4G0 BLEEDING. 



abscess lancet will generally make a freer incision than that in common nso. 

 Whatever instrument is adopted, too much care cannot be taken to have 

 it perfectly clean and very sharp. It should be carefully wiped and dried 

 'immediatel}^ after the operation, otherwise, in a, very short time, the edo'cs 

 will begin to be corroded. 



For general bleeding the jugular vein is selected at the largest superficial 

 one, and most easily got at. In every affection of the head, and in cases 

 of extended inflammatory action, it is decidedly the best place for bleeding. 

 In local inflammation, blood may be taken from any of the superficial 

 veins. In supposed afi'ections of the shoulder, or of the fore-leg or foot, 

 the radial vein, which comes from the inside of the arm, and runs up- 

 wards directly in front of it towards the jugular, may be opened. In 

 affections of the hind extremity, blood is sometimes extracted from the 

 saphcena, or thigh-vein, which runs across the inside of the thigh. In foot 

 cases it may be taken from the coronet, or, much more safely, from the 

 toe ; not by cutting out, as the farrier does, a piece of the sole at the toe 

 of the frog, which sometimes causes a wound difficult to heal, and some- 

 times followed by festering ; but cutting down "odth a fine dra^\'ing-kaife, 

 called a searcher, at the union between the crust and the sole at the very 

 toe until the blood flows, and if necessary, encoui-aging its discharge 

 by dipping the foot in warm water. The mesh-woi-k of both arteries a.nd 

 veins will be here divided, and blood is generally obtained in any quantity 

 that may be needed. The bleeding may be stopped with the greatest ease, 

 by placing a bit of tow in the little groove that has been cut, and tacking 

 the shoe over it. 



The operation of bleeding having been described, we would remind our 

 readers of the necessity in every case, in which it is required, of making 

 a large orifice, and abstracting the blood as rapidly as possible, for the 

 constitution will thus be the more speedily and beneficially affected ; and 

 also of the propriety of never determining to take a precise quantity of 

 blood, but of keeping the finger on the artery imtil the pulse begins to 

 falter — until the strong pulse, becomes softer or the animal is faint, or 

 the oppressed pulse is rounder and fuller. 



The change which takes place in the blood after it is drawn from -the 

 veiii, is very diligently noticed by many practitioners, and is certainly de- 

 serving of some attention. The blood coagulates soon after it is taken 

 from the vein. The coagulable part is com230sed of two substances ; these, 

 by degrees, separate from each other, and the red particles sink to the 

 bottom. If the coagulation takes place slowly, the red particles have 

 more time to sink through the fluid, and there appears on the top a thick, 

 yellowish, adhesive coat, called the buffy coat. It is supposed that the 

 slowness of coagulation, and the thickness of buffy coat, are indicative of 

 the degree of inflammation. 



In a healthy state of the system, the coagulation is more rapid, the red 

 particles have not time to fall through, and the buffy coat is thin. These 

 appearances are worth observing ; but much more dependence is to be 

 placed on the character and change of the pulse, and the symptoms gene- 

 rally. When the horse is exhausted and the system nearly broken up, the 

 blood will sometimes not coagulate, but be of one uniform black colour and 

 loose texture. When the blood runs down the side of the vessel in which 

 it is received, the coagulation will be very imperfect. When it is drawn 

 in a full stream, it coagulates slowly, and when procured from a smaller 

 orifice, the coagulation is more i-apid. Every circumstance affecting the 

 coagulation and appearance of the blood, the pulse, and the general 

 symptoms, should be most attentively regarded. 



