TREATMENT OF WOUNDS IN THE DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 87 
necessity be, in many cases, a difference in their practical treat¬ 
ment, on account of not being able to control our patient. 
The dressings used in human practice (antiseptic gauze, ban¬ 
dages, etc.) cannot always be kept in place, and consequently 
the wound soon becomes infected with pus microbes and other 
pathogenic bacteria. Suppuration and slow healing follow, 
with septicaemia, pyaemia, erysipelas and tetanus as possible 
sequelae. All veterinary practitioners know how utterly 
impossible it is to keep a majority of the wounds met with in 
every-day practice, and which must be treated under all kinds 
of adverse circumstances, aseptic. While it is easier to pre¬ 
vent suppuration than to arrest it, we are often unable, even 
when the wound has been seen soon after its infliction, to get 
healing by primary union. Being unable to maintain asepsis 
and thus prevent suppuration, a majority of wounds must heal 
by the formation of visible granulations, and the question which 
presents itself to the practitioner is, how shall such wounds 
be treated ? Disinfecting solutions should, of course, be in¬ 
cluded in the treatment of all wounds, but what should be 
done after disinfecting as thoroughly as possible? Should an¬ 
tiseptic ointments be applied without bandages, as is sometimes 
done? or should the wound be dressed with some antiseptic 
and then bandaged ? or, again, should some powder be dusted 
on and no bandage applied ? 
It is not my purpose in this article to discuss the treatment 
best adapted to the different classes of wounds met with in 
veterinary practice, but to refer briefly to a line of treatment 
adapted to most granulating wounds, which has given good 
results in my hands, the theory of which has been demonstrat¬ 
ed to be correct by some experiments made in our laboratory 
at the Iowa Agricultural College. These experiments I will 
describe further on. It is well known that where granulating 
wounds are exposed to the atmosphere they have a tendency 
to scab over if suppuration be not too profuse. Taking advan¬ 
tage of this fact, the treatment referred to consists of applying 
something to the surface of the wound which will prevent germ 
growth, and at the same time assist nature in forming a pro¬ 
tecting scab. (While 1 am aware that this line of treatment 
