132 INOCULATION OF ANIMALS. 



the point sealed off; or a larger quantity, if desired, is taken 

 in a sterile pipette. If peritoneal fluid be not wanted, then 

 an incision may be made from the episternum to the pubes, 

 and the thorax and abdomen opened in the usual way. 

 The organs ought to be removed with another set of instru- 

 ments, and it is convenient to place them pending examina- 

 tion in deep Petri's capsules (sterile). It is generally 

 advisable to make cultures and film preparations from the 

 heart's blood. To do this, open the pericardium, sear the 

 front of the right ventricle with a cautery, make an incision 

 in the middle of the part seared, and remove some of the 

 blood with a capillary tube for future examination, or, intro- 

 ducing a platinum eyelet, inoculate tubes and make cover- 

 glass preparations at once. To examine any organ, sear the 

 surface with a cautery, cut into it, and inoculate tubes 

 and make film preparations with a platinum loop. For 

 removing small parts of organs for making inoculations on 

 tubes, a small platinum spud is very useful, as the ordinary 

 wires are apt to become bent. Place pieces of the organs 

 in some preservative fluid for microscopic examination. 

 The organs ought not to be touched with the fingers. When 

 the post mortem is concluded the body should have corrosive 

 sublimate or carbolic acid solution poured over it, and be 

 forthwith burned. The dissecting trough and all the instru- 

 ments ought to be boiled for half an hour. The amount 

 of precaution to be taken will, of course, depend on the 

 character of the bacterium under investigation, but as a 

 general rule every care should be used. 



