220 BACTERIOLOGY. 



in position before the abdomen is opened ; it will be seen 

 that these sutures in all cases pass through the subcuta- 

 neous tissues only and do not penetrate the skin proper.) 



The opening through the remaining layers may now 

 be completed; the bit of tissue deposited in the perito- 

 neal cavity, under precautions that will exclude all else; 

 the edges of the wound drawn evenly and gently to- 

 gether by tying the sutures, and the lines of incision 

 dressed with collodion. It should be needless to say 

 that this operation must be conducted under the strictest 

 precautions, to avoid complications. All instruments, 

 sutures, ligatures, etc., must be carefully sterilized either 

 in the steam sterilizer for twenty minutes, or by boiling 

 in 2 per cent, sodium carbonate solution for ten min- 

 utes; the hands of the operator, though they should not 

 touch the wound, should be carefully cleansed, and the 

 material to be introduced into the abdomen should be 

 handled with only sterilized instruments. 



Inoculation into the pleural cavity is much less fre- 

 quently called for — in fact, it is not a routine method 

 employed in this work. It is not easy to enter the 

 pleural cavity with a hypodermic needle without injur- 

 ing the lung, and it is rare that conditions call for the 

 introduction of solid particles in this locality. 



Inoculation into the anterior chamber of the eye is per- 

 formed by making a puncture through the cornea just 

 in front of its junction with the sclerotic, the knife being 

 passed into the anterior chamber in a plane parallel to 

 the plane of the iris. By the aid of a fine pair of for- 

 ceps the bit of tissue is passed through the opening thus 

 made and is deposited upon the iris, where it is allowed 

 to remain, and where its pathogenic properties upon the 

 iris can be conveniently studied. It is a mode of inoc- 



