PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 295 



fatigued tissues, enfeebled important organs. In the pregnant 

 feriale a wound may become tlie origin of complications. 

 Occasionally it provokes abortion, and if this is escaped, the 

 \Vound may prove serious by compelling a permanent state 

 of decubitus ; without taking into account the fact that cica- 

 trization is hindered in consequence of the weakened state 

 of the organism during the development of the foetus. 



CLASSIFICATION.— Traumatisms are divided into 

 two great groups: — Wounds and Contusions. The latter 

 differ from the former in that the wound remains protected 

 by the common integument. Although every classification 

 of wounds is open to criticism, it is nevertheless indispensa- 

 ble to classify them in order to make their description more 

 clear. The simplest classification is that of our predecessors^ 

 and is as follows : 



(i) Wounds by sharp instruments. (Incised wounds) 



(2) Wounds by penetrating instruments. (Punctured 

 wounds) 



(3) Wounds by tearing. (Lacerated wounds) 



(4) Wounds by teeth-bites. 



(5) Poisonous and venomous wounds. 



(6) Contusions and contused wounds. 



WOUNDS BY SHARP INSTRUMENTS. 



(Incised woiuids) 



Incised wounds are made with a sharp blade, — knife or 

 scythe, — which cuts the integument by sliding on the sur- 

 face. They are called superficial when only the skin is di- 

 vided, and deep when the subcutem and adjacent tissues 

 are severed. These wounds are generally symmetrical. 

 Measured with the long axis of the body or the region af- 

 fected, they are distinguished as horizontal, vertical, or ob- 

 lique. Most frequently they present two sharp angle's or 

 commissures, a long axis and a short axis. Incised wounds 



