DISEASES FROM SEPTIC INFECTION OF WOUNDS. 311 



as septico-pysemia. In this case the animal dies before any deposit 

 of the suppurating poison has produce d abscesses. In pysemia the 

 symptoms are marked by chills in the early stages, and by inter- 

 mittent fever. The appetite is often good, and, as a rule, rarely 

 entirely absent, as in septicaemia. Later the disease presents much 

 more serious symptoms: the fever loses its intermittent character, 

 the temperature remaining high; the appetite disappears; fatigue 

 and weakness may occur ; the patients become rapidly emaciated 

 and finally die. With these symptoms we see metastatic suppura- 

 tion in the internal organs. 



The therapeutic treatment of pysemia is similar to that of septi- 

 caemia. 



Treatment of Wounds. In the treatment of wounds we must 

 pursue the following directions to obtain good results : 1 . That the 

 edges of the wound must be brought together as soon as possible 

 to encourage union. 2. That in the treatment of wounds we 

 must protect them from all kinds of irritation, and especially from 

 the invasion of micro-organisms. 



A wound may be infected with microbes through the hair, or 

 by direct infection from unclean hands, instruments, dressing ma- 

 terials, or septic fluids. It is also possible to infect a wound from 

 the blood. The main point in the treatment of wounds should be 

 to prevent the direct entrance of microbes into it, or to destroy the 

 infectious substances which have entered the wound, and finally 

 to put it in such a condition as to prevent the further development 

 of any microbes that may still remain there. The first is rather 

 difficult in the dog even under ordinary circumstances; the last 

 can be followed out to a certain extent, as the treatment of wounds 

 is greatly influenced in the dog by two facts : first, many dogs will 

 not allow a dressing to remain in place; and, second, a wound is 

 interfered with to a certain extent by the tendency that all dogs 

 have to lick the injured part. For this reason we frequently 

 have to modify the treatment of wounds in the dog. We must, 

 however, apply a dressing in all cases where we can keep the 

 patient quiet and prevent him from removing it. The veterina 

 rian has two powerful agents at his disposal for the treatment of 

 wounds: the first is, primary disinfection of the wound and its 

 neighborhood; second, keeping the wound as dry as possible. 



1. The First Disinfection of Wounds. This is of special impor- 



