Rupture of the Perineum 86 1 



may be no necessity for the passage of feces over the freshly 

 closed wound. Such unloading is best accomplished with re- 

 peated small doses of eserine or arecoline. A mare of medium 

 size may take 0.75 to i grain of either alkaloid, which should be 

 repeated every 45 to 60 minutes until the intestines are appar- 

 ently completely empty. 



The vulva, anus, perineum, buttocks and tail should be 

 thoroughly scrubbed with hot water, soap and brush for half an 

 hour or more and bathed thoroughly with ether to dissolve the fats 

 in the skin. The parts should then be thoroughly scrubbed with 

 a hot i-iooo corrosive sublimate solution for 15 to 30 minutes. 

 This should be completed before casting the patient or placing 

 her on the table. 



The animal is to be placed in lateral recumbency, for which 

 purpose the operating table furnishes by far the best means and 

 places the patient in the best possible position for the conveni- 

 ence and efficiency of the operator. If a table is not available, 

 the patient may be secured upon an improvised platform of 

 boards or straw, and sufficient elevation acquired to render the 

 operation field available. 



The patient is then to be placed under complete general anaes- 

 thesia with chloroform or chloral. I^ocal anaesthesia does not 

 fully answer, because the animal will resist the confinement and 

 interfere with the operation even in the absence of surgical pain. 



The vagina and rectum are to be thoroughly washed and dis- 

 infected. The rectal and vaginal mucosa will not withstand 

 concentrated di-sinfectants, without inducing an irritation which 

 will later cause swelling and straining. The operator should 

 accordingly do much of the cleansing by means of irrigations 

 with warm normal salt solution, followed by copious irrigations 

 with a I % solution of carbolic acid, creolin or lysol. The weak- 

 ness of the disinfecting solution needs be counterbalanced by 

 careful and extended application. 



The tail should be completely enclosed in an antiseptic band- 

 age, and securely tied out of the operator's way. Antiseptic 

 towels or cloths should be spread in abundance over the but- 

 tocks and thighs, and secured in position by means of safety- 

 pins. The table or floor just beneath the field of operation 

 should also be carefully covered with antiseptic towels or gauze. 



These precautions having been taken, the vagina and rectum 



