184 Sterilization and Disinfection 



water or salt solution. Finally, they are soaked for two 

 minutes in a i : 500 solution of bichlorid of mercury. 



Lockwood,* of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, recommends, 

 after the use of the scissors and penknife, scrubbing the 

 hands and arms for three minutes in hot water and soap 

 .to remove all grease and dirt. The scrubbing brush ought 

 to be steamed or boiled before use, and kept in i : 1000 

 biniodid of mercury solution. When the soapsuds have 

 been thoroughly washed away with plenty of clean water, 

 the hands and arms are thoroughly washed and soaked 

 for not less than two minutes in a solution of biniodid of 

 mercury in methylated spirit; i part of the biniodid in 500 

 of the spirit. Hands that cannot bear i : 1000 bichlorid 

 and 5 per cent, carbolic solutions bear frequent treatment 

 with the biniodid. After the spirit and biniodid have been 

 used for not less than two minutes, the solution is washed 

 off in i : 2000 or i : 4000 biniodid of mercury solution. 



It is a mistake to insist upon the employment of disinfect- 

 ing solutions of a strength injurious to the skin. It must be 

 obvious to every one that rough skins with numerous hang- 

 nails and fissures offer greater difficulties to be overcome in 

 disinfection, and more readily convey micro-organisms into 

 the wound than smooth, soft skins. 



Sterilization of Ligatures, etc. Catgut cannot be steril- 

 ized by boiling without deterioration. The present method 

 of treatment is to dry it in a hot-air chamber and then boil it 

 in cumol, which is afterward evaporated and the skeins pre- 

 served in sterile test-tubes or special receptacles plugged with 

 sterile cotton. Cumol was first introduced for this purpose 

 by Kronig, as its boiling-point is i68-i78 C., and thus 

 sufficiently high to kill spores. The use of cumol for the 

 sterilization of catgut has been carefully investigated by 

 Clarke and Miller, f 



Ligatures of silk and silkworm-gut are boiled in water 

 immediately before using, or are steamed with the dressings, 

 or placed in test-tubes plugged with cotton and steamed in 

 the sterilizer. 



Sterilization of Surgical Instruments, etc. In most 

 hospitals, instruments are boiled, before using, in a 1-2 per 

 cent, soda (sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or sodium 

 biborate) solution, as plain water has the disadvantage of 

 rusting them. During the operation they are either kept in 



*"Brit. Med. Jour.," July 11, 1896. 



f'Bull. of the Johns Hopkins Hospital," Feb. and March, 1896. 



