OBTAINING LARGE AMOUNTS OF ANIMAL BLOOD 51 



Dog. 1. Small quantities of blood may be obtained in the following 

 manner: Apply a tourniquet just above the knee; clip the hair over 

 the anterior surface of the leg, and cleanse with tincture of iodin and 

 alcohol; make a small incision in the long axis, exactly in the median 

 line; a fairly large vein appears at once just beneath the skin; by in- 

 serting an appropriately sized needle, several cubic centimeters of blood 

 are quickly and easily secured. The wound should be very small, and 

 usually requires no treatment other than an application of collodion and 

 cotton. 



2. Large quantities of blood are obtained from the external jugular 

 vein under ether anesthesia; the neck is shaved and cleansed; the skin 

 is incised over the vein, which is just beneath the skin, and blood re- 

 moved with a sterile needle and syringe. Pressure over the base of the 

 neck renders the vein more prominent. In the case of large dogs, in- 

 cision is not necessary, as it is easy to enter the vein directly through the 

 skin, as in bleeding the sheep from the external jugular vein or the 

 human from a vein at the elbow. Blood may also be secured from the 

 femoral vein under ether anesthesia. 



Horse. 1. Small quantities of blood for making agglutination and 

 complement fixation tests may readily be secured from a superficial 

 vein about the leg. The hair is clipped over the selected area, and the 

 skin sterilized with tincture of iodin. A tourniquet is applied to render 

 the vein prominent, the vessel is steadied between forefinger and thumb, 

 and a needle quickly inserted. 



2. Larger quantities of blood are secured from the external jugular 

 vein. This operation is easily conducted in an aseptic manner and 

 blood collected in sterile jars. The neck about the region of the vein, 

 usually on the left side, is clipped, and a large area washed with hot 

 lysol solution. A sterile sheet may be thrown about the shoulders. 

 The animal is held or placed in specially constructed stalls that pre- 

 vent him from backing away or causing mischief. In large antitoxin 

 laboratories bleeding is conducted in special rooms, where a careful 

 aseptic operating-room technic may be observed. 



The external jugular vein is rendered prominent by exerting pres- 

 sure at the base of the neck by the application of a special tourniquet 

 or by the thumb and fingers of the left hand, the thumb being placed 

 just above the vein. A small incision is made through the skin, di- 

 rectly above the vessel. 



A large needle is passed under the skin for a distance of an inch or 

 two and then thrust into the vein. Direct puncture into the vein is 



