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DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
our purpose and therefore in this connection we have only to 
consider the sterilization of the wadding as before mentioned. 
Aseptic wadding or weak antiseptic wadding is the most suita¬ 
ble drainage, for if soaked in a concentrated solution the cau- 
terant effect will retard regeneration. 
Occlusive plasters are useful in veterinary operations to 
clothe wounds on those parts of the body that are not easily 
bandaged, and as they come in close contact with the wound 
they must be regarded as possible carriers of infection. But as 
most of them are antiseptics, there is no great danger from this 
source. The chief ones are :— 
(a) Collodium. 
(b) Tar. 
(c) Lead plasters. 
(d) Rosin and oil mixtures. 
(e) Canada balsam. 
Accidental Wounding Bodies. —Any article that inflicts a 
wound accidentally must be regarded as septic and hence 
wounds thus made must be treated as septic wounds. 
Antiseptics and Antiseptic Solutions are not always inno¬ 
cent articles and perhaps oftener than suspected they are the 
real cause of failure. In order not to injure the textures anti¬ 
septics must not be too concentrated. In fact the concentra¬ 
tion in which they must be used in wounds is not capable of 
destroying all the spores of the organism they contain and 
when injected into the recesses of a wound the liquid of the so¬ 
lution soon evaporates and leaves the organisms to revive and 
exert their pathogenic properties. Therefore often the very 
agent we depend upon to disinfect may prove the real carrier 
of infection. The bottles containing antiseptics must never be 
unnecessarily exposed and the solution must be made from 
clean water and within a scrupulously clean container. 
Cleansing Materials. —The articles used to cleanse the 
wound or operating region are water, soap, pails, syringes, 
sponges, brushes and antiseptic solutions. It is easily seen that 
these articles are not to be overlooked in regard to their infec¬ 
tiousness. The sponges and syringes can be made safe with 
sublimate solution after having been previously boiled. As 
sterilizing the water and container is not always convenient we 
will have to be satisfied with perfect cleanliness. 
Habitat op the Patient. —As the wounds of our patients 
often come in contact with the stall, litter, soil of the pasture, 
etc., it is readily seen the infection from this source must be of 
