796 
G. A. JOHNSON. 
From a physiological view point there is no material differ¬ 
ence in the phenomena that take place when a wound is 
immediately closed and normal relations are resumed in a few 
days, without the formation of pus, and in one that remains 
open and pus is formed. The difference is one of degree rather 
than of kind. 
From a pathological view point there are two classes of 
wounds : aseptic and infected. Surgeons of the human school 
are quite generally agreed to use the pathological classification, 
whereby all wounds are considered to heal by primary or sec¬ 
ondary intention. That is, all aseptic wounds are said to heal 
by first intention, primary or immediate union, no matter how 
much time may be required for the completion of the process 
of repair provided it is accomplished without the formation of pus, 
while all infected wounds, that is, wounds where the process of re¬ 
pair is accompanied by the formation of pus, are said to heal by 
secondary intention or granulation. But from a clinical view point 
are not veterinarians justified in dividing class one into two sub¬ 
divisions, thereby having three classes of wound repair ? Thus, 
m class one we would have healing by first intention, primary 
or immediate union, where the aseptic parts are brought into 
close apposition and the normal functions are resumed in a few 
days. In class two, or healing by secondary intention, where 
the parts of an aseptic wound cannot be brought or kept in 
close coaptation, but where the process of repair is carried 
to completion without the formation of pus ; and class three, 
or union by granulation, where the process of repair is accom¬ 
panied by the formation of pus. Thus we would have two 
classes of repair in aseptic wounds and one class in infected 
wounds. 
While this classification is purely an arbitrary one, I believe 
its retention will give lucidity, hence its use in this paper. 
It. should be the desire of every surgeon to have all of his 
cases recover as rapidly and with as little inconvenience to his 
patient or its owner as possible ; that is, to have all of his 
operations terminate by primary union when possible. 
