386 The Management and Diseases of the Dog. 



I say, with or without the first intention, because it is not 

 unusual for a patient to be brought some four or five days 

 after the wound has been closed, with the sutures out and 

 the lips apart, and we are asked to reclose it. This I 

 seldom do, finding in the treatment of wounds in the 

 lower animals that if the lips can be kept in apposition for 

 the first four or five days, they will, if they then break away, 

 resume in the final healing process the position they were 

 originally placed in, and each suture mark will reveal the 

 nicety or otherwise of adjustment, 



The same remarks will apply to healing by adhesive in- 

 flammation,* which may be considered a kind of, if not 

 really, first intention. 



The sutures commonly used are soft wire, pins, and silk. 

 I prefer the latter for dogs, and if dipped in a weak solu- 

 tion of carbolic acid they maintain their position longer, 

 and add to the healthiness of the wound. 



Granulation and scabbing are, however, the most com- 

 mon methods of healing in veterinary practice. When the 

 secretion of pus takes place, its character should be ex- 

 amined to ascertain if it is healthy — i.e., of a creamy con- 

 sistency, yellowish-white, of a peculiar indescribable odour, 

 not disagreeable or unhealthy, being ichorous or curdled, 

 of a dirty colour, and foetid. 



Suppurating wounds require to be cleansed with tepid 

 water at least once daily. The following liniment occa- 

 sionally injected will promote a healthy discharge : — 



Acid Carbolic 15 minims. 



01. Terebinth i ounce. 



01. Olivae 6 ounces. 



Where the granulations spring up too rapidly, forming 

 what is termed "proud flesh," the application of lunar 

 caustic is necessary ; but it should be borne in mind that a 



* It is to my mind doubtful if healing ever takes place without 

 an exudation of lymph, at all events in the lower animals. 



