PRACTICAL ANTISEPSIS IN SURGERY. 
799 
with some crude creolin, then wash them, seeing- that the 
nails are well cleaned, then wash with a i per cent, solution of 
formalin. 
(6) The operation, including haemostasis. 
(7) Dressing the wound, remove all blood clots, shreds 
of tissue and stop seeping as much as possible by gently 
wiping with pledgets of cotton or gauze. The further 
dressing depends very largely upon the location or character of 
the wound. If the wound is such that the parts can be brought 
into close apposition and retained thus, I put into the cavity a 
limited quantity of some non-irritating, prohibitive antiseptic, 
as boracic acid or iodoform, that will not interfere with immed¬ 
iate union, but that will have a tendency to arrest the develop¬ 
ment of any germs that may have accidentally found lodgment 
in the wound. Then fix the parts by means of aseptic sutures, 
cover the parts with some of the same or similar powder as used 
in the wound and over this apply a quantity of gauze or ab¬ 
sorbent cotton, upon which has been applied a goodlv quantity 
of a similar powder, and retain this in place with bandages. 
If the wound is such that the parts cannot be brought into 
apposition or be kept so, but where the edges of the skin may 
be brought together, fill the cavity thus formed with a non¬ 
irritating antiseptic powder and suture the skin, and if practi¬ 
cal, apply a protective dressing of gauze and bandages. 
But if the gauze and bandages cannot be applied, a coating 
of antiseptic collodion or wound gelatin may be applied over 
the wound. 
Remove the dressing and sutures as soon as there is any 
evidence of the sutures giving way or that the wound has 
become infected ; cleanse the wound and repeat the treatment 
as at first. 
To illustrate, I will cite the treatment of a case of scirrhous 
cord in a horse. The horse having been dieted for a couple of 
days was cast and operated upon under chloroform anaesthesia 
with antiseptic precautions, as above outlined. An egg-shaped 
tumor about 6 inches long by 4 inches in diameter was 
