AN EXTRAORDINARY STYPTIC. 
1 IT 
Mr. Halma-Grande has lately arrived in our country ; and a 
very interesting trial was publicly made of the power of this 
styptic at the London Hospital. 
We extract the account of it from the Lancet of January 7:— 
Experiment 1.—A full-grown sheep was secured on the table, 
and the carotid artery adroitly exposed and separated from its 
surrounding structures to the extent of an inch and a half; a 
probe was then passed under it, and a longitudinal incision made 
into the artery, about half an inch in length : the blood gushed 
from the opening with rapidity during a few seconds, and then a 
substance very much resembling fine tow, compressed, about the 
size of an ordinary walnut, soaked in a liquid of a light brown 
colour, was applied on the opening, firmly, and kept there for 
ten minutes by the finger; another piece was then applied over 
the former, the wound was closed, and the sheep carried into an 
outhouse: the haemorrhage had entirely ceased. In about ten 
minutes, however, it returned ; not, I believe, from any failure of 
the experiment, but from indiscreet manipulation. The same ap¬ 
plications were again made, the wound again closed, and in five 
minntes the animal was walking about. During the operation, 
Monsieur H. stated, that he experienced greater difficulty in 
operating on the English sheep than on the French, for the fol¬ 
lowing reason :—The former were a finer breed, and their cellu¬ 
lar membrane so delicate, and so easily lacerated, that when pres¬ 
sure was made on the artery, it gave way—as a natural conse¬ 
quence it must recede from the substance containing the styptic ; 
and hence the difficulty. He stated, also, that “ the styptic 
acted by separating the serum of the blood from the crassamen- 
tum, the former exuding, the latter forming a dense coagulum, 
and thus preventing the egress of the blood.” Some of the spec¬ 
tators tasted the liquid, and according to their ideas, it had not, 
as far as taste goes, the least resemblance to the class of sub¬ 
stances so termed. 
Experiment 2.—The carotid artery of another sheep was laid 
bare in the same manner ; but in lieu.of the longitudinal incision, 
a circular piece of the artery was taken out, about the size of a 
pea; the loss of blood here was much greater than in the former 
case; the styptic was applied, and arrested the haemorrhage, 
quite, for six minutes; but this animal being, I suppose, of a 
more irritable disposition, began to struggle, and at each struggle 
the haemorrhage returned; at last it became so violent, that it 
was impossible to keep the application in close proximity to the 
bleeding orifice ; hence blood was effused into the cellular .sub¬ 
stance of the throat (independent of its quick flow externally), the 
trachea became pressed upon, and the animal died twelve minutes 
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