FLKSH WOUNDS. 287 



bnt an endeavor should be made to lessen it as far as possible. For 

 instance, if the jaw be injured, it is desirable to place the patient on 

 sloppy diet which will not require much mastication. In wounds of the 

 leg, advantage may be taken of particular kmds of shoes, such as those 

 raised at the heels or at the toes, according to the circumstances of the 

 particular case. In some cases the patient will require to be tied up #o 

 prevent his moving about, while in other cases a cradle will be needed to 

 prevent his gnawing the wound with his teeth. 



Sutures are useful in bringing together the edges of the skin in parts 

 where there is but little flesh, such as on the forehead, the nose, and the 

 eyelids; but they do not answer in fleshy parts, because the weight of the 

 flesh and the swelling arising from the attendant inflammation generally 

 bursts them. In such cases, the needful apposition of the parts is best 

 promoted and maintained by bandages. Again sutures are not advisable 

 where the edges of the wound are much torn, or where there are foreign 

 bodies lodged in it, because the inflammation and suppuration which 

 ensue in such cases are aggravated by the confinement of the matter, and 

 in the end the sutures generally break away. 



Sutures are best applied by means of a curved needle. Fig. 26. In- 

 terrupted sutures answer better than continuous, because the process of 

 healing by direct union or by adhesion is seldom complete in the horse, 

 for reasons already mentioned, and hence the matter which forms needs 

 frequent means of escape. The twisted suture made by two needles and 

 a skein of tow or silk twisted over them. Fig. 32, answers very well in a 

 small incised wound, such as that caused by bleeding in the neck. 



In extensive wounds, a flexible silver wire suture is often used in pre- 

 ference to silk, because it does not absorb the effused matters, and hence 

 also is less likely to slough out. In extensive wounds, however, espe- 

 cially in fleshy parts, bandages answer better than sutures. 



A bandage should be adjusted very evenly, and not so tight as to ob- 

 struct the circulation or to cause pain. When circumstances admit of it, 

 the bandage should be applied above and below, but not over the wound. 

 This arrangement will enable the dressing to be easily changed without 

 the necessity of removing the bandage each time. 



True skin, when onco destroyed, is never reproduced. Its place is 

 supplied by a cicatrix, which is formed of fibro-cellular tissue covered by 

 epithelium. A cicatrix differs from true skin mainly in not containing 

 sebaceous follicles or hair. 



