To force the fleam into the vein, one employed a bloodstick, a stick 35-38 cm long and 2 cm in diameter. The blade was held against the vein and a blow was given to the back of the blade with the stick in such a way that the fleam penetrated but did not go through the vein. Immediately the fleam was removed and a jet of blood came forth that was caught and measured in a container. When enough blood had been collected, a needle would be placed in the vein to stop the bleeding. Horses were most frequently bled from the jugular vein in the neck, but also from veins in the thigh, the fold at the junction of breast and forelegs, the spur, the foreleg, the palate, and the toe. Since applying the bloodstick required a degree of skill, the Germans attempted to eliminate its use by adapting the spring lancet to veterinary medicine. The common veterinary spring lancet (which sometimes was also called a "fleam" or "phleme") was nothing but an oversized version of the brass, nob end spring lancet used on humans. Sometimes the lancet was provided with a blade guard that served to regulate the amount of blade that penetrated the skin. Although the veterinary spring lancet was quite popular in some quarters, the French preferred the simple foldout fleam as a more convenient instrument.[198] (Figure 22.) [Illustration: FIGURE 22.--Knob end spring lancet used on humans compared to a knob end lancet used on horses and cattle. Note the blade guard on the veterinary spring lancet. (NMHT 302606.09 and NMHT 218383 [M-9256]: SI photo 76-7757.)] In contrast to the few attempts made to modify the human spring lancet, there were a large number of attempts to modify the veterinary spring lancets. Veterinary spring lancets can be found with a wide assortment of shapes and a wide variety of spring mechanisms. In the enlarged knob end spring lancet, pushing upon the lever release simply sent the blade forward into the skin. By a more complex mechanism, the blade could be made to return after it was injected, or the blade could be made to sweep out a curve as do the blades of the scarificator. Perhaps one of the earliest attempts to introduce a more complex internal mechanism into the veterinary spring lancets is found in John Weiss's "patent horse phlemes" of 1828. The first model invented by Weiss was constructed on the principle of the common fleam and bloodstick. As in the knob end spring lancet, the spring acted as a hammer to drive the blade forward. In a second improved "horse phleme," Weiss mounted the blade on a pivot so that the blade swept out a semicircle when the spring was released.[199]