DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
289 
tion follows the abscess should be opened as early as possible. 
When the inflammatory enlargement is not too extensive, it is 
usually reabsorbed ; but occasionally, when the inflammation 
has subsided, a fluctuating mass remains, and it is almost impos¬ 
sible to determine whether this is hernia, abscess or a hsematoma. 
If in such instances a positive diagnosis cannot be made by 
manipulation, an exploratory puncture, made with aseptic 
precaution, will reveal the true condition. 
Abscesses and hsematomata should be opened and treated as 
wounds requiring drainage (Vol. XXIII, No. 12, Surg. Dept.). 
Hernise resulting from the injuries in question may be treated 
by either the palliative or radical method. In some instances 
these hernise are cured by the cicatricial process ; but when of 
long standing they should be treated by either of the above 
mentioned methods. 
II. Wounds of the Abdomen .—Wounds in the abdomen, 
varying from a simple abrasion of the skin to a complete open¬ 
ing of the abdominal cavity, are conditions which the veterina¬ 
rian may expect to encounter occasionally. These wounds, 
even though they may appear very insignificant, are often very 
troublesome, and followed by undesirable sequelae if not treated 
surgically and antiseptically. The danger of intestinal protru¬ 
sion ; the extension of fistulse between the muscles or fascias ; 
the formation of multiple abscesses ; and the subsequent appear¬ 
ance of peritonitis, are all conditions that are likely to follow 
abdominal wounds. 
If an abdominal wound in a large herbivorous animal is 
large enough to allow part of the viscera to pass through the 
opening in the anatomical structures of the abdominal walls 
caused by the wound, the task of cleansing the prolapse without 
inflicting additional injury ; of returning the prolapsed portion 
of the viscera without introducing foreign and septic material 
into the cavity; of retaining the part prolapsed in the cavity 
when returned into it until the continuity of the anatomical 
structures divided by the wound is restored ; of adopting means 
of keeping the patient quiet; and of preventing him from 
interfering with the sutures or retarding the reparatory process 
in any manner, is not an easy one. 
The formation of fistulse in the abdominal walls is a com¬ 
mon result following abdominal wounds in herbivora ; due to 
the peculiar anatomical structure of the walls ; the skin, the 
pannicnlus carnosus, the tunica abdominalis, the external and 
internal oblique, the rectus and transverse muscles with their 
