THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANAESTHETICS 29 



complete loss of consciousness in the whole of the body by 

 their action upon the higher cerebral centres. Of these the 

 best are chloroform, ether, and the A.C.E. and A. E.G. 

 mixtures. They are used for major operations, and in cases, 

 such as reduction of herniae, where it is desirable to relax 

 various tissues. Alorphia and chloral must also be considered 

 here. 



General Anaesthetics. 

 The Choice of a General Anaesthetic— C/!/o;'o/on» ?s the 



ideal aiursthdic to choose for the averat^^e adult dog. It is much 

 more pleasant to taste than ether, does not produce so much 

 salivation, the stage of excitement is less, and that of anaes- 

 thesia more prolonged, besides which the after nauseating 

 effects are by no means so well marked. If given slowly in 

 a proper manner and sufficiently diluted, the risk to adult canine 

 patients is very slight. In the cat, however, and in the young of 

 very delicate breeds of dogs, greater care must be exercised, and 

 it is safer for an unskilled anasthetist to choose either ether or tlie 

 A.C.E. mixture. The last-named consists of a mixture of 

 I part of alcohol, 2 parts of chloroform, and 3 parts of ether. 

 These opinions are based on the fact that (mainly by inex- 

 perienced students in the Out-patients' Free Clinic of the 

 London Veterinary College) chloroform was administered 

 during five consecutive years by the pattern of inhaler shown 

 in Fig. 21 to more than 1,200 consecutive canine patients with 

 only five fatalities, four of which were satisfactorily accounted 

 for on post-mortem examination ; in the fifth case, unfortu- 

 nately, no post-mortem was made. As, however, the latter 

 was a pug, I was not altogether surprised, this breed of dog 

 being usually risky to ansesthetize on account of the shape of 

 the nose. The operations were of all kinds, some very trivial 

 and some very severe, the animals not being (except in a very 

 few instances) in any way prepared or selected, whilst they 

 were of all ages, sizes, breeds, and conditions. The periods of 



