48 CANINE AND FEUNE SURGERY. 



to touch parts of the latter's body which are far from clean 

 according to bacteriological ideas. Before operating, the hands, 

 and particularly the nails, should be thoroughly scrubbed with 

 soap and hot water (containing some antiseptic) by the aid ot 

 a clean nail brush, and then held for a few minutes in some 

 clean antiseptic solution. In abdominal, and some of the more 

 serious operations, it is a wise precaution in addition to scrub 

 the fingers with a little ether or methylated spirit, and then 

 again in antiseptic wool, in order to remove all grease. During 

 the operation care must be taken not to touch anything which 

 has not been rendered aseptic, and if by accident this is done 

 the hands must be again carefully disinfected before touching 

 either the wound or the instruments. The wound should be 

 touched with the fingers as little as possible. The choice of 

 the antiseptic must be left to the operator, care always being 

 taken to make it of sufficient strength. Any of those men- 

 tioned in the previous paragraphs are suitable, the only pre- 

 cautions necessary being taken in the cases of carbolic acid, 

 lysol, and creolin, which have an irritant effect on the hands 

 of some, especially when the solution is very concentrated. 



