526 LANCASHIRE VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
Paracentesis thoracis .—In this it is the only method that will justify 
the surgeon or veterinary surgeon’s undertaking the operation. So 
much for Professor Lister’s antiseptic surgery. 1 will now, gentlemen, 
if I have not already trespassed too long on your time and patience, try 
and show you how a modified antiseptic treatment may be adopted with 
advantage in our practice. Wounds, injuries, and operations that are 
followed by certain diseases will depend in a great measure upon the 
state of the system at the time of their infliction, the surrounding cir¬ 
cumstances, and the parts affected. We will first consider castration in 
the horse, which is perhaps the operation, of all others, most liable to be 
followed by peritonitic septicaemia. So far as I am aware, this fact has 
not been published or noted, and it is from personal observation that I 
have come to this conclusion. Perhaps there is not a member of our pro¬ 
fession who has castrated any number of horses that has not been made 
uncomfortable by witnessing the painful symptoms exhibited by some 
unfortunate beast which is suffering from peritonitis, as a sequel of the 
operation he performed some few days previous. Bacteria have un¬ 
doubtedly a preference for exudates from serous membranes. In these 
they rapidly multiply and produce their septic properties. It is not often, 
excepting in castration, that a serous surface and exudate is prepared 
for their reception in our patients, but, whenever it is, the veterinarian 
may not only expect their presence, but their toxic effects, if they or 
their germs are within reach of it. Practical lessons are, as a rule, those 
which speak most forcibly to us; and since I have been studying this 
subject, one that occurred to me some twelve or thirteen years back has 
become plainer, and will serve as a good illustration and proof of my 
argument at the same time. During the early part of my pupilage it was 
my misfortune to cause the death of three out of four calves that I per¬ 
formed the operation of castration upon, with a knife that had been 
used some days before whilst helping to make a post-mortem examination. 
As I was only young and inexperienced, the farmer very kindly put it 
down to that, and, after some little blustering and rather strong language, 
the matter was, fortunately for me, allowed quietly to subside. The real 
cause would have remained a mystery had not my old tutor—Mr. Scho¬ 
field, of Pontefract—shortly afterwards seen me using again my cas¬ 
trating knife to cut some decomposing animal tissue. He knew the 
practical fact that to castrate an animal with an impure knife was followed 
by death. We now know that if we inoculate an animal with septic 
matter whilst performing the operation of castration that it will be fol¬ 
lowed by septiccemic peritonitis, as in the cases just recorded. There was 
another fact demonstrated, that the severity of the disease depends on 
the amount and quality of the inoculation. The first calf operated upon 
was the most rapidly fatal case, whilst the last done was not fatal, and the 
last but one lingered for some time before succumbing. 
That septicsemic peritonitis may follow when pure instruments are 
are used will be best shown by relating to you another case that came 
under my notice a few years back. I operated on a three-year old colt 
belonging to a tanner, and stabled in a box near the tan yard. All went 
well for some time, excepting that there was scirrhus of one cord. This 
was removed in the ordinary way, but was followed by septicaemic 
peritonitis and death. 
That it is not caused by carelessness in operating, as the public gene¬ 
rally suppose, will be proved by the fact that Professor Williams told me 
every colt operated on and kept in proximity to a dissecting room died; 
and when we were students would not operate on a colt in the College 
premises. On account of this we can readily trace the cause of infection 
