496 OPEEATIONS ON THE CIEOUIATOEY SYSTEM. 



striking with the stick, apply the blow with their hands, but 

 with cattle, the stick is indispensable. The moment the blow 

 has been applied properly, the stream of blood escapes freely; 

 when the blow has been too light, and the skin only divided, with 

 but a scanty or no escape of the blood, it is called a white bleed- 

 ing ; and slobbery when the opening is not large enough for the 

 escape of a full stream, or when the openings of the vein and of 

 the skin are not in apposition, which will be the case if the fleam, 

 instead of being held perfectly perpendicular to the skin, has 

 been held obliquely. The opening of the blood vessel with the 

 spring fleam is performed in the same manner, except that the 

 lancet receives its impulse from the spring instead of the stick. 

 The pimcture with the lancet or bistoury should be made with a 

 single stroke of the instrument. In large and superficial veins, 

 the spring lancet is as easily and safely managed as the fleam. 



3d. Closing the Blood Vessels and Stopping the Flow. — 

 "When a sufficient quantity of blood has been dravm, and the pres- 

 sure upon the vein, which has been continued during the flow, is 

 gradually relaxed, the stream ceases, more or less completely. To 

 terminate it entu'ely, a simple stitch of pin suture is apphed. It 

 is to be preferred to aU other means, such as pressure, bandaging 

 or adhesive plasters. The suture is made by grasping the two 

 edges of the skin with the thumb and index finger of one hand, 

 and sUghtly raising them, then transfixing them with a long pin 

 through their middle, with either the hand or the pin-holder, in- 

 cluding a fair amount of skin, and completing it by a special knot, 



made with silk or a loop of the long hair of the 

 vj^^r^v mane or tail of the animal. In applying this 



JLJlI » M suture, the sMn must not be pulled away from 



the body too far, nor the knot tied excessively 



tight. To keep the wound clean and prevent 

 ^"'' ^ Bi^di^* ^"^'' *^® ^-^^^^ from rubbing off the dressings is all 



that is necessary, for a few hours, after the 

 operation. The wound heals by first intention, and the suture and 

 the pin can be safely removed after twenty-four hours. 



Phlebotomy in Solipeds.. 

 Four of the principal superficial veins are selected for this 

 operation in soUpeds ; the jugular, the cephaUc, the subcutaneous 

 thoracic and the internal saphena. 



