270 PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 



The object that penetrates into the body requires more than 

 ordinary consideration in every case. The surgeon should 

 examine it, if possible, with the aim of determining whether 

 any part of it has remained in the depth of the wound. A 

 broken nail, a piece of glass, a splintered piece of wood, 

 a broken tine, etc., always leads to the examination of the 

 wound for the remaining section. The character of the 

 wound will also vary with the character of the wounding- 

 body. Contusions, contused wound, lacerations and incis- 

 ions all depend upon the nature of the object producing 

 them. 



5. The Nature and the Virulence of the Infection. — 

 The history of a wound should, if possible, reveal this fea- 

 ture. The street-nail is known to frequently cause tetanus, 

 and the dog-bite, rabies. Both of these diseases are easily 

 foreseen, and hence call for special treatment to prevent 

 them. Other infections, especially the so-called blood- 

 poisonings cannot be prognosticated as to their possible 

 seriousness; nevertheless, the wound made with a very dirty 

 object coming from a very dirty environment is always 

 given more attention than the one inflicted with a compara- 

 tively clean instrument. The infection is generally more 

 virulent. Furthermore, wounds on debilitated subjects are 

 more liable to become seriously infected than those of vig- 

 orous subjects. 



II. THE SURGICAL TREATMENT PROPER.— 

 The second step of wound treatment is surgical. It includes 

 three distinct manipulations, (i) The dissection, resection, 

 etc.; (2) the hsemostasis; and (3) the sterilization. 



I. The dissection, resection, amputation, curettage, 

 avulsion, enucleation, torsion and ablation, whichever be- 

 comes necessary, begins the real treatment in most in- 

 stances. In some instances these may be preceded by ar- 

 resting the haemorrhage, for example if the flow of blood is 



