THE HORSE "S'TKEATMENT'M alf|p i. 1. Bill ^Xtbrarg 1 r\Kil^3S'l'' ^^^SS^^x North (Harolina &tatp Imnpraitg SF285 A8 V.4 The HORSEMAN'S BOOK Shop Old-fijoAs and Tbuv SooUa 122 NORTH CHICAGO AVE. FREEPORT, ILL. This book is due on the date indicated below and is subject to an overdue fine as posted at the Circulation Desk. THE HORSE ITS TREATMENT IN HEALTH AND DISEASE Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2009 with funding from NCSU Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/horseitstreatm04axej FARCY THE HORSE ITS TREATMENT IN HEALTH AND DISEASE WITH A COMPLETE GUIDE TO BREEDING TRAINING AND MANAGEMENT Edited by Prof. J. WORTLEY AXE, m.r.c.v.s. Ex-Prcsident of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Late Lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College, and at the Agricultural Colleges of Dounton and Wye Chief Veterinary Inspector to the Surrey County Council Consulting Veterinary Surgeon to the British Dairy Farmers' Association Author of "The Mare and Foal" "Abortion in Cattle" "Anthrax in Farm Stock" " Examination of Horses as to Soundness" " Glanders, its Spread and Suppression " " Swine Fever' " Lithotomy or the Removal of Stone from the Bladder of the Horse" DIVISIONAL VOLUME IV LONDON THE GRESHAM PUBLISHING COMPANY 34 SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND COxNTENTS DIVISIONAL-VOLUME IV Section IV,— HEALTH AND DISEASE (Continued) 7. The Organs of Respiration {continued) — Diseases of the Lungs — Page Bronchitis ----------- 1 Chronic Bronchitis - --..-..- 4 Congestion of the Lungs --------- 5 Inflammation of the Lungs, Pneumonia ------ 7 Bleeding from the Lungs — Haemoptysis ------ 10 Asthma ------------11 Emphysema of the Lungs — Broke!i Wind - - - - - - 12 Pleurisy, Pleuritis ----- ----- 14 Spasm of the Larynx - . - - 17 Cough -------- 18 High Blowing 19 8. Constitutional Diseases — Rheumatism 20 Lymphangitis — Weed - - - - 22 Purpura Hemorrhagica 24 H.emo-Globinuria 26 9. Contagious Diseases — Influenza of Horse 31 Contagious Pneumonia 33 CONTENTS Page Glandeiss and Farcy - - - - 33 Precautions to be taken to prevent the spreading of Glanders - - 37 Use of .Mallcin in the Detection of Glanders 38 Strangles of thk Horse 39 Anthrax of the Horse 41 Horse-pox 43 Gloss-Anthrax 43 Rabies of the Horse - - 44 Tetanus of the Horse ..-..-.-. 45 Stomatitis Pustulosa Contagiosa 49 Tuberculosis of the Horse - - 50 Dourine (Maladie du Coit) 52 South African Horse Sickness 53 Epizootic Lymphangitis ...... 59 10. The Organs of Reproduction — Anatomy of the Male Organs of Generation . ... 65 Coverings of the Testicle --------- 65 The Inguinal Canal ------- - - 65 Testis ._...---.--- 65 Tunica Albuginea ---------- 66 Gland Substance - 66 Spermatic Cord ---------- 67 The Scrotum ----------- 67 Vesiculaj Seminales - - - - - 68 The Penis ------- 69 Corpus Spongiosum - - - 70 The Prepuce - - - - , 70 "Urethra ------------ 71 Openings into the Urethra - - - 71 Muscles of the Urethra 72 The Accelerator Urinse -------- 72 Wilson's JNluscle - - - - - 73 Muscles of the Penis --- 73 Erector Penis - 73 Retractor T'enis ---------- 73 Anatomy of the Female Organs of Generation - - - - 73 Uterus 76 The Ovary 78 The Ovum 79 CONTENTS V Diseases of the Organs ok Hki-koduction of the House - - 80 Phymosis, or Hnclosiiic^ of tlio i'enis 81 Paraphyniosis ----....... g-j (Edema of the Sheath --.---... 83 Paralysis of the Penis 85 Amputation of the Penis - - - 85 Orchitis, or Intiamniation of the Testicles - 86 Diseases of the Oiujans of Eeproduction in the Female - - 87 Uterine Hemorrhage or Flooding ------- 87 Inflammation of the Womb 89 Vaginitis ------...-.. gj Leucorrhci-a --92 Mammitis 93 Parturient Fever ----.-..,. 97 Inversion of the Uterus - - - - - - - - - 100 Cystic Disease of the Ovary 102 11. The Eve- Anatomy OF the Eye - - - 103 The Choroid Tunic - - 105 The Ciliary Processes - - - 106 The Iris ----.-.--... jqG The Retina ---... 107 The Humours of the Eye - - - - - - . - - 107 The Lens - . . . . ]08 The Vitreous Humour 108 Diseases of the Eye and its Appendages 109 Examination of the Eyes 109 Diseases of the Eyelids - - Ill Laceration of the Eyelids - -112 Entropium and Ectropium 112 Diseases of the Lachrymal Apparatus - - - - - 114 Diseases of the Conjunctiva and Cornea 114 Simple Ophthalmia ■ - - 114 Inflammation of the Cornea, " Keratitis " - - - - - 115 Periodic or Recurrent Ophthalmia - - - - - 116 Cutaneous-Piliferous Growth from the Cornea - - - - 118 Cataract -------..._ ng Disease of the Optic Nerve — Amaurosis 122 Glaucoma ------- 123 12. The Skin (Integument) and ns Append.\ges — Cuticle ..-.-. I24 Cutis or Dehma - - 126 Glands of the Skin - - - 126 CONTENTS Page Uses of the Skin 127 Skin as a Protective Covering - - - 127 Skin as an Organ of Touch - - 127 Skin as an Organ of Absorption 12.S Skin as an Organ of Secretion - I'M) Sebaceous Secretion - - - - 131 Appendages of the Skin 131 Hair ------------ 131 Horn - - - 132 Diseases of the Skin - - - - 134 Classification -.---------134 General Observations on the Subject of Diagnosis and Treatment - 1 35 Diagnosis ------------ 136 Erythema - 136 Wheals - . - - . i;?6 Papules ----- 137 Vesicles - - - - - - - - - - -137 Pustules - 137 Squamai - -137 Tubercula -----------137 Ulcers ------------ 137 Excoriations - - - 137 Etiology - - __ - - - 138 Prognosis ------------ 139 The Principles of Treatment - - - - - - - - 140 Eruptions of the Acute Specific Diseases - - - - - - 1 40 Variola Equina or Horse- Pox - - 140 American Horse-pox - - - - - - - - - 142 Eruptions due to the Contact of Irritating Agents, or to the Circula- tion of Specific Poisons in the Blood 142 Local Inflammations - - - - - - - - -143 Erythema - - - 144 Purpura - 145 Urticaria - - - - - - - - - - - 145 Catarrhal Inflammation - - - - - - - - - 146 Eczema -----------146 Plastic Inflammations - - - 148 Lichen - - - - - -148 Prurigo - -149 Bullous Inflammation - - - - - - --149 Herpes - 149 Suppurative Inflammations - - - - - - - 150 Ecthyma - - - 150 Squamous Inflammations - - - - - ■ - - 152 Pityriasis - - 152 Psoriasis - - ■ - 152 Ichthyosis - - - - 153 CONTENTS i Page Hypertrophies and Atrophies - - - - - - - - 154 Hypertrophies — Verruca; — Fibroma ...... 154 Atrophies - 155 New Formations - - - - 156 Hemorrhages 156 Neuroses 156 Mallenders and Sallanders 157 Hemophilia, Haemorrhagic Diathesis, Bleeders 158 13. Parasitic Diseases of the Horse - - 159 ILLUSTRATIONS DIVISIONAL -VOLUME IV FULL-PAGE PLATES TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS Page Farcy (colour) • - Frontispiece Purpura Hemorrhagica . . - . . _ ... 24 Glanders {colour) .... 34 Horse-pox, Tuberculosis, and Endocarditis {colour) ----- 43 Stomatitis Pustulosa {colour) --------- 49 Epizootic Lymphangitis (colour) --------- 60 The Descent of the Testicles --------- 65 Diseases of the Male Organs of Reproduction ... - - 82 Embolism of Lung and Variolous Eruption (colour)- - . . - 140 Page Tapping the Chest - - - - 16 Lymphangitis ----- 23 Horse suffering from Hsemo-gloliinuria 26 Cells of Liver of Horse afTected with Hwmo-globinuria - - - - 29 Section of Kidney of Horse affected with H;emo-globinuria - - - 30 Bacillus mallei ----- 34 Inoculating with .Mallein - - - 38 .Mallein Syringe ----- 39 Steaming for Strangles - - - 40 Poulticing for Strangles - - - 41 Bacillus anthracis - - - - 42 Bacillus tetani ----- 46 Tetanus - - - - - -47 Bacillus of Tuberculosis - - - 51 Bacillus of Epizootic Lymphangitis - 59 Page Section of Testis showing the arrange- ment of the Ducts composing the Testicle - - - - - - 66 Constituents of Spermatic Cord - - 67 View of the Male Genital and Urinary Apparatus ----- 68 The Penis ------ 69 Suspensory Ligament of Penis - - 72 View of the Genito-urinarj' Organs of the Mare ----- 74 Female Organs of Generation - - 75 Uteri with Short and Long Necks - 76 Fallopian Tube connecting the Uterus with the Ovary - - - . 78 The Ovary - - - . . 79 The Ovum - - - . . 79 Orchitis — Testicle suspended - - 86 ILLUSTRATIONS Page The Vagiiicascope - - - - 93 Teat-Syphon ----- 96 Inversion of the Uterus - - - 100 Cystic Ovary 103 Muscles of the Eyeball - - - 104 Section of Eye ----- 104 The Choroid Tunic - - - - 105 Interior View of the Eye - - - 106 Pupil dilated 106 Pupil contracted - - - - 106 Microscopic Section of the Retina, Choroid, and Part of the Sclerotic - 107 The Eye, showing the Lachrymal Gland - 108 Examination of the Eye (a, the Haw) - 1 10 Fundus of the Eye - - - - Entropium or In-turned Eyelid - Eetropium or Everted P]yelid Ectropium or Everted Eyelid (Front View) Opacity of Cornea . . - _ Staphyloma ..... 