The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1903-01-15
GRESS In VETBRINAN SCIENCE,

GRESS In VETERINAN SCIENCE.
The following is the annual address
vered this week before the Iowa
terinary A association at Cedar Rap.
by DR.. j. L. Gibson of Denison
esident of the Association.
Mr.. Vice-President, officers and
,mbers of the Iowa State Veterinary
sdical Associations:
greet you at this fifteenth annual
seting and wish you all the compli-
ents of the season.
AS each new year in the history OF
lr Association is ushered in it brings
us and our profession new obliga-
ms and greater RESPONSIBILITIES. We
re in an age of wonderful progress.
lie world is rapidly growing brighter
I'D better. New methods are con-
stantly coming in vogue in all CONNER
cial and professional pursuits. We
discard many of the best methods of
our fathers as worthless or impracti.
cable. In this double quick onward
march of twentieth century civiliza.
tion I trust our profession may always
be found occupying position in the
foremost ranks.
THE PAST AND PRESENT.
1t is amusing as we'll as instructive
to compare the conditions of fifty years
ago with those of the present time.
How ridiculous some of the methods
of those times appear when viewed in
the light of the present. Few if any
of the live stock owners of today would
permit veterinarian to apply the
plank aud sledge hammer treatment to
case of "lock-jaw" or the gimlet and
turpentine to case of ''hollow. horn
or the knife and pepper and salt to a
case of wolf in the tail", or to intro
dnce in the mouth of ruminanta pork
rind or other artificial cud to relieve
the patient and re-instate the sus-
pended process of Illumination. And
ret the older citizens recall the time
when the above mentioned methods
7ere very generally practiced. Now
days the owner of live stock requires
veterinarian better medical and
ool treatment of his animals than
dical profession was qualified to
, upon his grandfather. The
ond g ~otr lxod n ~ ,,,,o1 80
res much more humane and
G treatment than did his coars-
ncestors. The breeder of to.
ssess IS much larger fund of
dge colseerning the principles
sding and feeding than did bis
Urinary medicine and surgery
made wonderful progress in the
past fifty years The medical profess
sion has made, might say, greater
advancement in the past fifty years
than our profession. 1t seems almost
incredible, but is nevertheless fact
that the asepsis and the use of antisep-
stood by the medical profession of fifty
We go. The army surgeons during
tn ,of the rebellion Used solution
OF assium permanganate for the
al ng and healing of wounds and
an apparent aid to the healing
but they did not know how or
was Some of them were par.
TO have and use clean instru-
from natural tendency to
illness, whilst none CT them knew
,derstood the necessity for or the
~ Dry of sterilization of hands, instru-
ments and all appliances and surround
ings in order that good results might
attend all their efforts.in surgery. They
looked upon supuration and slough
ing as indications of healthy progress
In all wounds, but today if supuration
follows surgical interference it is at
once positive evidence of septic infec-
tion and lack of sterilization and is in.
verbally charged 70 the negligence or
carelessness of the operating surgeon
or his assistants.
Aseptic results may De, and frequent
ly are attained at the present time in
veterinary surgery Notwithstanding
the fact that the surroundings favor
the infection of all wounds n our pa.
tients, but fifty years ago such results
were accidental in connection with
human surgery and entirely beyond
the conception of animal surgery.
The older surgeons of today tell us
they distinctly remember how their
professors warned them against enter.
ing the peritoneal cavity, with the as
surance that it meant almost certain
death to the patient. but these same
surgeons have found it necessary
scores and hundreds of times to ignore
the teachings of their college days and
have in so doing saved many lives that
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