26 



VETERINARY SURGICAL OPERATIONS 



is, however, the most common one. It is of service and gen- 

 erally indispensable in almost all cutting operations. Its 

 size and length should vary according to the character and 

 position of the structure to be incised. The medium sized 

 one is the most serviceable for the various operations on ani- 

 mals. Here and there a very small one may be handy, and 

 occasionally a large, strong one is required to divide tough, 

 thick tissues. Handles of exceptional length are sometimes 



Fig. 3— Scalpels. 



required to reach tissues in deep locations, as for example, 

 operations within the larynx. The probe-pointed, curved 

 bistoury comes next in importance as an incising instrument. 

 It is used chiefly to cut outward. Its point can be passed 

 safely and easily beneath a structure. This knife should vary 

 in size from a thin, slender blade, cutting to the very end, to 

 a large, strong blade with a prominent probe point, and with 



Fig. 4 — Special Probe-Pointed Tenetome. 



handles of proper proportions, if every demand is to be sat- 

 isfied. The tenetome is of service in dividing muscles' and 

 tendons. It is a fine, slender blade, of very slight convexity, 

 so constructed as to make but a small point of entrance. It 

 is used chiefly to make subcutaneous incisions, as in caudal 

 myotomy, and the various tenotomies. The probe-pointed, 

 slightly curved tenetome, (see Fig. 4) is of great service in 

 many subcutaneous incisions, owing to the protection it af- 



