WOUNDS. 243 



POISONED WOUNDS. 



Poisoned wounds result from a bite of some venomous reptile, 

 or may be caused bv injudicious use of caustics. 



TREATMENT OF WOUNDS. 



Treatment. — The treatment of wounds varies to a consider- 

 able extent, being governed by their situation, nature, and 

 variety. If it be an incised wound, it is very simple. If there 

 is hemorrhage present, it must be arrested. If from an artery, 

 the blood is of a bright red color, and spurts out in jets, indi- 

 cating the beats of the heart. If the artery be one of good size, 

 the end of it must be searched for, drawn out by the forceps, 

 and ligatured. Venous bleeding is usually easily arrested by 

 l^ressure, or by an astringent application, such as a solution of 

 the chloride of iron, hot and cold application, the actual cau- 

 tery, etc. lYhen the bleeding is arrested, the wound should be 

 carefully and gently sponged with tepid water. The water 

 should be squeezed out of the sponge on the wound, the sponge 

 touching the wound very lightly. The edges of the wound are 

 kept together by means of sutures, pins, plasters, and bandages. 

 Plasters are rarely used in veterinary practice, but their em- 

 ployment, especially in the lower portion of the limbs, may be 

 preferred to that of suture. Various forms of sutures are em- 

 ployed for keeping the edges of the wound together. The inter- 

 rupted suture is that mostly in use, its material being silk. 



The suture is formed by passing the silk or wire through the 

 edges of the wound, drawing them together and tying the ends. 

 The twisted suture is the form employed to close the wound 

 when bleeding. In the absence of a special pin, which can now 

 be procured, an ordinary one may be used. Bring the edges of 

 the wound together, and secure in place by means of the pin, 

 which in its turn is to be retained in position by waxed hair, or 

 silk, which is wound around tlie pin after the manner of figure 

 eight. The pin should be introduced from the outside inwards, 



