270 OPEKATIONS ON BONES. 



Durant ; in a dog at the arm, by Fromage de Feugre ; in a sheep^ 

 in a case of foot rot, by Lecoq; in a mare at the fetlock, by 

 Maurette ; in a stallion, on the third phalanx, by Bouley ; and in 

 English jom-nals: in a cow in the metacarpal region, by Laing; a 

 cow on the hind cannon, by Shield ; and on a mare in this country, 

 by Huidekoper. Others are reported, which were attended by vari- 

 ous degrees of success, many of them, however, terminating fatally. 

 The proper mode of performing the operation is to secure the 

 animal in the decubital position, and to place him under the influ- 

 ence of general anesthesia, securing temporary hemostasis, by the 

 application of the circular Hgature, or a bandage tightly placed 

 above the point of amputation, or, preferably, by using the process 

 of Esmarch, which seciires a more perfect removal of the blood, 

 and enables the operator to perform a thoroughly bloodless opera- 

 tion. Digital pressure, sometimes recommended for the smaller 

 animals, will not, however, secure as good a result as that obtained 

 by the circular ligature. 



The operation is made in two ways : first, in the continuity of 

 the bones, or by the division of the substance of the bone itself ; 

 and second, in their contiguity, or at the nearest sound articula- 

 tion. This last is also called disarticulation. 



All amputations consist of three steps : The division of the 

 soft tissues, that of the bones, and the arrest or prevention of 

 hemorrhage. 



2'he First Step, the Division of the Soft Tissues, may be prac- 

 ticed several ways, among which the principal are the cii'cular, 

 elliptic and the ovalar methods, and that by flaps ; ail of which 

 have the common object in view, of leaving a flap of proper form 

 and sufficient dimensions to cover the stump of the bone, and 

 prevent its projection beyond the surface of the wound. 



The circular method, which is the oldest, consists in incising 

 the skin m. a circular manner, stretched over the surface of the 

 region with the left hand of the operator, or with that of an assibt- 

 ant. This must be done with rapidity, made by one stroke of the 

 knife, apphed as perpendicularly over the skin as possible. 



If the amputation is to be made in the continuity of the bones, 

 the skin being divided while stretched by the assistant, is sepa- 

 rated from its adhesions underneath, and reversed upward ; when 

 close to the line where it is yet adherent, the muscles are divided 

 circularly, by one stroke of the knife, drawn to the bone. These 



