2 66 MANUAL OF BACTERIOLOGY. 



jecting the gut to high temperatures in alcohol or some heavy 

 oil which does not materially injure its structure. Some sur- 

 geons, however, have reluctantly abandoned the use of catgut 

 altogether on account of the difficulty of sterilizing it. Silver 

 wire is a valuable mateiial for sutures for the reason that it 

 may be easily sterilized by heat without injuring it, and more- 

 over silver is itself a potent germicide. Stitch abscesses sel 

 dom or never form around silver wire sutures. 



For metallic instruments boiling for five minutes in i per cent, 

 soda solution is said to suffice amply for thorough sterilization. 

 This does not dull the edge provided the instruments are sup- 

 ported on some kind of rack above the bottom of the vessel in 

 which they are sterilized. But they should be properly con- 

 structed in the first place, and should consist entirely of metal. 

 Scissors, hemostats, syringes and the like should be so con- 

 structed that they are easily taken apart. 



Brushes used for scouring the hands and the field of opera 

 tion are difficult to sterilize with certainty. The best method 

 seems to be to sterilize them in the autoclave and lay them in a 

 disinfecting solution till needed. 



Rubber catheters are very hard to sterilize. The best way 

 seems to be to keep them in corrosive sublimate solution i-iooo, 

 and to be sure that the disinfectant fills the lumen as well as 

 coming in contact with the outside. 



Sterilization of solutions used in subcutaneous injections is 

 attended with some difficulty. Some of the chemicals of which 

 these solutions are made are injured by heat. Various sug- 

 gestions have been made to render such injections less liable to 

 produce infection. Making up the solutions with i-ioooo cor- 

 rosive sublimate is advised, also keeping the drugs dissolved in 

 strong alcoholic solutions, and diluting with sterilized water as 

 needed. Various infections have been from time to time re- 

 ported from the use of subcutaneous injections of contaminated 

 solutions. 



