104 



SUTURES. 



wounds iii animals are more or less infected, but by the free use of 

 disinfectants such infection may be reduced to a minimum. 



For suturing wounds needles and various kinds of suture material 

 are required. Needles are either simple or provided with a handle, 

 and may be straight or curved ; some of the latter again being curved 

 throughout, and representing the segment of a circle or ellipse, others 

 half curved, only the anterior half being curved, the posterior being 

 straight. The last two are the most useful. Some needles are curved 



in the plane of their great- 

 est thickness in order to 

 ensure greater stiffness. 

 They are, however, less 

 easily grasped and directed. 

 In modern needles the 

 point is almost always 

 lancet-shaped and double 

 cutting. Numerous com- 

 plicated arrangements have 

 been introduced to facili- 

 tate threading, but have 

 not met with general 

 acceptance. One of the 

 most practical is shown in 

 Fig. 139. Compound or 

 handle needles are fixed 

 in a handle and carry the 

 eye close behind the point 

 (Fig. 134). They are 

 passed through the edges 

 of the tissue until the eye 

 is exposed, and then 

 threaded and withdrawn, 

 bringing the thread with 

 them. When using small 

 or sharply curved needles, working in the depths of a wound or 

 suturing firm tissues, a needle-holder (Figs. 136 to 138) is almost 

 indispensable. In case of need a dressing-forceps efficiently replaces 

 the special needle-holder. 



The chief suture materials are silk, silkworm gut, and 

 catgut, none of which impedes healing. Catgut is very useful, as 

 it becomes absorbed after a time, and therefore the stitches require 

 no further attention ; but sometimes this occurs very rapidly, with 



Fig. 139. — Suture needles. 



