CHAPTER XIII. 



Post-mortem Examination of Animals — Bacteriological Examination of the 

 Tissues — Disposal of Tissues and Disinfection of Instruments after 

 the Examination — Study of Tissues and Exudates During Life. 



During bacteriological examination of the tissues of dead 

 animals certain precautions must be rigidly observed in 

 order to arrive at correct conclusions. 



The autopsy should be made as soon as possible after 

 death. If delay cannot be avoided, the animal should be 

 kept on ice until the examination can be made, otherwise 

 decomposition sets in, and the saprophytic bacteria now 

 present may interfere with the accuracy of results. When 

 the autopsy is to be made the animal is first inspected 

 externally, and all visible lesions noted. It is then to be 

 fixed upon its back upon a board with nails or tacks. The 

 four legs and the end of the nose, through which the tacks 

 are driven, are to be moderately extended. Plates are now 

 to be made from the site of inoculation, if this is subcuta- 

 neous. The surfaces of the thorax and abdomen are then 

 to be moistened to prevent the fine hairs, dust, etc., from 

 floating about in the air and interfering with the work. An 

 incision is then made through the skin from the chin to the 

 symphysis pubis. This is only a skin incision, and does not 

 reach deeper than the fasciae. It is best done by first making 

 with a scalpel an incision just large enough to permit of the 

 introduction of one blade of a blunt-pointed scissors. It is 

 then completed with the scissors, The whole of the skin is 



(237) 