110 113 113 113 115 115 Pane Recurrent Ophthalmia - - 111) Cutaneous-Piliferous Growth from the Cornea - - - - - - 118 Cataract - - - - - - 1 1 9 Capsular and Lenticular Cataracts - 1 20 Microscopic Section of the Cuticle or Epidermis - - - - - 124 Simple and Compound PapilL-e of the Skin - - - - - - 125 Section of Skin, showing Glands, and Hair Follicles 126 Section of Hair Follicle - - - 132 Lameike of Horn - - - - 133 Transverse Section of Horn - - 133 Longitudinal Section of Horn - - 133 Urticaria - - - - - - 146 Eczema - 147 Contagious Ecthyma, or American Boil 151 Ichthyosis - 153 Section of Wart - - - - - 1 55 Sallanders - - - - - - 157 Mallenders - - - - - 157 Section IV.-HEALTH AND DISEASE-con^m«.c^ T. THE ORGANS OF RESPIRATION-Con^m«ecZ DISEASES OF THE LUNGS General Considerations. — Under this geueml term are included the disorders atfectiug the bronchial tubes, the lung tissue itself, and its investing membrane — the pleura. Although the diseases are considered separately and receive special names, they are frec[uently found to exist together. Nevertheless, it is common to find one particular structure so prominently affected as to warrant the use of a name identifying the disease. A compromise in nomenclature, where two principal structures are at the same time affected, may be found in such terms as broncho- pneumonia, pleuro-pneumonia, &c., at one time in exclusive use by the professions, but now generally understood by the public, who are familiarized in great part with medical terms through reading in the lay press accounts of the illnesses of eminent persons. BRONCHITIS Definition. — Bronchitis is an inflamed condition of the mucous mem- brane lining the bronchial tubes. It may occur as a primary disorder in which the larger bronchi are chiefly involved, or it may follow upon or complicate other diseases. Two forms of the malady are recognized — one sharp and of brief duration, known as acute bronchitis, and the other less severe but protracted, termed chronic. Causes. — The predisposing causes are weakness, old age, and damp, cold stables. A previous attack and the exhausting influence of other diseases also inci'ease the liability to a second seizure. Young horses in close stables are more subject to it than other's, if we except the worn-out. -2 HEALTH AND DISEASE and exhausted. The disease may also be excited by the accidental intro- duction of medicinal agents into the air -passages while administering draughts, exposure to easterly or north-easterly winds after exertion or fatigue, or it may complicate an attack of influenza or strangles, or arise out of an extension of inflammation from the larynx. Symptoms. — As a rule, but with notable exceptions, bronchitis cfim- mences with shivering and the symptoms of a common cold; the first thing noted may be a cough and a rattling sound in breathing that in very marked cases can be heard at some distance. The breathing is somewhat quickened, the temperature raised, the appetite indifferent, and a general listlessness is observed as well as disinclination to movement. The pulse is increased in number and diminished in force, the ears and legs vary in temperature, being sometimes cold, sometimes warm. Thirst, too, is often noticed in the commencement of the disease. With the progress of the malady the cough occurs in paroxysms at frequent short intervals, and gives rise to very great distress. When the larger bronchi are chiefly affected it is louder and harsher than is the case when the small ramificatious of the tubes become involved. Auscultation is here of much assistance, as l)y placing the ear on the chest at various points the peculiar sounds emitted will afford information as to the state and progress of the disease. AVhere the large bronchi are only or chiefly affected, a coarse, rough, or rattling- sound will be heard plainly in the front and upper part of the chest; but if the smaller tubes are affected it may also be detected in a modified form by listening behind the shoulder-blade. Here the sound emitted is harsh as compared with normal breathing, and mixed up with it is a coarse or fine crepitation or crackling. The loud, harsh cough presently gives way to a softer one, attended with more or less copious expectoration of mucus, Avhich varies considerably in thickness and tenacity. In these circumstances the chest sounds are quite altered, and the ear detects bubbling and wheezing in the tubes as the air passes through the accumu- lated matter within them. The patient's prospects of recovery would appear to depend largely upon the viscidity or otherwise of this matter and its possibility of removal. Treatment. — It is important that remedial measures should be applied early, but too often the disease has gained a fii-m hold of the animal before professional assistance is called in or the gravity of the case is recognized. The severity of an attack may be mitigated by bold doses of anodynes, as chloral and iodide of potassium, with stimulants; but the disease, when fullv established, cannot be cut short l)y any drastic measures, and the symptoms must be combated, the animal's strength maintained, and his general comfort attended to. The temperature of the stalile should be DISEASES OF THE LUNGS 3 kept up to about 55 Falir., and outside it a eonvenieiit place may be chosen to keep water boiling so that a pail or two of hot water may be brought into the stable to keep the air moist. The legs should be bandaged and tlie liody warmly, but not heavily, clothed, a hood forming part of the suit worn. If the throat shows signs of soreness, counter -irritation should Ije applied to it and along the front of the neck to the breast, and if the chest trouble is severe, an application of turpentine liniment to the chest- walls will be desirable. Mustard should not be chosen for this purpose, as the pungent, irritating vapour given off from it while on the skin provokes coughing and tends to add to existing distress. Although we cannot induce the horse to expectorate in the ordinary sense of the word, yet we adopt those agents known as expectorants to facilitate the removal of mucus from the tubes, where its presence is causing so much annoyance. Electuaries of belladonna, in combination with camphor and ipecacuanha, or tartarized antimony, will be preferred, and especially where sore throat precludes the administration of draughts; but if these cannot be given without distress to the patient, other remedies of a nature too volatile to enter into an electuary may be cho.sen. Of these, compound tincture of camphor (paregoric elixir), chlorodyne, aether, nitrou.s rether, carbonate of ammonia, and tincture of squills are among those re- commended; while the drinking water may be chosen as the vehicle for such salts as chlorate or nitrate of potash, and the bicarbonates of potash and soda. Inhalation of steam, or rather, we should say, the vapour of hot water, usually aflbrds relief, and may ))e made more potent by the admixture of a small amount of friars' balsam, camphor, or eucalyptus oil. Tiiese may be mixed with hot bran in a nose-bag, which should not be left on, l)ut used while an attendant is standing by for a few minutes at a time only. AVitli an abatement of the more distressing symptoms the cough in some cases })roves obstinate and threatens to become chronic. Medicines may in such cases be advantageously administered in the form of bolus, and be composed of tar, powdered squills, opium and gum ammoniacum, or for opium may be substituted some other anodyne if it has already been given for some time in the course of the attack. If during the early days of the disease the bowels are constipated as a result of the febrile state, they may be regulated by soft food and a few- spoonfuls of linseed -oil given with it from day to day in preference to an aperient dose of medicine. Some glycerine may be introduced into the bowel, or soap and warm water enemata employed. The extreme debility thiit follows a severe attack may in some in.stances account for the per- .si.stencv of the couoh, and tonic treatment is then called for. 4 HEALTH AND DISEASE A fresh-made infusion of gentian, with small doses of carbonate of ammonia or alcoholic stimulants, is worth trial. Rather large doses of quinine, with nux vomica, give just the necessary fillip sometimes when con- valescence is protracted. A considerable period of time should be allowed, with gentle and steadily increasing daily exercise, before the animal is allowed to return to his ordinary work, and the greatest care should be observed against exposure to wet or cold easterly winds. CHRONIC BRONCHITIS Except as a sequel to acute bronchitis, the chronic form is seldom met with. It differs from it in the absence of fever, the persistence of the cough, and the character of the matter coughed up. Slight causes are sufficient to aggravate the symptoms which are assumed to be due to the morbid irritability and lessened calibre of the small air-tubes by reason of the thickening of their lining membrane. The subjects of it are easily fatigued and their value much depreciated. Symptoms. — These are in some respects the same as in acute bron- chitis, but