324 
ON ABSCESS. 
times have the effect of’ suppressing' it; at others, of bringing it 
forward to maturation. 
Veterinarians are in the habit of adopting tivo modes of open¬ 
ing abscesses — incision and cauterization . The ordinary method 
of letting out the matter is to plunge a broad-shouldered lancet 
into the pointing spot of the tumour; and at the same time, by 
a sudden turn of the point of the lancet outwards, to extend the 
incision in whatever direction it may seem best to dilate the 
opening, which is rarely of sufficient dimensions without the sub¬ 
sequent incision; indeed, if the tumour is one of magnitude, a 
lancet is an insufficient instrument: either a sharp-pointed bis- 
touri or a double-edged scalpel should be employed, it being the 
grand desideratum , in almost every case, to make the wound such 
as will give a* free and ready exit to the matter. The cavity 
being opened, a probe of large size is commonly introduced and 
moved about in various directions, in order to remove all ob¬ 
stacles to the efflux of the matter; or the same may be done 
with the finger. Heurtrel D’Arboval, however, warns us against 
rupturing any of the little chords which are every now and then 
found to run across the cavity, lest we destroy the vitality of the 
skin, to which, he says, they convey bloodvessels and nerves. 
In the case of large abscesses, or where there are dependent 
places in which the matter lodges, in spite of the opening already 
made, it is often good practice to introduce a seton; which may be 
done by making another hole through the skin, and drawing a 
piece of coarse broad tape through the cavity, making knots at the 
ends of it to prevent them from entering the interior. Some tie the 
two ends together; but this is in general a very objectionable, 
not to say dangerous practice ; since, should the animal, by any 
chance, hitch the loop upon any thing, the seton will probably 
get torn out, and extensive laceration ensue. 
The actual cautery is not often used, now-a-days, for opening 
abscesses ; still there are cases wherein it seems the preferable 
mode of proceeding. The case of chronic abscess, in which , sup¬ 
puration has been slow and tedious, and of an unhealthy nature, 
is the one I more particularly allude to. A protracted and im¬ 
mature suppurative process bespeaks equal protraction and 
sluggishness in the granulative action, and calls upon us for the 
employment of excitants ; and one of the most potent and effica¬ 
cious among them is the hot iron, on which account I would use 
it in preference to the lancet in cases of this description. 
Having discharged the matter, our next consideration is what 
dressing, or if any, is required for the abscess, the cavity of which 
must be filled up by a process of granulation, and the lost skin 
renewed by cicatrization. In ordinary cases, some astringent 
