WOUNDS OF THE ABDOMINAL PARIETES. 465 



opium must be given, and the large bowels unloaded by enemas ; 

 fomentations to the belly are to be persevered in until the 

 danger of inflammation is past. 



Incised wounds upon the belly, such as those inflicted by 

 the tusks of a boar, an accident of frequent occurrence, are 

 to be treated by strong sutures, the collodion or shellac paste, 

 and the broad-sheet bandage ; but fomentations are not to be 

 applied as in punctiired wounds, as they would interfere with 

 the adhesive process, unless, indeed, the danger of peritonitis be 

 imminent. 



I am clearly of opinion that purgatives should never be ad- 

 ministered when the abdomen is wounded, whether the wound 

 be deep or shallow, as they may excite the most dangerous 

 complications. 



Wounds penetrating the walls may heal up externally, but 

 generally a hernia of greater or lesser magnitude remains, form- 

 ing a permanent blemish. 



BURNS, SCALDS, AND THE EFFECT OF COLD. 



The first effect of cold is to diminish the vital action of the 

 part to which it is applied. This state of depression, when not 

 continued too long, is succeeded by a more than usual activity, 

 or what is called reaction ; and if this alternation be oft repeated, 

 the part becomes permanently weakened, being slightly swelled, 

 of a purple colour (as is well shown in horses with white 

 heels), not so warm as usual, and afterwards become inflamed. 

 The skin will now crack, and a discharge ot sanguineous matter 

 take place. 



More intense cold not only we9,kens, but entirely suspends 

 vital action. The part becomes pale, insensible, and shrivelled, 

 and is said to be frost-bitten. The skin, particularly the heel, 

 will often slough across from side to side, forming a strip of dead 

 skin, underneath which is a deep chasm, called a cracked heel. 



In other instances, and particularly during long-continued 

 snowy weather, with partial thaws, succeeded by sharp frosts, 

 the deeper-seated tissues of the coronet lose their vitality, and 

 deep and extensive sloughs are thrown off, leaving the tendons, 

 ligaments, and even the articulations exposed. The animal now 

 suffers from all the agonizing pain, fever, emaciation, &c., which 



2 H 