modified in intensity, thick wind and premature fatigue being most noticeable under exertion. There is at the same time an inaptitude for putting on flesh and a want of bloom in the coat. The cough, although less frequent than in the acute form, is much increased in certain conditions of weather, as where cold and wet follow upon a period of dryness and sun- shine. It is also provoked by passing from a warm stable into the cold atmosphere without. Horses affected with chronic bronchitis are mostly heard to cough while feeding, and especially if the food is given dry. Treatment may ameliorate the symptoms, and, with care, the subject of it may perform useful work; but it is seldom that anything like a radical cure is effected. Occasionally a young horse, under exceptionally favourable circumstances, will appear to grow out of it, but a trifling ail- ment is sufficient to bring it on again. Careful dieting with linseed and damp food should be observed, avoid- ing all forage with the least suspicion of must or dustiness. The occasional but not habitual use of certain drugs has a beneficial effect. The agents most recommended are myrrh, soap, camphor, squills, carbonate of ammonia, digitalis, and tar in the form of bolus. Iodide of iron and arsenic are also cmploved with apparent good results. DISEASES OF THE LUNGS CONGESTION OF THE LUNGS Definition. — By cougestiou of the lungs is meant an undue fulness or eugorgciuent of the pulmonary vessels with blood, and especially those concerned with respiration as distinguislied from others engaged in the nutrition of the organs. It is convenient to consider this disease under two headings — A, as acute, and B, as passive or mechanical congestion. The acute form of the affection is most frequently met with in horses sub- jected to severe exertion and distress. In the second form it arises in the course of various forms of disease, and especially obstructive heart disease. It is also a frequent and fatal accompaniment of the specific fevers, and may complicate acute inflammation of many of the organs of the body. Causes. — Congestion of the lungs follows upon a variety of disturl)- ances in the health of the horse. The acute form is frequently induced by excessive exertion without previous adequate training or condition, hence the number of cases occur- ring among hunters and steeplechase horses pushed beyond their powers with but little previous preparation. Fat young horses fresh from grass or the hands of the dealer are particularly prone to this disorder, especially when brought into town work and made to occupy badly-ventilated and otherwise ill-conditioned stables. The same causes that produce catarrh or common cold are liable to give rise to congestion of the pulmonary vessels, and the disorder is a frequent sequel to, or complication of, inflammatory attacks affecting other organs. As a mechanical congestion it is always present more or less in obstructive diseases of the valves of the heart. Here the blood, interrupted in its course through the last-named organ, is made to accumulate in the vessels of the lungs. Passive congestion of these organs mostly arises in the course of exhausting diseases, and par- ticularly in that form of influenza termed " typhoid ". Symptoms. — In acute cases the symptoms are very urgent. Eapid but shallow breathing, "blowing" as it is called among horsemen, dilated nostrils, bloodshot eyes, head depressed and commonly held in a corner the least suitable for obtaining a supply of fresh air. The muscles quiver, the Ijody is hot with perspiration, and the ears and legs are icy cold. Eedness of the conjunctival membranes is not of that kind commonly seen in cases of acute inflammation, but of a darker colour, as might be expected in an animal whose blood is not receiving proper oxidation in the lungs. As a rule, the horse so affected persistently stands, but there are exceptions, .some appearing to suffer acute pain and occasionally going down in a vain eff"ort to obtain ease, while others, and by far the majority, become more or less dull and stupid. The heart-sounds are loud, and the pulse. 6 HEALTH AND DISEASE which is at first moderately full, becomes weak and compressible, the number being with difficulty counted owing to its rapidity and want of resistance to the touch. Auscultation yields a minute crepitating sound, besides a harsh bronchial noise in the place of the ordinary murmur of healthy respiration, and later there are areas in which the sounds are much subdued. Cases of pulmonary congestion from excessive exertion, although ex- hibiting the severest distress, are more likely to recover than the so-called passive form when complicating diseases of a febrile and exhausting nature. Whether as a result of overtaxing the animal's capacity, or as a sequel to other aftections, its course is rapidly fatal unless checked by treat- ment. Treatment. — In attempting any kind of treatment the ol)ject in view is to relieve the overtaxed pulmonary vessels of their surplus blood, and to impart tone to them and to the embarrassed and enfeebled heart. If this can be done promptly the battle is half-fought. If the hunting man is horseman enough to recognize when his mount is " pumped out ", he may accomplish it by pulling up with the horse's head to the wind, slacking out the girths, hand-rubbing the legs, pulling the ears, and giving the contents of his flask to the exhausted steed. Many a horse is thus saved by a judicious rider with that intelligent sympathy which every man should have who rides to hounds. Too many do not possess it, or assume that a hired horse must be in the pink of condition and have no weakness that shall curtail the pleasure of his rider; " the last ounce", as the phrase goes, is got out of the animal by whip and spur, and he finally comes to a stand- still, or a check occurs too late to save a high-spirited animal that will go till he drops. In such a situation the propriety of bleeding can hardly be called in question, but it is, comparatively speaking, a lost art among horsemen, who at one time were always ready to perform the operation with more zeal than judgment. The exhausted hunter, after first being allowed to recover himself, should be led to the nearest stable and jout into the most airy box obtainable. The veterinary surgeon, when summoned, may not consider it too late to bleed, especially if the pulse is found fuller after a stimulant has been given. Every effort should be made to restore the circulation by friction, vigorous wisping of the body with straw, chafing the legs and ears, bandaging, and clothing. Alcoholic stimulants, such as gin or whisky, are mostly obtainable without much delay, and should be given at once or as soon as the animal has recovered his "wind". Some authorities recommend carbonate of ammonia with digitalis, for which they claim the double advantage of increasing the power and diminishing the number of the heart's contractions. The doses, whether of alcohol oi other DISKASES OF THE LUNGS 7 chosen agents, should be moderate in amount and repeated hourly so long as symptoms of distress continue. There is a general consensus of opinion in favour of the application of mustard to the sides of the chest, although a few dissentients of unquestion- able authority have thrown doubts upon the propriety of counter-irritation. The practice appears to have very marked and rapidly beneficial eU'ects in many cases, and in our judgment should be promptly resorted to, but hot water may be substituted where any special objection against mustard or strong liniments presents itself. The convalescent should receive unremitting care, as there is much tendency to recurrence, as also a danger of pneumonia following the attack. Besides the importance of pure air and comfortable conditions generally, the state of the bowels must be made a matter of attention, and if a tendency to constipation exists which a laxative diet is not sufficient to overcome, a small dose or two of linseed or castor oil or sulphate of magnesia may be given, but in no case should aloes or any drastic cathartic be employed. Post-MoPtem Appearances. — Examination of an animal that has died of this disease shows tlie lungs to be very dark in colour; they' are, nevertheless, compressible, and do not exhibit that solid condition and friable texture common in inflammation of the lungs. Where the over- charged vessels have given way, blackish red patches of lung are seen here and there infiltrated with escaped blood. INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS, PNEUMONIA Definition. — InHammation of the true lung substance. This may exi.st as 'an independent disease or it may complicate an attack of bronchitis. Causes are all such as induce catarrh, or infiammatory conditions of other parts of the respiratory apparatus. It may arise as a sequel to pulmonary congestion, or be induced by direct irritation of the air-tubes, as when medicines, in being given, "go the wrong way". It also follows on bronchitis by a downward extension of the infiammation into the substance of the lungs. Neglected colds and damp unhealthy stables are among the most frequent of the many causes that contribute to this disease. Influenza and strangles not unfrequently terminate in a fetal pneumonia, and there is reason to believe that the disease is sometimes in itself specific and contagious. In this connection it has often been noticed to spread from animal to animal in the entire absence of any obvious cause of a common character. Septic pneumonia, such as occurs in the "joint ill" of foals, and other forms of blood-poisoning, is by no means an uncommon variety of this disease. 