USE OF SERUM IN HOG-CHOLERA 373 



was given. In this case there can be no question that but for 

 the use of the large amounts of serum over half of the herd would 

 have been lost. 



Having estimated the weight of the animal, the proper dose of 

 serum is poured into the graduate. The top of the syringe is 

 unscrewed and the serum poured in, the top replaced, and all 

 is ready for injection. It is hardly necessary to add that before 

 starting out with this outfit it has been thoroughly cleaned and 

 sterilized by boiling. With the glass-barrel syringe it is not neces- 

 sary to unscrew the cap, as the tip of the syringe can simply be 

 placed in the cup of serum, and, by drawing up on the piston, the 

 syringe barrel filled. Glass-barrel syringes have the disadvangage 

 that they stand boiling poorly, and for this reason are hard to keep 

 sterile. They are used, however, by a large number of men doing 

 this work on account of their greater convenience. 



Style of Needle.— The needles to be used in this work should 

 be of the long, hollow type, especially suited to deep intramuscular 

 injection. They should be sterilized by boiling, oiled, and kept 

 open by means of a small wire plug in their hollow lumen. The 

 points should also be frequently ground in order to keep them in 

 good working order. These needles should be of medium weight, 

 as the long delicate ones often break off when inserted deep 

 into the tissues. 



With the proper dose of serum in the syringe, the next step 

 is the actual injection of the fluid into the deep muscles of the 

 animal. This is done by simply plunging the needle deep into the 

 tense belly of the adductor muscle, which stands out beneath 

 the skin on the inner surface of the thigh. When the needle has 

 been entered deeply into the tissue of the muscle, its contents are 

 slowly forced out by pressing down on the piston. All the serum 

 is given at the one spot and without withdrawing the needle. 

 Care should be used to avoid striking the bone. 



The needle is now quickly removed, taken off the syringe, and 

 dropped in a pan of 5 per cent, disinfectant solution to remove 

 any dirt or contamination that it may have received. By having 

 several needles on hand and a couple of syringes it is possible to 

 work very rapidly and use a clean needle and syringe at each 

 injection. 



