INOCULATION INTO THE SEROUS CAVITIES. I95 



the abdomen ; by the transverse dotted lines, with their 

 loose ends, the sutures as placed in position before the 

 abdomen is opened ; it will be seen that these sutures in 

 all cases pass through the subcutaneous tissues only and 

 do not penetrate the skin proper.) The opening through 

 the remaining layers may now be completed ; the bit of 

 tissue deposited in the peritoneal cavity, under precau- 

 tions that will exclude all else ; the edges of the wound 

 drawn evenly and gently together by tying the sutures, 

 and the lines of incision dressed with collodion. It 

 should be needless to say that this operation must be 

 conducted under the strictest precautions to avoid com- 

 plications. All instruments, sutures, ligatures, etc., 

 must be carefully sterilized either in the steam sterilizer 

 for twenty minutes, or by boiling in 2 per cent, soda 

 solution for ten minutes ; the hands of the operator, 

 though they should not touch the wound, should be 

 carefully cleansed and the material to be introduced 

 into the abdomen should be handled with only sterilized 

 instruments. 



Inoculation into the pleural cavity is much less fre- 

 quently called for — in fact, it is not a routine method 

 employed in this work. It is not easy to enter the 

 pleural cavity with a hypodermatic needle without injur- 

 ing the lung, and it is rare that conditions call for the 

 introduction of solid particles in this locality. 



Inoculation into the anterior chamber of the eye is per- 

 formed by making a puncture through the cornea just 

 in front of its junction with the sclerotic, the knife being 

 passed into the anterior chamber in a plane parallel 

 to the plane of the iris. By the aid of a fine pair of 

 forceps the bit of tissue is passed through the opening 

 thus made and is deposited upon the iris, where it is 