8 HEALTH AND DISEASE Symptoms. — There is a train of symptoms that may be called common to all iiiHainmatory disorders of the respiratory system, and only the expert can, with any degree of accuracy, distinguish between them. Followino- upon catarrh, it cannot be said precisely when pneumonia com- mences, but there will be increased temperature and accelerated breathing, thouoh in the latter connection not to the extent observed in acute pulmo- nary congestion. The mucous membranes exhibit a rusty or brick -red colour, and the pulse is small and irritable. The skin and extremities will be more or less cold, but scarcely with the icy coldness of acute congestion, nor will the sweating and trembling of that condition be present as a rule. There is very little appetite, a tendency to constipation, and the urine is highly coloured and small in quantity. While the cough of a common cold and of bronchitis is accompanied with a more or less consideraltle discharge of mucus from the nostrils, there is but little in pneumonia, and what there is is thin and frothy, but as the disease advances there is a foetid odour to the breath, and the matter expectorated is more or less reddened from admixture with spoilt blood and other decomposing material. If the chest sounds are listened to throughout an attack they will at first be observed to be louder and harsher than in health, but as the air-tubes become charged with inflammatory products they undergo modifi- cation and give out minute crepitant or crackling sounds. AVhen the air-cells and small tubes become actually filled with these products, and air is altogether excluded, crepitation ceases as a result of consolidation of the lung substance. The bronchial sounds in the upper part of the chest, however, are more or less exaggerated. Percussion applied to the chest by means of the fingers will enable us to make out with more oi' less accuracy the part of the lung which has undergone solidification, as there is an absence of resonance over the part where no air passes in or out. In speaking of congestion of the lungs, the rapid progress of the disease has been referred to, and in this it differs from pneumonia, which may take a w^eek in reaching a crisis, and probably two or more weeks before the symptoms have quite disappeared, a high temperature being maintained for many days. Relapses of a febrile character, at a time when considerable progress has been made, are not uncommon, and would seem to be due, in many instances, to infection of the blood with morbid matter, resulting from the disintegration of lung tissue. Treatment. — Before determining what method of treatment should be adopted, it is well to consider the history of the individual and the circumstances that have led up to the illness. Also his condition, whether it is one of poverty and weakness — if the animal is an aged one or a DISEASES OF THE LUNGS 9 young and full-lilooded creature fre«h from the liberty of pasture. These and other cinL.ustances aft'ecting individuals will materially inHuence the line of treatment to be pursued. In the former case we should not re- commend measures of depletion of any kind, but in the latter these might with advantage be sometimes employed. In dealing with this disease modern practitioners attach much more importance to hygienic conditions than used to be the case. Good nursing, the maintenance of an equable temperature, both of the skin and stable atmosphere, scrupulous cleanliness, ample ventilation, and judicious feeding have now l)ecome recognized as indispensable to successful treatment. Friction of the l)ody and extremities, the employment of suitable clcthing and bandages, frequently removed and replaced, are not less important. Saline feliri- fuges are generally approved, and of these acetate of ammonia, nitrate and chlorate of potash, and sulphate of magnesia judiciously administered are the most appropriate. Plenty of bland mucilaginous fluids, as linseed tea and l)arley-water. and an unlimited quantity of drinking-water, should be allowed. "When the febrile svmptoms have abated, and extreme prostration or foetid breath has to be combated, there is benefit to be anticipated from the use of quinine, with the free use of alcoholic stimulants, as whisky, port-wine, or good ale, and the animal's strength will l,e most speedily regained under the influence of such things as beef-tea, eggs, and milk. The methods of administering the agents named will depend upon the presence or otherwise of irritability of the throat. Where this is great, with much cough and difficulty in swallowing, electuaries may be chosen, unless the patient can be induced to take them in drinking-water. In all pulmonary affections, draughts require to be administered with the greatest care, and in some instances must be altogether withheld. Where it is found necessary to adopt the latter course, spirit of wine in ounce or two-ounce doses may be administered in the drinking water as often as may be required. Want of appetite after a severe illness of this kind is a troublesome feature, and the old remedy of gentian, either in the form of powder or of com- pound infusion, with a mineral acid, as sulphuric or nitro- hydrochloric, afford the best results. External Applications. — The efficacy of counter-irritation has l)een called in question by men whose attainments should command respect, but they are in a minority, and most practical veterinarians are agreed that the greatest benefit is often secured in a very short time by the prompt application of a mustard plaster, or a smart liniment of turpentine or cantharides, to the sides of the che.st. As an alternative to this mode cf treatment, heat and moisture to the surface may be applied by means 10 HEALTH AM) DISEASE of ruo-s dipped in hot water and wrung out, or by the use of the hot pack, o-reat care being exercised in changing them to avoid a chill in the intervals. Where practicable, the employment of hot smoothing-irons is to be preferred. Here a hot rug is first placed on the sides of the chest, with a dry one over it, and flat-irons are applied first to one side and then to the other, or to both at the same time, as may be convenient. BLEEDING FROM THE LUNGS— HtEMOPTYSIS Bleeding from the lungs and bronchial passages is not of common occurrence in the horse, but sufficiently so to warrant a reference to it here. Causes. — The causes that bring it about are: (l) External violence, as when the chest is punctured by a stake or other sharp instrument; (2) undue fulness of the vessels of the lungs or bronchial passages, as in bronchitis, pneumonia, and obstructive heart disease; (3) ulceration of the tracheal or bronchial mucous membrane, as in glanders and tuber- culosis, &c. Some cases come on during severe exertion and violent coughing without any other obvious reason. Symptoms. — Pulmonary, like nasal hemorrhage, is usually sudden in its onset, and may be slight or severe. The lilood is mainly discharged from the nostrils, but some also flows from the mouth. Bleeding from the lungs, when profuse, is invariably attended with outbursts of con- vulsive coughing, during which the blood, whipped into foam, is projected through the nose and mouth. Moreover, the bronchial tul)es may become more or less blocked when the breathing becomes quick and embarrassed; the horse shakes his head, paws the ground, and manifests signs of distress. In slight cases, such as occur in pneumonia and some specific fevers, it appears in small amount as a blood-stained discharge from the nostrils. Treatment. — Here, as in bleeding from the nose, the patient must be placed in a cool, clean box and kept perfectly cjuiet. A little ice in the water will be of advantage in arresting the hemorrhage, but it is doubtful if the forcible administration of medicines is not rather mischievous than otherwise. A little ergotin injected beneath the skin, and free spong- ing of the face with cold water, is as much as can reasonably be done. If in his water the patient can be induced to drink 4 ounces of sulphate of magnesia on two successive days, benefit will result from