696 GENERAL THERAPEUTIC MEASURES 



Hbdominal cavity.* Sutures of silk, and needles, are pre- 

 pared by boiling in water for ten minutes. The area about 

 the operative field is to be surrounded with cloths, or towels, 

 which have been boiled or baked, and instruments and 

 sponges may be laid on these. 



Dressings may consist of gauze which has been exposed 

 for three hours to dry heat at 140° C. (284° F.), or placed in 

 an oven of an ordinary cooking stove, in closed tin cans, until 

 it becomes scorched and slightly brown. The same gauze 

 may be used for sponges. Unsterilized articles are not to 

 be suffered to come in contact with the operator, or wound, 

 during the operation. 



Wound infection from exposure to the air and other 

 media, is prevented by immediate dressing and bandaging, 

 or by collodion applications. 



Venesection. 



Venesection, or blood-letting, formerly abused, has, for 

 that reason, fallen into almost complete disuse. This is un- 

 fortunate, since blood-letting is a valuable and often life- 

 saving measure. The indications for venesection are chiefly 

 limited to conditions associated with a general high arterial 

 pressure and local engorgement of some organ. 



In such cases venesection very rapidly reduces general 

 blood-tension to a point lower than that existing in the 

 engorged region, so that congestion is relieved. A full, in- 

 compressible pulse is said to indicate the desirability of 

 venesection in severe acute disorders — in accordance with 

 the above — but this is not by any means invariably the fact, 

 as will be shown. 



Venesection leads to a reduction of temperature, and 

 vascular tension is lowered for from 3 to 48 hours, accord- 



*It may be noted here that the peritoneum of the horse is so 

 extremely delicate and liable to infection, as compared to that of man 

 and dogs, that abdominal operations are practically contraindicated in 

 the case of this animal. 



