A STUDY OF DISEASE IN GEXERAL. 147 



This is located on the inside of the hind leg, and is operated on 

 about two inches above the hock joint. To operate lay the 

 sheep broadside on the ground, tie three legs together, leaving 

 the one to be operated on free, have an assistant draw it out 

 straight and hold firmly. Shave off any hair or fleece over the 

 part to be operated on, and by compression or ligature above 

 the part distend, the vein, then make incision through its 

 external coats with the lancet, remove desired amount of 

 blood, release the pressure, and secure lips of incision with a pin, 

 as above described. In bleeding froni the jugular the animal is 

 controlled in the same manner as when operating on the cheek 

 vein; the neck is then compressed by passing a string around it 

 tightly; this is termed ligating, the string being called the liga- 

 ture; the wool is then cut away from the course of the vein and 

 the lancet inserted. After sufficient blood is drawn the wound 

 is closed by pin suture. Bleeding from the jugular, in fat sheep, 

 is a difficult matter on account of the adipose tissue placed im- 

 mediately under the skin, making it hard to satisfactorily locate 

 the vein. In such cases bleeding from the saphena or cheek 

 veins is advisable. 



The pulse is defined as the impulse given to the blood 

 through the action of the heart, representing, as it does the ac- 

 tual heart beats, which in healthy subjects average a certain num- 

 ber per miniite. It acts as a register of the condition and num- 

 ber of heart beats, which when they exceed the normal or fall 

 below the same to any amount would show a derangement of the 

 animal economy, viz: disease. 



The normal pulse of a sheep ranges from 90 per minute in 

 the lamb to 60 in the adult, averaging 75. It can readily be 

 taken at the femoral artery on the inside of the thigh by press- 

 ing it firmly with the fingers against the thighbone. The pulse 

 in sheep, however, cannot altogether be relied on as an indicator 

 of disease, as in all animals when subjected to excitement it is 