a free action of the bowels. The body should be well clothed so as to keep the surface circulation active. DISEASES OF THE LUNGS 11 ASTHMA Definition of Asthma. — This is a diseased state of the lungs, marked by paroxysms of dithcult breathing and distress, accompanied by a wheez- ing sound. It is believed to be due to spasmodic contraction of the bronchial tubes, and from the peculiar suddenness of its appearance and disappearance it partakes of the character of a nervous disorder. Causes. — These are very obscure, but seem to be connected in some instances with digestive disturbance, and by some authors are placed in the category of diseases of the digestive system. In susceptible animals it may be induced by breathing an atmosphere charged with irritating gases and other impurities. Besides a vitiated atmosphere, it is sometimes brought into existence by an attack of bronchitis, which is undoubtedly a factor in its development. Symptoms. — ^The attacks may come on so suddenly that warning symptoms are brief, if at all observed. The breathing is at once difficult and distressing, and the duration of the attack altogether uncertain. In- spiration is less difficult than expiration, the latter being accomplished with a double action of the flank, and the whole body receiving a distinct jei-k at the end of the movement. As compared with broken wind, which in some respects it resembles, the symptoms are more jiaroxysmal and acute, there is also greater distress, as evidenced by the anxious counte- nance, and the short irritable cough, which returns again and again in choking paroxysms. The discharge of small quantities of mucus as a result of coughing, and more or less elevation of temperature and loss of appetite, also serve to distinguish asthma from broken wind. Its sudden appearance is as remarkable as its rapid subsidence, hut in some cases, after repeated attacks, it passes imperceptibly into that form of lung- disease, known popularly as "broken wind". The subject of asthma is pretty sure of a recurrence of the affection at no very distant date. Treatment. — An oily aperient, preferably linseed-oil, may be gi\en first, and followed at short intervals with fairly large doses of such sedatives as chlorodyne, or camphor and belladonna, combinations of stimulants, as nitrous aether and valerian, and failing early relief a change of sedatives to chloral and the bromides of potassium and ammonium. Chlorodyne is especially useful, and rather bold doses are found to be safe and speedy in effect. All dry and dusty food should be removed, and no bulky aliment allowed. Linseed, boiled or scalded, is found to be the best food, and undoubtedly has a medicinal effect also. This, with a little bran and scalded oats, should be given in small quantities, and often. Different animals are differently affected by atmospheric conditions. Some experi- 12 HEALTH AND DISEASE L'lice relief in a moist air, while others are beuefited by dryness. Cold air is always prejudicial. In dealing with this disease the effect of warm vapour should always be tried, either by means of a nose-bag containing moist bran or by allowing a pail of steaming hay to stand near the patients head. To guard against a recurrence of the disease the dietary should be carefully regulated, and an oleaginous aperient administered every few weeks, according to the state of the bowels. Severe exertion and fatigue, exposure to wet and cold and badly- ventilated unwholesome stables, by lowering the standard of health and irritating the air-passages, favour a return of the disease. EMPHYSEMA OF THE LUNGS— BROKEN WIND Definition. — This is a disease in which the air-cells of the lungs are abnormally dilated; the lungs themselves are consequently enlarged or ruptured and their elasticity impaired, as a result of which breathing is carried on with much difficulty and distress. Ca,USes. — While the proximate causes are not known with certainty, the remote or contributory ones are generally agreed upon. Hereditary predisposition no doubt conduces to its origin. It is observed to affect heavy or coarse-bred animals more frequently than the better-bred ones. This may be in part due to the fact that the former are more likely to live and work under conditions conducive to the develojDment of the disease than those more carefully housed and fed and maintained for pleasure and sport. It frequently originates in the excessive use of coarse innutritious bulky food, and especially in connection with greedy feeders. The exclusive use of damaged fodder contributes largely towards bringing about this disease, more particularly in the case of old animals. It is of common occurrence in ponies leading a life of idleness while receiving a superabundance of nutritious and bulky food. All these facts go to show the disease to be, in a great measure at least, the result of dietetic causes. Symptoms. — The cough is characteristic and different from any other in its prolongation — a double effort in expiration, which is easily seen in a well-developed case but may in others be mistaken for the (|uick breath- ing induced by exertion and excitement. When the patient is at rest and subjected to no excitement the cough is rarely heard, but it often occurs at the time of feeding, or follows a full meal and copious draughts of water. The chest sounds are very varialile, but in nearly all cases those of the trachea and larger l^ronehi are exaggerated, and over different areas there DISEASES OF THE LUNGS 13 is a iine crepitus as well as an increased sound or resonance on percussion. In advanced cases flatulency is a marked symptom, and wind is frequently ejected from behind in the act of coughing. As the disease progresses, and the lungs undergo expansion, the walls of the chest become rounded in con- sequence of the ribs being forced outward. Premature distress invariably attends upon exertion, and the capacity for work is much abridged. Where work is enforced the body shrinks, while the abdomen becomes perceptibly larger than normal. Treatments — In no disease can so much be done for a horse by judicious dieting as in broken, wind. Many a subject of it will perform useful work witliout undue distress for years in the care of a good horse- man, the same animal being practically useless when transferred to the care of one who does not prepare and administer the food sectindem artem. In these cases it is especially desirable to give nutritious food in small bulk and at comparatively short intervals, so that .the patient may be well nourished but never distended. Every particle of dust should be separated from the corn by the sieve or other means, and no hay with a suspicion of must allowed, and even the best should only be given in small amount and always in the form of chaff previously damped in order to ensure proper grinding of the corn. Long hay may be dispensed with altogether, or, if given as an occasional treat, should be first steamed and the animal allowed to eat it at night or at a time when his services will not be required soon afterwards. Linseed is the food pa?" excellence for a broken-winded horse, and although it is found that many tire of it, it must be dished up in different ways and a taste for it cultivated. It is often spoiled in the cooking, being allowed to cake in the bottom of the saucepan, and the novice invariably putting too much linseed in proportion to water and hurrying the process. Linseed- oil and cod -liver -oil in small quantities may be mixed with the food once or twice daily, or every other day; some horses become very fond of both, and show a distaste for their food without it. With regard to medicinal agents, these .should be reserved for occasions when climatic conditions or other causes have induced unusual distress. The sedative agents recommended for asthma may be resorted to in this disorder, and usually result in abatement of the symptoms, but the diges- tive system must be our principal care, and those agents should be chosen which are most likely to disencumber the bowels, restore tone, and increase constitutional vigour. An occasional dose of aperient medicine has a most beneficial effect in relieving the embarrassed breathing, retarding the pro- gress of the disease, and the same may be said of allowing ample time for digestion between feeding and working. The mineral acids and vegetable bitters are especially employed for this purpose, and for allaying the diffi- 14 HEALTH AND DISEASE culty in breathing much Ijenefit is often obtained from a coui-se of nux vomica and arsenic, the latter being given in solution and in combinaiion with bicarbonate of potash. The good effects of arsenic are apt to cease with its discontinuance, and it is well to resume it again as occasion requires at suitalilc intervals. PLEURISY, PLEURITIS Definition. — Inflanimation of the serous membrane that invests the lungs and lines the