of incision it is sometimes con- 

 venient to raise the skin in a fold (Fig. loi). 



\\'hen considerable force is required in makinsj: an incision the 



Fig. Q2. 



Fig. 01. 



thumb may be tirni]\- applied to the skin, and the knife guided !>}' the 

 other fingers (Fig. 102) ; this prevents deviation from the straight line. 



S^ 



Fig. 94. 



Fig. 95. 



In dividing very hard tissues, like horn and bone, the knife employed 

 is grasped with the whole hand (Fig. 103). 



Fig. 96. 



Fig. 97. 



Incisions should be made rapidly and, if possible, of the predeter- 

 mined length at one stroke. Too short an incision impedes the 

 deeper stages of the dissection, and is no advantage, for the linear 



cicatrix which ma}- remain is of even 

 less importance in animals than in 

 man. Moreover, the irregularity of 

 the incision produced by a series of 

 cuts greatl}- militates against rapid 

 healing. 



Scissors are held as shown in 

 Fig. 104, the thumb and ring finger in the rings, the index finger 

 on the joint. 



In dividing soft tissues the knife is either guided by a director 



Fig. 98. 



