LIGATION OF THE CAROTID ARTERY. 
767 
LIGATION OF THE CAROTID ARTERY. 
By E. H. Morris. 
A Paper read before the Montreal Veterinary Medical Association. 
The subject was a two-year-old colt, well-bred, in good 
condition and of a highly nervous temperament. He had 
been tied near an iron picket fence, and in his restiveness tried 
to jump»over it; the hitch rein being still tied, caused him to 
fall on the fence, severely lacerating the deeper tissues of the 
neck at the lower third of the cervical vertebra, causing much 
haemorrhage. I was called to see the colt, but not until after 
every farmer who happened to be present had exhausted all 
his “ sure ” methods of arresting haemorrhage. Some had 
stuffed dried leaves and dirty rags in the wound, others had 
packed coal ashes in it and some had even tied strings around 
the animal’s tail to stop haemorrhage of the carotid. 
When I arrived I found the animal so weak that he could 
hardly stand, and he was easily thrown down by pulling his 
head to one side and twisting it a little. After having care¬ 
fully picked out all the dirt and trash, I washed the wound 
carefully and was able to locate the exact source from which 
the blood was coming. The wound, which was on the right 
side, was about six inches long, running in a longitudinal 
direction through the scalenus muscle, exposing at least four 
inches of the trachea, carotid artery and vagus nerve. On 
observing more closely a torn place in the carotid, about one 
fourth of an inch in length, could easily be seen, from which 
the blood was oozing. 
I had never heard of the carotid being ligated, and at first 
was puzzled to know what was to be done. The first thought 
that struck me was, how was this side of the head and face 
to receive nourishment? The animal was bleeding to death, 
and what was to be done was to be done immediately, as the 
pulse was already imperceptible at the submaxillary artery. 
I applied a strong silk ligature below the wound in the vessel, 
and through fear of this giving way applied another at the 
same place. I also put one beyond the wound, the peripheral 