cavity of the chest. It may exist as a distinct disorder or complicate an attack of lung disease. One side only or both may suffer. Causes. — Sudden chills, as exposure to cold draughts and cutting wnids when the animal is overheated, swimming under like conditions when following hounds, invasion from contiguous structures, as in in- flamed lungs. It may also come about by direct injury from external violence to the walls of the chest, or result from morbid growths. As a sequel to other diseases, as inHuenza and various forms of blood-poisoning, it is not uncommon. Symptoms. — Marked rigors or shivering fits usually usher in the disease, and the temperature of the body shows a considerable rise. The respiration is quick, short, and painful, the animal manifesting acute pain as soon as the lungs are half inflated. Movement, especially turning, is extremely painful, and is demonstrated l)y a grunt or groan, and the same result follows the application of pressure between the ribs, and also percussion with the knuckles. The belly marks a peculiarity of inspiration in this disease, which is diagnostic of pleurisy, especially noticeable during the act of expiration, when a ridge appears along the ends of the ribs, extending from the back of the brisket to the flank, which is not present at other times. Ausculta- tion is a valuable aid in the diagnosis of pleurisy ; the ear will detect in the early stage a very distinct friction sound as of two roughened surfaces passing over one another. This sound l)ecomes louder and more distinct until the ordinary In-eathing murmur is overwhelmed in it, or is too weak to be detected. With the progress of the disease, water is effused into the chest when the rubbing or friction sounds cease. If the fluid accumu- lates it gives rise to various sounds, as the splashing of rain-drops, a subdued tinkling, or the dropping of water. The amount of fluid accumu- lated is sometimes very great, and it may for some time remain unaltered, l)ut must eventually be either absorbed or by pressing on the lungs cause suftbcation and death. Dropsical swellings here and there mark the advance of the disease. The loose tissues under the skin along the breast and licllv DISEASES OF THE LUNGS 15 Ijeeome infiltrated with tliiid, juid the .sheath becomes euhirged from the same cause. The legs fill more or less, the countenance becomes worn and haggard, the extremities cold, and the belly drawn up at each act of expiration. The pulse is at first hard and of increased frequency, but as the fiuid is effused into the chest it becomes softened and smaller in volume, as well as weak and irregular, and the pain is less severe. The patient persistently stands with protruded head and dilated nostrils, which open and contract in a jerky, spasmodic manner. Pleurisy is distinguished from other inflammatory clre.st diseases by greater pain, harder pulse, catchy breathing, and the short occasional cough which the patient endeavours to suppress, as also by the friction sounds and greater sensibility of the chest to external pressure. Treatment. — In this disease benefit may be expected from counter irritation to the walls of the chest. Here we have but little substance intervening between the skin and infiamed part, and if mustard is bene- ficial in other infiammatory diseases of the chest it is doubly so in pleuritis. Though bleeding is not so generally practised as formerly, and altogether unsuited to the great majority of cases, there is reason to antici- pate beneficial results from a liberal blood-letting at the commencement of the disease, where the patient is in plethoric condition and the attack is of an acute cliai'acter. But even here it will be of no use, and probably harmful, if delayed to an advanced stage of the attack. In advocating bleeding for pleurisy it is not at any time to be employed on the aged or the weak, nor should it be resorted to where pleurisy follows upon any of the contagious fevers. Particular attention .should be given to the patient's surroundings, which should be comfortable and with every inducement to rest. A roomy, dry, and well-littered box is to be provided, so that no restraint be placed on movement, and ample ventilation should be allowed both night and day. The legs should be kept warm by woollen bandages frequently changed, and the intervals employed in hand-rubbing or wisping them with hay or straw. Warm clothing in the form of rugs and hoods is most essential, with the object of keeping up the circulation on the surf;ice and extremities, and thus aiding in the reduction of inflammation in the affected part. For diet see Catarrh and Pneumonia. The application of moist heat to the sides of the chest is strongly advocated by some authorities, woollen clothes or rugs being dipped in hot water and applied to the chest by means of rollers or bandages, the heat being retained and evaporation prevented as much as possible by a sheet of oiled silk or gutta-percha, or a dry rug. The medicines to be chosen are those most calculated to reduce tern- 16 HEALTH AM) DISKASK perature and .steady tlie lieaits action in the first instance, and lor tlii.s purpose alternate doses of aconite and liclladonna are in repute. Salines, as the salicylates of soda, and glauber salts, sulpliate of magnesia, nitrate of potash, and acetate of ammonia, are recommended as for pneumonia and other inflammatory disorders of the respiratory apparatus. To allay the acute pain which marks the majority of cases at the onset, such anodynes as opium and cannabis indicus may be employed. The latter is perhaps the greatest of pain-killers for horses, nor does it leave the depression which has been noted in the human subject. Subcutaneous injec- tions of morphia may be employed for the same purpose, when objections exi.st to balls or draughts. The cases that most often end unfavour- ably are those wliich are said to "hang fire ". They make very good progre.ss up to a certain point, the temperature falls two or three degrees and then obsti- nately remains, and the patient goes back; it is then good treatment to repeat the application of mustard to the chest as recom- mended at first, or a liniment of cantharides may be used, or poultices of linseed -meal, in wliich a little mustard is mixed, may be applied for a day and a night or until improvement is noted. Where the disease takes the course last indicated, good nourishment with stimulants and tonics will be mor-e likely to do good than those agents recommended for such as follow the more common course. In convalescence alcoholic stimulants, as gin or whisky, with cpiinine, gentian, and iodide of iron mav prove helpful. Notwithstanding general improvement, a large amount of fluid will sometimes persistently remain in the chest and refuse for a length of time to undergo absorption. Iodide of iron, and tliose drugs connnonlv known as diuretics, are best calculated to Fig. 208.— Tapping the Chest SPASM OF THE LARYNX 17 favour absorption. In some cases, liowever, it is necessary to remove the fiuid from the chest bodily by means of an operation. A liberal diet and very moderate exercise should be allowed when the urgent symptoms have passed, but nothing amounting to work should be imposed for several weeks at least. SPASM OF THE LARYNX We have seen, in speaking of roaring and whistling, that the nmscles which regulate the size of the opening into the larynx are liable to become thrown out of use as the result of paralysis. In the disease now to be noticed the same narrowing of the orifice takes place, but in an entirely different manner. In the one case it is the result of a paralysed state of a certain set of muscles (abductors) which open the larynx, while in the other it arises out of abnormal action or a spasmodic contraction of another set (adductors), whose natural purpose it is to close it. Causes. — Spasm of the larynx may result from any sudden and violent irritation, and from milder stimulation when the larynx is in an irritable condition. The accidental entrance of food or other foreign agent will sometimes bring it about, and especially when the sensibility of the organ is heightened in the course of an attack of inflammatory irritation. Some of the most severe and dangerous cases, however, arise in the entire absence of any such condition, and from the manner in which they come and go it is clear that they have a nervous origin; but whether the actual seat of the disorder be in the brain or in the nerves of the larynx themselves cannot well be determined. Symptoms. — It is seldom that any premonitory indications mark the oncoming of the disease. Horses who suffer from it usually enjoy good general health, and are mostly in fair condition. The attack almost in- variably comes on suddenly, and, with few exceptions, while trotting or galloping. While moving along, the horse is noticed to come suddenly to a stand-still. The