WOUNDS. 167 



(and not altogether a worthless) objection to the chains; which is, that 

 the incessant clanking noise they make at night, must most effectually 

 hinders such horses as are fatigued or disposed to repose, from sleeping 

 or even dropping into a refreshing doze. A third objection to the chain 

 is its weight. 



I have frequently remarked, myself, to those officers in command, that 

 in a general way, one half of the horses reported " sick," had become so 

 from injury. 



Kinds. — Injuries are said to be of three descriptions : 

 Mechanical, chemical^ and mixed. Mechanical injuries 

 comprehend wounds, contusions, abrasions, &c., ?Lho fractures 

 and dislocations. Chemical injuries comprise the results 

 of heat, also the effects of various acrid and caustic sub- 

 stances, as the co7icentrated acids, caustic alkalies, lunar 

 caustic, corrosive sublimate, arsenic, &c. Mixed injuries 

 are the bites or stings of venomous animals, mad dogs, insects, 

 &c., as well as those conveyed through inoculation. 



WOUNDS. 



A wound may be defined to be a recent division of the 

 soft parts, occasioned by some external cause. 



The Kind of wound will depend on the nature of the 

 cause, though more depends on the nature of the parts 

 divided. Wounds are said to be in kind either iiicised, con- 

 tused, lacerated, punctured, gun-shot, or poisoned. 



An Incised Wound or cut is one of the most simple that 

 can be presented to us; and the sharper the instrument 

 that produces it the more disposed are the parts to unite : on 

 which account, in the performance of surgical operations, 

 we always use the sharpest knives, making our incisions 

 clean, and as direct as is practicable. An incised wound 

 will heal faster than other wounds. It is not, however, the 

 wound we commonly meet in veterinary practice ; though, 

 in large towns, cases of the sort do occasionally occur. 

 The appended note will relate one : this will probably convey 

 more practical information than any description.^ 



1 A horse, the property of the Hon. , in turning the corner of a street in 



London, came into collision with the wheel of a carriage, and the consequence 

 was an extensive incised wound across the fleshy inside of the thigh. Blood 



