258 PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 



mended that the air be sprayed with carbolic acid during 

 the entire procedure. This supposition has since been 

 proven erroneous. The air itself contains no microbes, but 

 the dust it suspends, or the particles that may fly along with 

 its currents are known to be the real conveyors. If the 

 air is quiet and its dust is permitted to precipitate to the 

 floor, it is incapable of contaminating a wound with micro- 

 organisms. Furthermore, the dust of the air of a room, 

 while known to usually contain bacteria, may not contain 

 pathogenic bacteria. They may be harmless, and may be 

 left to invade the wound with impunity. The dust of a vet- 

 erinary hospital harboring all kinds of patients, the dust 

 of hay, the dust of straw, and the dust of an ordinary stable, 

 must however, never be taken as entirely harmless. 

 Numerous infections are traceable to this source, espe- 

 cially in the city practice. 



In dealing with the air as a conveyor of wound infec- 

 tions, the veterinarian _ adopts practical methods. The 

 operating room is kept clean, its floor is dampened and the 

 air is never agitated prior to the hour for operations. The 

 patients are brushed of superfluous hairs and wiped with 

 dampened cloths before being admitted. If the patients 

 are secured with the casting harness, the litter is dampened 

 so that the minimum amount of dust will be raised by the 

 struggling. The operating table, and the floor mattress are 

 excellent expedients to prevent infections from this source, 

 while the stravir or hay litters are rather treacherous. Tan- 

 bark, peat, shavings or saw-dust can be rendered almost 

 dust-proof, but particles are always liable to be whirled 

 through the air and into the wound by the patient's strug- 

 gles. 



The country practitioner must avoid shaking up a fresh 

 littef of straw or hay, just before the operation. Castra- 

 tions, especially of cryptorchids, often prove fatal from 