head is raised and moved from side to side, the face is pinched and wears an anxious expression, the nostrils are dilated, and after a brief arrest in the breathing a loi'd shrill noise is heard with each inspiration. In severe cases the horse breaks out in patchy sweat, the gait becomes unsteady, the breathing gasping and troubled, and the body is generally convulsed. The paroxysm may quickly pass away only to return when the animal is caused to move, or it may be renewed from time to time at varying intervals for several hours, when it disappears, leaving the patient but little the worse for his trouble. Vol. II. 36 18 HEALTH AND DISEASE Treatment, — At the outset of the seizure tlio horse should he brought to a stand-still at once and allowed to remain in a state of quiet until the paroxysm abates, when he may be removed to the nearest stable. The l)ody should now be well rubbed down and plenty of fresh air pro- vided for. A draught, consisting of 2 ounces of tincture of opium in water, or, what is better, a subcutaneous injection of morphia, is to be administered and repeated in two hours if the symptoms do not abate. Hot bandages to the throat after an application of glycerine and bella- donna will be found useful, with inhalations of warm vapour, and a dose of physic should be administered when the spasm has disappeared. An animal having suffered one attack is frequently the victim of a second, and sometimes a succession of seizures may follow the first at varying intervals of days, weeks, or months. Where this is the case the greatest care should be observed to guard against overfeeding, severe exertion, and, as far as possible, against the inhalation of dust and irritat- ing gases, and to avoid exposure to such sudden and extreme changes of temperature as are met with in passing from hot, foul stables into the cold air. COUGH A cough is a more or less violent expiratory effort, indicating irritation of some part of the breathing organs. The act is commenced by a deep inspiration, during which the lungs are distended with air. The larynx or entrance to the windpipe is then momentarily closed, after which it is forcibly opened by the contraction of the muscles of the chest and abdomen, when the contained air is expelled, carrying with it any offend- ing matter to which the cough may be due. The irritation by which coughing is induced may be direct or sym- pathetic, i.e. it may result from something brought into direct contact with some part of the respiratory tube, as cold air, dust, irritating gases, or it may be a sense of irritation transmitted by nervous influence from some other organ, as in the case of cough arising out of stomach derangement, worms in the bowels, teething, &c., &c. The sensibility of the respira- tory passages is greatly enhanced when any part of them suffers from active disease, hence coughing is always present in such ailments as laryn- gitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Cough, moreover, is frequently associated with heart disease, especially with those forms that interfere with the pul- monary circulation and keep up a certain degree of congestion of the lungs. As a means of diagnosis, much importance is to be attached to the character of the cough: (l) as to whether it is short and hacking, as in stomach and intestinal derangements, or long; drawn out. as in chronic lung HIGH BLOWING 19 disease; (2) whether it is occasional, as in pleurisy, or frequent, as in bron- chitis; (3) whether it is moist, as in catarrh of the air passages, or dry, as in broken wind; (4) whether it is free, as in common cold, or painful and suppressed, as in laryngitis. Cough, it will be seen, is a mere symptom of disease, and not a disease in itself; and although usually associated with disorders of the respiratory apparatus, it is sometimes induced by nervous impulses excited in remote organs. The remedy for coughing is the remedy for the particular ailment out of which it arises, and every case must therefore be dealt with on its merits. The treatment necessary to allay the cough of laryngitis would have no beneficial effect in that result- ing from intestinal irritation, for, while in the former case .sedatives would be indicated, in the latter aperients and perhaps a vermifuge would be most promising of success. In the matter of treatment, therefore, the particular medicines and applications to be employed will be governed by the nature of the cause to which the cough is due. HIGH BLOWING The sound to which this term is aj^plied is produced in the act of breathing while the air is being expelled from the lungs during forced respiration. It is most marked while the horse is doing a brisk canter, and becomes less audible in the gallop. It is always most pronounced at starting, and is recognized as a fluttering or loud vibrating noise. The degree of vibration differs in different animals, and it is distinctly more sonorous in some than in others. High blowing is essentially a nasal sound, and although sometimes loud and shrill, it bears no comparison in point of quality with the noise emitted as the result of laryngeal disease in roarers and whistlers. It is more especially observed in horses with thin skins, Avhose felse nostrils ai-e loose and capacious, and in animals of excitable temperament. In the writer's experience high blowers are conspicuous for the soundness of their breathing organs and endurance under exertion, and in a large practice in the examination of horses of every description he does not remember to have found roaring to be associated with this peculiar breath- ing sound. Increased nasal resonance or noisy breathing is sometimes the result of that type of conformation in which the face presents a narrow and pinched appearance across the region of the nose. In this condition the sound has the quality of that ordinarily heard in respiration, but much intensified. It is readily distinguishable from roaring, and is not to be regarded as a state of unsoundness. 20 HEALTH A^'D DliSEASE 8. COJ^STITUTIONAL DISEASES RHEUMATISM Definition. — Rheumatism is a specific constitutional disease, sometimes assuming an acute febrile character. It is specially marked by local mani- festations of pain of varying degrees of intensity, with a tendency to shift from place to place, and to recur periodically. Horses of all ages are liable to it, but it is most prevalent in the aged. Causes. — Heredity is undoubtedly a factor in the causation of rheumatism, and, as in gout, the disease would appear to be due to some incomplete elaboration of the nutrient elements of the food, whereby a rheumatic poison is generated in the body and brought into activity by certain extraneous causes. Among these may be mentioned unsanitary surroundings, cold, damp, and vitiated stables, and damaged fodder. Any condition tending to reduce an animal's vitality or bring him below " par" increases his susceptibility to attack. Seasonal influences, as ex- posure to the biting east winds of spring and autumn, are often account- able for attacks of this disease in susceptible subjects. Horses brought from a hot stal)le and then, while heated, compelled to stand M'ithout clothing, exposed to wet and cold, readily contract the disease. Animals subjected to habitual exjiosure, but without those sudden alternations from the warmth of the stable to the draughty street corner, are much less liable to contract the disease than the animals living in hot stuffy stables. Rheumatism in its acute febrile form not infrequently complicates an attack of influenza, strangles, or pneumonia, or follows upon it in the course of convalescence. Symptoms. — Rheumatism may present itself as an acute fever with manifestations of local pain, or it may assume a chronic and less severe character. In the former case the animal shows marked indications of consti- tutional disturbance, notably a high temperature, c^uick pulse, increased breathing, hot skin, injected eyes, inappetence, and constipation of the bowels. Locally, the disease may centre itself in one or another of the joints of the extremities, or in the tendons and ligaments of the limbs, or in the muscles. Whichever structure is involved, the part becomes more or less swollen, hot, and intensely painful, so much so that the up- right posture is maintained with difficulty, and only at the expense of considerable sufferino-. The disease mav be confined to one extremity RHEUMATISM 21 oulv, or it may involve two or more. In the chronic or sub-acute form of the disease there is seldom any obvious disturbance of the system, the pulse, breathing, and temperature remain normal, and the appetite is undisturbed. The disease mostly attacks the limbs, but may also im- plicate the muscles of the loins, producing lumbar rheumatism or lumliago. The seat of attack may or may not be enlarged, but more or less heat and tenderness is generally