Veterinary Post-Mortem Technic

Abstract

A BOOK of this type has long been needed to fill a gap in veterinary literature. So far as we are aware, there has previously been no work detailing in a systematic manner the making of postmortem examinations on the lower animals, and, consequently, reports of autopsies have been lacking in uniformity, and often the most important features have been omitted or insufficiently emphasised owing to the lack of system. Prof. Crocker's book will go far to remedy that state of affairs, and should be in the hands of all students and most practitioners of veterinary pathology. As might be expected, there are several minor points with which we are not in entire agreement. For example, it is suggested that in the case of a small animal suspected of rabies the head severed from the body as close to the trunk as possible should be dispatched to the laboratory for examination. In our opinion it would be far better to send the whole body without mutilation—the extra weight of a small animal is of no importance. The author recommends the use of Müller's fluid for preserving tissues; it would have been better if the formula had been included. He also recommends the use of slat platforms to be used on the floor of the autopsy room. Wood, however, is not an ideal material for use under these conditions, owing to the difficulty of dis infection, which can be properly carried out only by burning, thus causing continual expense. With regard to the examination of the various organs, we are of opinion that insufficient attention is paid to the examination of the various lymphatic glands, which are of paramount importance in post-mortem examinations in numerous affections.

Veterinary Post-Mortem Technic.

By Prof. W. J. Crocker. Pp. xiv + 233. (Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1918.) Price 16s. net.