PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 235 



of the vital functions. The patient may be dying and still 

 respond to the touch to the cornea, which fact the anaesthe- 

 tist must always bear in mind. 



3. The condition of the circulation as indicated by the 

 pulse should not be entirely overlooked in anaesthetizing 

 animals, as it may foretell an approaching syncope. The 

 pulse should be rapid, full and regular, in the stages of ex- 

 citement and narcosis, and slow, wavy and compressible 

 during the anaesthetic stage. The quick, isolated heart- 

 beat is a certain sign of impending danger. The anaesthetist 

 should occasionally examine into the condition of the cir- 

 culation with the aim of recognizing the faltering heart at 

 any early period. When the subject is difficult to anaes- 

 thetize, or appears to succumb too readily to the influence, 

 this precaution is especially indicated. 



Ox. — The ox is anaesthetized with chloroform in about 

 the same manner as the horse, after being well secured in 

 the recumbent position. In this animal the atnaesthetist 

 must, however, take into consideration the fact that the 

 mouth freely admits air into the air-passages, and that the 

 sensibility to inhaled anaesthetics is somewhat less than in 

 the horse. About three ounces of chloroform is placed 

 upon the sponge, which is applied to the muzzle with the 

 same sheet as the one used for the horse. When the 

 anaesthesia is complete, it is continued throughout the 

 operation by replenishing the supply to the sponge, instead 

 of resorting to the "drop by drop" method recommended 

 for the horse. 



Dog and Cat. — Ether is by far the safest anaesthetic for 

 these animals, although chloroform is successfully used by 

 some cynologists. The writer's experience with chloro- 

 form in carnivora has been disastrous. White (Chicago) 

 recommends the alcohol-chloroform-and-ether mixture, 

 while Pertus (Paris) a mixture of ether, two parts and 



