102 SURGICAL THERAPEUTICS. 



for the application of dressings in veterinary surgery, and is even 

 commonly used in human surgery. We are almost tempted to 

 claim for it the distinction of having been especially created for 

 the benefit of wounded horses, its various and valuable qualities 

 so obviously fitting it for the uses to which it is appropriated in the 

 equine chnic. It is excellent as a defense against the contact of 

 external bodies, and in preserving a uniform temperature in the 

 parts covered by it. From the sponginess of its consistency it 

 readily soaks and absorbs the fluids which form uj)on the surface 

 of a wound, while the tar with which it is more or less imi^regnated 

 confers upon it slight antiseptic properties, which assist in the 

 stimulation, and ai'e in themselves favorable to all the processes 

 of cicatrization. To be of good quality, it must be clean, soft to 

 the touch, and free from any foreign substance. Sometimes it is 

 cut into small portions for use, but more generally in strips, or 

 in such other special shapes as may be required. It is made into 

 balls by spreading out little masses of the fibres, which after being 

 separated from each other, are rolled between the hands, into the 

 required forms and sizes. They are exceedingly convenient in 



Pig. 93.— Ball of Oakum. 



constituting the first steps of this aj)plication of a dressing. It is 

 also made into ^:)ar?s or cushions, by stretching the fibres parallel, 

 into any given width and length, and folding them into the simil- 

 itude of a small mattress. This must be soft, and free from 

 lumps, or fragments of wood, and of an even thickness through- 



FiG. 94.— Pad of Oakum. 



out. These are made also of various dimensions, the widest and 

 thickest being used to cover the outside of the wound. It is also 

 shaped into dossils, rolls, and tents, or 2:)liigs, the adaptation of 

 which remains yet to be considered. 



