ANTISEPTIC SURGERY. 
I8 5 
. 
wounds may contain organisms that are either numerically too 
few or are non-virulent, and hence do not give rise to infection. 
Indeed, no method has yet been discovered by which the skin 
can be rendered absolutely sterile, and there are micro-organisms 
in cutaneous glands that the most thorough disinfecting fails to 
remove, and these in a suitable soil are capable of producing 
inflammation and suppuration; therefore, it is patent that we 
should be as thorough as possible, for, if these bacteria should 
be of a virulent character, and the patient of an anaemic nature, 
the tissues, fluids and cells would not exercise that germicide 
power they are ordinarily endowed with, and infection would un¬ 
doubtedly occur. In short, if we have not had at least an elemen¬ 
tary training in bacteriology, we should unswervingly follow the 
detailed instructions of those whose researches in that field of 
science have made them proficient tutors to guide and direct 
us. 
To those who thoroughly understand the phenomena that 
produce suppuration in wounds and general septic conditions, 
they are not a source of wonderment. To them it is only re¬ 
markable that these conditions do not exist more frequently. 
Hence, I say, that no matter how sound an anatomist, nor how 
skilfull an operator you may be, unless you practice in detail 
the rules of asepsis, when it is possible—which unfortunately 
for us of the veterinary persuasion is not as frequent as we would 
wish—you will fall out of the procession of advancement that 
modern surgery is making. 
The terms sepsis and septic, as has been indicated, includes 
all, or nearly all, the general or local surgical infections caused 
by bacterial invasion. The chemical products of bacteria are 
more the cause of the disorder than they are themselves ; several 
varieties of micro-organisms when they gain entrance to the 
general circulation multiply, and then a general blood infection 
is the result, which frequently proves fatal. With or without 
extensive multiplication of micro-organisms in the blood the sys¬ 
tem may be overwhelmed with bacterial poisons. This condi¬ 
tion is known as acute septicaemia. Localization of pyogenic 
