498 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. :. « 
solution used on absorbent cotton. The- vesicles, if any appear, 
should be opened with a clean needle, allowing the skin to remain. 
Strips of gauze or absorbent cotton saturated with the solution should 
now be applied and renewed only occasionally. In burns of the sec- 
ond and third degrees more satisfactory results may be obtained with 
nonpoisonous, dry dressing powder, such as is used in ordinary open 
wounds, as tannic acid 8 parts and iodoform 1 part, or a salve made 
of this powder and a sufficient quantity of vaseline. When slough- 
ing of the tissues takes place the wounds should be-cleansed with a 
warm 8 per cent solution of carbolic acid, all loose fragments of tissue 
removed, and either a dry, antiseptic dressing powder or carbolated 
vaseline ointment applied to exclude the air. Granulation tissue 
(proud flesh) should be controlled by the application of silver nitrate 
in the form of a caustic pencil. 
Burns due to mineral acids may be first treated by flushing the 
parts with a copious quantity of cold water or by the application of 
whiting or chalk. Either use a large quantity of water at the start or 
use the chalk first, then wash with water. If the irritant has been a 
caustic alkali, such as potash, lye, ammonia, or soda, then vinegar 
should be the first application. Stahl’s liniment is probably the best 
general application for all burns for the first week; then this should 
be followed by the ordinary antiseptic wound dressings. 
GANGRENE. 
Gangrene, or mortification, denotes the death of the affected part, 
and is mostly found attacking soft tissue near the surface of the 
body. Gangrenous areas may occur as a result of shutting off their 
blood supply. Constitutional diseases, such as ergotism, anthrax, and 
septicemia, predispose to gangrene. As external causes we have acids 
and alkalies, freezing and burning, contusions and continuous pres- 
sure that interrupt the circulation. There are two forms of gan- 
grene—dry and moist. Dry gangrene is most often seen in horses 
from continuous lying down (decubitus) or from uneven pressure of 
some portion of the harness, 
Symptoms.—tThere is a lack of sensation due to the death of nerves. 
In dry gangrene the skin is leathery and harsh, while in moist gan- 
grene the tissues are soft, wrinkled, and friable; the hair is dis- 
turbed, and the skin is usually moist and soapy and sometimes coy- 
ered with blebs. The tissue surrounding the moist gangrenous patch 
is usually inflamed, swollen, and hot, but this is less noticeable in the 
case of dry gangrene. Moist gangrene often spreads and involves 
deeper tissue, sheaths of tendons and joints producing septic syno- 
vitis or septic arthritis leading to pyemia and death. Dry gangrene 
is seldom dangerous, but the rapidity of its spread will indicate its 
virulence. 
