CARE OF NAVELS IN NEWBORN 123 



eision of the cord adds greatly to the danger from 

 hemorrhage because an excised artery bleeds 

 more freely than an artery severed by any other 

 method. Clinically an artery is generally not 

 held by a ligature about the cord, especially if the 

 cord is divided reasonably short. As that is the 

 case in most navel ligations the control of the 

 hemorrhage is due, not to the ligation but to auto- 

 hemostasis, in the ordinary course of the normal 

 physiologic powers of the umbilic arteries. 



If we examine the question clinically we find 

 that the above conclusions are borne out by every- 

 day experience. 



Prevention of Infection.— Foal after foal 

 perishes from navel infection and a far larger 

 percentage of foals succumb with, than without, 

 ligation. On the other hand, navel infection is 

 uniformly prevented by open antiseptic, desiccant 

 handling of the navel. If the normally ruptured 

 navel, or the navel artificially divided in a man- 

 ner simulating the natural method (linear ten- 

 sion, scraping, ecrasement) under antiseptic pre- 

 cautions — the jelly of Wharton pressed out and 

 a desiccant antiseptic applied navel infection is 



