CASTKATION OP THE DOG 115 



lory ccnliT is si iiiuilalcd and i'atal sliock is i>ci legally 

 avoided. WIum'c f>()od sur^'ical anesthesia is difficult 

 to maintain, as it is in some cases, the application of 

 heat by means of a hot water ))ag applied to the spinal 

 column, is of obvious benefit. 



When respiration is suddenly arrested, the operation 

 should be discontinued at once and the abdominal 

 wound hastily closed by clamping the margins of the 

 skin together with a hcmostat, and if the heart has not 

 actually become quiet, artificial respiration should be 

 quickly employed. Rhythmic traction of the tongue 

 may be of service and inhalations of a<iua ammonia are 

 beneficial. 



Hemorrhage. — In occasional cases, post-operative 

 hemorrhage occurs and persists until the patient is 

 weakened to such a degree that death results in from 

 24 to 48 hours after the operation. This sometimes 

 happens in subjec's that have been operated upon be- 

 fore the expiration of the estral period and wher-e am- 

 putation of the ovaries has been effected without due 

 regard to ligation or careful execution of hemostatic 

 nu'ans by torsion. 



Where capillary hemorrhage continues in sufficient 

 degree to cause the escape of a quantity of blood in the 

 peritoneal cavity without its assuming immediately 

 dangerous proportions, the administration of from 1-250 

 to 1-50 grain of atropin subcutaneously, will be found 

 very helpful. Such hemorrhage is not likelj^ to prove 

 fatal. 



Infection. — The operator should constantly bear in 

 mind the urgency of cleanliness in this work. While 

 these canine subjects are (luite resistant to infection, 

 yet some cases of fatal septic peritonitis have been pro- 

 duced by general practitioners not having the essential 



