178 GENERAL THERAPEUTICS FOR VETERINARIANS 



more poisonous for the animal organism than for anthrax bacilli. 

 Poisoning from antiseptics results from their internal, subcutaneous 

 and epidermatic use, especially from the use of corrosive sublimate 

 to disinfect the uterus of the cow and carbolic acid to disinfect 

 wounds of cats. Disinfection with chlorine and bromine is very- 

 dangerous for man and animals. 



The blood exerts a very strong modifying influence upon the 

 disinfectant action of many antiseptics. Corrosive sublimate, for 

 example, destroys anthrax bacilli in blood only in a concentration 

 of 1 : 2000 and after prolonged action, while it destroys the same 

 organism in water immediately and in a dilution of 1 : 50,000. 

 The cause of this surprising difference is to be found in the fact 

 that the albumin in solution in the blood is precipitated by the 

 sublimate in the form of albuminate of mercury, which retards 

 the penetration of the sublimate into the deeper layers of the blood. 

 Similar observations have been made in connection with silver 

 nitrate, carbolic acid, creolin and other drugs. While creolin is 

 effective against anthrax bacilli in bouillon in a dilution of 1 : 10,- 

 000, a concentration of 1 : 200 is required to destroy anthrax 

 bacilli in blood-serum. Since in the disinfection of wounds one 

 has to do in part with blood disinfection, these relations should 

 be given consideration in the antiseptic treatment of wounds and 

 blood should be as completely removed from the wound as 

 possible. 



In using disinfectants upon the skin or upon wounds, it must 

 be remembered that many of them are caustic in strong concen- 

 tration (sublimate, silver nitrate, carbolic acid) and are always 

 irritant, even in weak solution (sublimate, formaldehyde). This 

 consideration led to the substitution of asepsis for antisepsis in 

 human medicine (see p. 170). Moreover, only a superficial dis- 

 infection can be obtained, since the disinfectants as a rule do not 

 operate deeply (alcohol is an exception). A superior disinfectant 

 for superficial disinfection of the animal body and one which is 

 to be preferred to corrosive sublimate as well as carbolic acid is, 

 according to von Behring, the English creoUn. This is also true 

 of formaldehyde and dilute alcohol (disinfection of the hands). 



