DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
367 
haemorrhage must be arrested ; large blood vessels ligated and 
capillary haemorrhage checked by irrigating the wound with 
either hot or cold water before applying stitches or dressings. If 
it be necessary to cast the animal to ligate blood vessels, irrigate 
the wouud, apply sutures or adjust dressings, special care must 
be taken not to injure or infect the wound, cause a prolapse and 
to protect it should one accidentally appear. In some cases it may 
be necessary to apply a temporary dressing to prevent additional 
injury. The administration of an anaesthetic may be necessary 
to keep the patient quiet while the wound is being repaired 
and the dressings adjusted. If the wound is large the perito¬ 
neum should be sutured with catgut and the muscles and skin 
with strong silk or linen thread. Quilled sutures may be used 
for the muscles and skin. The dressings may be oakum, cot¬ 
ton, or wool properly sterilized and held in position by impro¬ 
vised means. After the dressings have been adjusted the 
patient should be kept quiet until the wound is healed. If 
there is no marked elevation of temperature the dressing 
should not be removed until the sixth or seventh day, except¬ 
ing when it becomes soiled or saturated with discharges from 
the wound 
Food should be given in small quantities and be nutritious 
and digestible. Water also must be given often and in small 
quantities. 
If it becomes necessary to remove the dressings the wound 
should be irrigated and washed with antiseptics, but if no sign 
of sepsis is noticed it should be irrigated with sterile water only. 
There is but little danger of infection after the third or fourth 
day. 
Abdominal Wounds with Prolapse of Viscera .—Abdominal 
wounds of this character are very dangerous generally in herbi- 
vora, but less so in carnivora; but a prolapse in the viscus in 
either is usually considered a serious complication. The pro¬ 
trusion of any part of the anatomical structures or organs con¬ 
tained in the abdominal cavity would not be more serious than 
a penetrating wound without a prolapse, were it not for the 
danger of introducing septic products into the cavity in return¬ 
ing the prolapse, and for the difficulty of retaining its position 
when returned. In herbivorous animals a prolapse of the small 
intestines is more dangerous than that of any other part of the 
contents of the cavity, but in carnivora, however, one is as easily 
returned and retained in place as the other. In some cases 
when an omentum protrudes it may become ruptured or some 
