104 
INSTRUMENTS USED IN EMBRYOTOMY. 
finger rather tight, and be nearly as long as the second bone, so 
that the end of the finger, when flexed, will guard the back and 
point of the blade, which, with the other fingers on each side, 
it is almost impossible to wound the uterus of the animal or the 
hand of the operator; yet the skin, muscles, or even the small 
bones, of the foetus can be cut or divided in any direction with 
but little difficulty. 
Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 
Fig. 2, an unattached blade. 
Fig. 3, a small hook, which can be fixed on the finger instead 
of the blade. This hook will often be found a powerful as- 
sistant in the extraction of lambs, pigs, and, occasionally, pups: 
the part shaded in the diagram is broad and round ; the part not 
is flat. 
Observation . — 1 have several times inserted this hook into the 
orbit of the eye, and used force sufficient to fracture the bones 
of the face ; yet the young animal has survived, by proper atten- 
tion, and, after a few weeks, scarcely a trace of the injury was 
perceptible. 
Fig. 4 represents a pair of double hooks, which I likewise 
use in Embryotomy ; ( aa ) the hooks, ( b ) the rivet, ( cc ) a stout 
cord passing through holes in each handle end. The two ends 
of this cord are held and drawn by an assistant, when in use, by 
which it will be seen the more force applied the more secure 
will be their hold, provided they do not tear out ; and if they 
should, there is no danger of wounding the animal or operator, 
as the points of the hooks guard each other. 
