278 
LESIONS OF THE PAROTID DUCT. 
the manuel of this incredible operation*, this veterinarian lays it 
down as a principle, 
First, That instances of cicatrization of the superior salivary 
canal are very rare. 
Secondly, That the only certain means of stopping the flow of 
saliva consists in the removal of the organ which secretes itt. 
Hurtrel d’Arboval, much less positive than M. Leblanc respect- 
ing the diagnostic of these lesions of the Stenonian duct, never- 
theless believes that “ cases frequently occur in which the fistulae 
resist” compression, ligature, plugging, sutures, adhesion plasters, 
and the astringents generally recommended. 
Under such circumstances this learned veterinary surgeon ad- 
vised that atrophy of the parotid gland should be produced. In 
order to effect this, he, first of all, makes use of a peculiar com- 
pressive apparatus, consisting of a curved metallic wire applied 
vertically on either side of the organ, even to its deepest seated 
parts. The compression is effected by means of the ends of the 
wire, which extend over on the outside, and several twists of 
waxed wool which surround the isolated organ in all parts! • 
The danger of local gangrene compelled Hurtrel d’Arboval to 
renounce this peculiar method of compression. He then passed 
a cauterizing iron, heated to a white heat, over the uncovered parotid, 
until he had produced a scar of about two-thirds of an inch in 
thickness. After the fall of the first scab he provoked a fresh one 
by a second application of the cautery. This operation, equally 
bold as dangerous, effected the cure of the fistula in the space of 
a few months. 
M. Yatel, in his “ Element s de Chirurgie,” contents himself with 
describing the actual state of the question. Like his predecessors, 
he advises, when the fistula is recent, that the edges of the wound 
should be brought together by the means of adhesive agents, or a 
twisted suture ; and, when it has existed for some time, that a 
ligature should be passed round the canal§. 
The preceding considerations clearly prove that, from the time 
of Lafosse, jun., to 1828, veterinary practitioners and writers re- 
garded lesions of the parotid duct as very serious, very long, very 
difficult to cure, and generally necessitating the extirpation or the 
disorganization of the parotid. Such, indeed, was the general opi- 
* The same operation was subsequently performed by Mr. Percivall, an ac- 
count of which is contained in his “ Hippopathology,” vol. i, p. 188. In the 
same work, Mr. P. was the first to suggest and carry into practice the disor- 
ganization of the glandular structure through caustic injection, an expedient, 
though it proved successful, seemingly unknown to M. Reynal. 
f Recueil, tome i, p. 133. 
+ Dictionnaire d’Hurtrel d’Arboval, tome ii, p. 462 
§ Elements de Pathologic V6t4rinairc, tome i, p. 488 . 
