RABIES 321 



oughly ground with a few cubic centimeters of sterile water 

 or bouillon. This forms the suspension to be injected. 



The hands of the operator and all instruments are care- 

 fully disinfected. The rabbit is etherized, the hair clipped 

 from the head between the eyes and ears, and the skin 

 thoroughly washed and disinfected. A longitudinal incision 

 is then made, the skin and subcutaneous tissue held back by 

 means of a speculum, a crucial incision is made in the perios- 

 teum on one side of the median line, to avoid hemorrhage from 

 the longitudinal sinus, and the four parts of the periosteum 

 reflected or pushed back. By the aid of a trephine a small- 

 button of bone is easilj' removed leaving the dura mater ex- 

 posed. With a hypodermic syringe a drop or more of the 

 rabid brain suspension is injected beneath the dura, the perios- 

 teum is replaced, the skin carefully sutured and disinfected 

 and the rabbit returned to its cage. As soon as the influence 

 of the anaesthetic* has passed off the rabbit shows no appear- 

 ance of discomfort. If the operation is performed in the fore- 

 noon the animal partakes of its evening meal with the usual 

 relish. The inoculation wound heals rapidly and the rabbit 

 exhibits every appearance of being in perfect health until the 

 beginning of the specific symptoms, which occur ordinarily in 

 from fifteen to thirty days after the inoculation. Occasionally 

 the symptoms appear earlier than fifteen days and in some 

 cases the rabbits are not attacked for from one to three 

 months. 



Sy))iploi)is. The symptoms following the inoculation are 

 quite uniform. There is, however, a marked difference in the 

 length of time the rabbits live after the initial manifestation of 

 the disease. The fact should be clearly stated that rabbits do 

 not ordinarily become furious. In some instances they are 

 somewhat nervous for a day or two preceding the paralysis. 

 There appears to be marked hypersesthesia. Usually the first 

 indication of the disease is a partial paralysis of one or both 

 hind limbs. This gradually advances until the rabbit is com- 



■*Ether should be used in preference to chloroform for rabbits, as the 

 latter frequently causes death, while the former can be administered 

 with comparative safety. 



