The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-11-15
PROGRESS IN VETERINARY.
HORSES WITH GLASS EYES AND
cows WITH WOODEN LEGS.
Dogs DOctOred Like Men-SurEicaI
Methods with Brutes-DRngcr i'm
AnnesthetIcs-An Interesting study
of Animals.

Occasionally something is said about
well-equipped hospitals for horses, where
all ills that affect the equine species re-
ceive intelligent and successful atten-
tion. 1t sounds strange sometimes, and
approaches suspiciousy near the meth
DDS and management Of men who oper-
ate exclusively upon their fellows
News is given of this or that valua-
BILE animal having his teeth filled, or
perhaps. having glass eye put in to
replace a damaged optic which has
passed its day.
a dog has something the matter with
his ear and can't hear well he
used to. but that's a small difficulty, for
there are specialists who overcome it
| quite as cleverIy as their fellows who
put NJ. d. after their name. Now we
hear of a horse with a broken skull
| 1t is trephined at once and a silver
plate screwed into the bones Of the head
makes the beast more interesting and
| fully as valuable as before he was under
the knives and instruments of the sur
! geon.
The surgeons dealing with a brute,
| too, is merciful as it must be with
| a man. 1t is possible to strap dumb
|
knife. but it is seldom done, and in
every instance where a painful operation
! is performed anaesthetics are admins
/ tered. Members of the medical frater-
nifty know the danger in the use of
anaesthetics, but they do not know
| them the veterinary surgeon does
| In their use on brutes the greatest care
must be taken, 1t is sometimes very
serious matter to restore a man under
| such circumstances by artificial respira-
| ton, but to do so with a horse is
physical impossibility. The bulk of the
animal is too great. Still anaesthetics
! are used, and almost always with sue
| cess. In many operations il is possible
TO use only local anaesthetic. 1t is
/ not many years since the medical pro-
! fession received a boon in cocaine, and
| that drug has been called into play for
! the relief of animals lower in the scale
| than man.
Horses, like men. fequently become
| nervous and Respondent, and both are
! factious when an endeavor is made to
| perform an operation under such cOndi-
! tons. In the horse a local anaesthetic
| Is used. Frequently ii is a spray OF
| ether, again excessively cold water or
hypodermic injection Of cocaine. In
most cases the result is gratifying
| But sometimes a general anaesthetic
| must be given. The sensibility Of the
| animal must be completely destroyed
| and chloroform or ether or a mixture
| of both is used. The great animal in
| a few moments is utterly inSpnSible TO
| pain. On dog it is impossible to use
! ether, as the animals heart will not
| stand it. Chloroform, however, does not
act in that way
When the animal is under the inhu-
| ence OF an anaesthetic almost any op-
| GRAFTON known to medical science may
be performed. Following the natural
course OF events and on the road to
! the greatest utility, surgery has at
! tracted greatly more attention than
| medicine. There is as in the medical
! profession. less of experiment in it. 1t
] is definite. and when the surgeon be-
| gins with his knife he knows just what
he is about to do.
Broken limbs and bones now form
| subjects of almost daily treatment
| There are splints of iron, bandages and
! lotions and all sorts of appliances to
mend the fracture and prevent the ami
| NAL from injuring itself. Squirrels cats,
! dogs cows, monkeys and almost every
! animal which has a limb to break can
| have it put together again. The scenes
in veterinary hospital are often very
| curious.
1t frequently happens that a horse
! so fractures his leg that it is impossi-
| BILE to repair it. There is no course open
| but amputatiOn. That plan is adopted
! and a wooden leg takes the place of
| that Of flesh and bone Such an opera
! ton costs a great deal and is only
| made when the value of the animal
I warrants il. horse which NAV have
cost it's owner thousands of dollars
! may be quite valuable with three
| legs as with four, if a fourth limb of
wood may be secured. The joint in
| the leg forms no serious obstacle and
| can be provided for in the artificial
| limb. The animal may be a little the
| worse for wear, but with his wooden
| leg will still be in the field. The same
| operation has been performed on val
liable COWS. A monkey on crutches,
| however, is still an ideal for the veter-
/ mary artist
| Dentistry is now, so rapid has been the
| march of progress in veterinary work, a
| special field to which men exclusively
| devote their energies. Specialization on
many lines has already begun. and no
| evidence could be more conclusive that
| the field is already a broad one. The
| time is not distant when each of the
| more important animals will be the sub
! ject of special study and treatment.
One of the most extraordinary opera
| lions performed by a veterinary surgeon
| is the removal of a horses eye and the
! placing of an artificial one in it's place
| One hardly expects to hear Of such an
| operation in connection with an animal,
| but 1t has been done in New York and
| very successfully. During that operation
L "
| applied. When a search for an artificial
| eve was made il was discovered that
| none was to be had in this country and
| the necessary optic had to be bought in
| Sweden.
| 1t is a common thing for a veterinary
| surgeon to remove a cataract from an
| animals eye. This affliction, which eff
| fectually blinds the animal is common,
! little protection being afforded the eyes.
| Not long ago horses so afflicted had TO
| remain blind, but now the removal of a
| cataract from a horses eye is no more
| difficult than and quite as frequent as
| from the eye of a human being
| One of the most curious operations
| performed on a horse is that of tapping
| it. The animal frequently suffers from
| internal gases which swell il out to a
| great size. The only way is to pune
ture it and allow the gas to escape. This
| is done by a peculiar instrument en-
| cased in a sheath. 1t is plunged-sheath
| and knife-intO the animals sdie The
| knife is then drawn out. 1t is so ar
ranged that the point of the knife is UNI
| covered. and when it is removed pas
sage is left for the gas to escape. AS the
/ gas leaves the horses body a match is
| applied, and for ten minutes-sometimes
| as long as fifteen and twenty minutes
| the flame burns
| Perhaps the most dangerous of all
! the domestic animals when il is sick
| is the dog. The gentlest will be the
most likely and the quickest to bite. and
| performing no operation i'm which an
| anesthetic is not used without first
| muzzling the patient.
| In endurance the cow is Derbans tho