3 



To Clean the Patient's Finger 



If the finger of one's subject is obviously dirty, 

 and especially if damp with sweat, the finger 

 should be roughly wiped with a cloth. If con- 

 sidered necessary, precautions may be taken to 

 avoid all skin contaminations by the routine of 

 water, alcohol, and ether, but in ordinary exam- 

 inations for malarial parasites this is quite un- 

 necessary. 



To Prick the Finger 



The last phalanx of the finger (the third 

 finger of the right will be found most convenient 

 and the skin usually soft) is taken between the 

 finger and thumb of the left hand of the operator 

 and gently pressed to force the blood towards the 

 pulp. A slight prick with the triangular pointed 

 needle will in most cases cause a fair-sized drop 

 of blood to exude. 



To Make the Film 



When the drop of blood reaches the size of 

 the head of a small pin, a slide is taken in the 

 right hand and lowered on to the drop (taking 

 care not to ' dab ' it on the skin). If the drop is 

 too large, wipe it away and squeeze a small fresh 

 one. The drop should be transferred to the slide 

 about one-third inch from the far end. The slide 

 is then changed to the left hand, the finger and 

 thumb grasping the end nearest to the drop. The 

 right hand again takes the needle, and holding 

 it by the pointed end lays the cylindrical shaft 

 transversely to the slide and across the drop of 



