HYDROPHOBIA 269 



cord of the dead rabbit is sufficient for the inoculation of a 

 live one. Having arrived at a time when the incubation 

 period is determined at seven days, and the rabbit dies on 

 or about the twelfth day, the spinal cords may now be used 

 for the inoculation of human beings. The rabbit having 

 died, it is taken whilst quite fresh and laid flat on the 

 abdomen upon a metal tray. The operator then slits up 

 the skin along the dorsal median line, from the head 

 down to the end of the lumbar vertebrae, and dissects it 

 back on either side for about 2 or 3 inches. With a sharp 

 pair of scissors he now detaches the muscles from the skull, 

 the spine, and the ribs, for about 1 inch on either side of 

 the vertebral column. The spinal processes are next cut 

 off, close down, with the scissors. This being done, he now 

 seizes the muzzle of the animal, and holds it firmly with a 

 pair of crab-claw forceps in his left hand, whilst in his 

 right he takes a pair of bone-forceps, and breaks off the 

 skull in pieces, exposing the brain. Then, still holding the 

 muzzle firmly, he proceeds to remove the vertebral laminae, 

 cutting them right and left alternately, inserting the point 

 of the blade of the bone-forceps into the spinal cavity, 

 taking great care not to injure the cord. The cord is thus 

 laid bare to about the lumbar plexus. The lower end is 

 now seized with the dissecting-forceps and raised from the 

 spinal groove, the spinal nerves which hold it down being 

 cut with the scissors. When a sufficient length of the cord 

 has thus been freed, the end held by the forceps is tied by 

 a piece of thread, and a length of about 3 inches is cut off, 

 the fragment being carefully inserted into a drying-bottle, 

 with the end of the thread hanging out. The cotton-wool 

 plug is now replaced, which securely holds the thread, and 

 the cord remains suspended in the middle of the bottle, 

 hanging vertically over a layer of caustic potash, which has 

 been previously placed at the bottom of the vessel. Next, 



