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which it usually does in the course of ten to sixty minutes.
In some rare cases, bleeding from the socket of a tooth con-
tinues for several hours, and in some instances, becomes
alarming to the patient, and even dangerous ; and our as-
sistance is asked for to arrest the haemorrhage. In general,
all that is necessary to be done is to take a lock of cotton
dipped in some astringent or stimulating liquor and applied
so as to completely fill up the cavity from which the tooth
was extracted, and then lay on more cotton, until it rises
above the line of the other teeth, so that the patient, by clos-
ing his mouth, will press the cotton hard upon the bleeding
surface or vessel. By adopting this measure we shall rarely
fail in stopping the haemorrhage at once. The cotton which
we apply to the wound may be dipped in the tincture of
galls, a solution of sulphate of copper, or in a tincture from
brandy, myrrh and galls, or in brandy alone, or in spirits of
turpentine, or some diluted acids. In some rare cases a
strong solution of the argentum nitratum may be used, or
the wound may be brushed over with a pencil of the caus-
tic. In some cases the actual cautery. In some cases the
cotton dipped in diluted acids, &c. has been used ; but rare-
ly, if ever, will the surgeon fail in stopping the haemorrhage
by the use of the cotton dipped in some of the preparations
before mentioned, and applied so as be pressed firmly upon
the bleeding vessel. We never need hesitate to extract any
tooth on account of haemorrhage, which may follow ; as, in
the first place, haemorrhage very rarely occurs, and when it
does, we can immediately stop it by the means before men-
tioned.
In some instances fatal haemorrhages have followed ex-
traction of a tooth, but these cases have usually been found
complicated with some peculiarity of constitution—these are
very rarely witnessed. In addition to what I have already