200 REPORT—1868. 
common bile-duct become reestablished ; in one of these nearly the whole duct 
had been excised, in the other the duct had simply been divided between the 
two ligatures. 
The experience of the Committee has shown that young dogs are not suitable 
for the operation, only full-grown strong good-tempercd dogs of any breed 
should be selected. Had the Committee been aware of this precaution, their 
success as regards the number of useful fistulae might have been greater even 
than it has been. 
2. Method of collecting the Bile. 
The collection of the bile may be begun usually within a fortnight after 
the operation, as soon indeed as the fistula can bear the daily pressure of a 
silver canula. Before its insertion into the fistula, it is well to wait until 
the whole of the wound except the fistulous opening is completely healed. 
During the healing process, the fistula must be kept patent by the daily 
passage of a glass rod, which serves admirably the purpose of a bougie; for 
notwithstanding the flow of the bile, the canal has a great tendency to close. 
The great difficulty which the Committee have had to overcome, has been 
the daily collection of bile for a peried of twenty-four hours. The following 
apparatus, devised by Drs. Rutherford and Gamgee, has been found to accom- 
plish the end perfectly. 
The canula used was that of Scott (Beale’s Archives, vol. i. p. 210), with 
the cup removed, and the holes in the tube filled up. The Committee found 
that in the very first case in which they used Scott’s canula, the cup failed 
to fit the skin accurately, and soon produced ulceration by its pressure. 
They have found that there is no need for providing for an escape of bile 
along the side of the canula, provided a perfectly free exit be allowed through 
it. The canula was retained in the fistula by elastic bands attached to it, 
and passed round the body of the dog. These bands were fastened to each 
other by hooks and eyes, which permit of their easy removal and adjustment. 
Scott collected the bile in a bottle. It appeared to the Committee that an 
elastic bag tied on the free end of the canula would be less apt to be damaged 
by the movements of the animal. They found, however, that a much more 
satisfactory methcd is to collect the bile flowing from the canula by means of 
a large sponge. In this way no resistance is offered to the flow of bile through 
the canula—such as is apt to occur when the bag is used, by its folding over 
the free end of the tube. This acted as a valve, which resisted the feeble 
pressure with which the bile flowed through the fistula. 
The sponge was placed in a tin box, fixed round an oval opening on the 
abdominal aspect of a thick gutta-percha shield, which extended from the 
fore legs to a little behind the umbilicus. The shield was made to fit acen- 
rately the body, so that it might have no tendency to turn round when the 
animal lay down. It embraced three-fourths of the circumference of the body, 
and the one side of it was connected with the other over the animal’s back by 
means of leather straps with buckles. Between the back and these, a soft 
leather saddle was placed to prevent ulceration by their pressure. With the 
same view a flat bag filled with air was placcd between the shield and the 
sternum, and a piece of thick-walled india-rubber tubing an inch or so in 
diameter, was placed between the skin and the posterior part of the shield. 
To this the bag and tube were both immoveably fixed. 
The shield tends to slip backwards, owing to the pyramidal shape of the 
body of the animal. ‘To prevent this, a leather collar must be placed loosely 
round the neck, and the anterior edge of the shicld fixed to it by thick twine 