observed in it. When swelling of the struc- tures appears it is usually firm, and seldom altogether disappears. The pain and lameness is liable to vary in severity from day to day, and to shift fi'om part to part, and from limb to limb, so that the lame leg to-day may be the sound one to-morrow, and vice versa. An animal once aftected with rheumatism seldom escapes a second attack, and the liability to re- currence of the disease becomes greater as time goes on. Many of those large swellings found on the limbs of horses involving the bones are of rheumatic origin, as are also others seen in the tendons and ligaments of the legs. The joints of horses are frequently found to become gradually enlarged by repeated attacks of the disease. Treatment. — The reduction of temperature in those sudden and acute attacks of rheumatism referred to is of first importance, and this should be attempted by the administration of successive doses of salicine. The salicylate of soda is perhaps the most useful salt in rheumatic affections, and doses of 4 to 8 drams are not considered excessive. If the heart is weak and too easily depressed, salicylic acid may be preferred as having less action upon that organ. This treatment may be accompanied by a mild aperient, preferably of a saline nature, as sulphate of magnesia or soda, and if the symptoms do not rapidly abate salicylates may be exchanged for iodide of potassium, with bicarbonate of potash or soda in the drinking-water. The diet should not be stimulating, and if the allowance of corn has been full it should be considerably reduced. Where very acute pain is CAanced it may be desirable to place the patient in slings, and to employ anodynes both internally and to the swollen parts (see section on anodynes). Hot fomentations and bandages to the inflamed parts, friction with the hand, aided by liniments of soap and iodine, also afford considerable relief. Recurrent rheumatism at particular jjeriods, as in moulting and during the prevalence of east winds, may be combated in advance by a course of soda or potash and a laxative dose of medicine a little while before the usual time of attack. Good drainage, a dry stable, and plenty of dry bedding are particularly desirable for horses that have been previously subject to rheumatism. HEALTH AND DISEASE LYMPHANGITIS— WEED Definition. — A constitutioiuil disorder, with local mauifestatioiis of an intlamraatory nature, atfecting the lymphatic glands and vessels of the limbs. It is usually confined to one hind extremity, but occasionally involves both, and sometimes attacks a fore one. Causes. — Predisposition to this disease is especially marked in heavy coarse-bred draught horses with a thick skin, round fleshy legs, and lym- phatic temperament. It may, however, and occasionally does, attack the lighter breeds, but this is of comparatively rare occurrence. Lymphangitis seldom appears before the adult period of life has been reached. Animals out on grass enjoy an immunity from it, and it is only when they are housed and liberally fed on highly stimulating food in the course of active work that the disease presents itself. LTnder these conditions the disorder appears to be excited by in- sufficient exercise or a temporary respite from work; hence it is sometimes termed " Monday morning disease", from the fact of its frequent occur- rence after Sunday's rest. The intimate cause of the malady cannot be clearly stated, but it would seem to have its origin in some vitiated state of the blood, either resulting from imperfect assimilation of the food or the too tardy elimination from the system of the waste products of the wear and tear of the body. Symptoms. — Two groups of symptoms are clearly manifested in this disorder; one group has reference to the diseased limb, and the other to the general system. In respect of the former it is observed to liecome suddenly enlarged, hot, and painful. The swelling commonly extends from the foot to the stifle, but may be less extensive in the milder forms of attack. The animal shows intense lameness, and will sometimes hold the leg suspended in the air as evidence of pain. The glands in the groin are swollen, and in the more severe cases an oozing of a straw- coloured fluid appears upon the skin. The constitutional symptoms are ushered in by rigors or shiverings, an accelerated pulse, and hurried breathing. The temperature rises two or three degrees above the normal standard. The mouth is hot and clammy, the bowels constipated, and the urine thick, and somewhat dark in colour, and loaded with solid matters. Under judicious manage- ment the fever symptoms subside in thirty-six to forty-eight hours, and the local symptoms show signs of abatement. Treatment. — As a rule to which there are but few exceptions, a bold dose of aloes in the form of a ball should Ite promptly administered, and LYMPHANGITIS— WEED 23 wliile waiting tor its eU'cets relief miiy Ite afforded by warm fomentation and the employment of soothing emollients to the swollen limb. The anodyne effects of warm water may be increased by the addition of opium and solution of the acetate of lead, and the emollient chosen may be improved by the addi- tion of extract of bella- donna or cocaine. Diuretic agents may here be employed with great promise of success, as they stimulate the kidneys to carry off the morbid material in the blood. Nitrate and bi- carbonate of potash is a convenient form in which to give diuretic drugs. Sometimes benefit re- sults by a free scarifica- tion of the swollen limb, i.e. making a number of small punctures through the skin with a fine lancet. ]\Iovement during the first two or three days is very painful, and although a reduction of the swell- ing and greater mobilitry of the limb is the im- mediate result, it appears to increase the inflam- matory action afterwards. With the fir.st subsidence of pain and swelling, short walks at frequent intervals may be recommended as reducing the liability to permanent thickening. The appetite is generally impaired at first, and should not be indulged immediately when it returns; a low diet during the period of convalescence being all-important in the matter of treatment. Grass and young vetches or other green food should be supplied, if obtainable, and corn withheld until a good deal of exercise can Lymphangitis 24 HEALTH AND DISEASE 1)0 taken. In the absence of green fodder, bran mashes, carrots, and a moderate amount of hay should be given. It invariably results that more or less permanent thickening remains after the acute symptoms have sub- sided, especially in the more depending parts of the limb. This, however, may be in some measure obviated by repeatedly subjecting the limb to brisk rubbing with a straw wisp and afterwards to a course of massage. In- creased susceptibility usually follows the first attack. Animals so pre- disposed require special attention and management. In this connection walking exercise should be given whenever a rest-day comes round, and the food ration should be diminished. An aperient dose of medicine, given every three or four months, will greatly assist in warding off an attack. PURPURA HEMORRHAGICA Definition. — A disease involving the entire system, and believed to be connected with changes in the composition and character of the blood, leading to rupture of the small vessels and the development of blood spots and patches in the skin, the mucous membrane of the eyelids, the nose, and various parts and organs of the body. Examination of the blood, both before and after death, show the white cells or corpuscles to be in excess of the normal amount, and the red corijuscles to be very soft and sticky, so that they adhere together in irregular masses, instead of arrang- ing themselves in rows one on the other as they are seen to do in health. Moreover, many of the white corpuscles are liroken up, filling the blood with granular debris. Causes.— But little can be said as to the precise cause of purjjura, but from the history of the disease, and the changes observed in the blood, there is ground for the lielief that it is due to an organic ferment acting upon its corpuscular elements, and through them disordering the general nutrition of the body and that of the vessels in particular. It is liest known as a sequel to certain fevers and affections of a debilitating char- acter— as influenza, strangles, pneumonia, and pleurisy, — but it also occurs in animals while in health, and especially those in a plethoric condition. Bad ventilation and indifferent drainage are suspected of being sometimes concerned in the induction of this disease, but how or in what measure it is impossible, with our present knowledge, to determine. Symptoms. — The onset of the malady is sometimes very sudden, and especially so in those cases where the victims are full-blooded or plethoric. The first signs are either a swelling of the lips or a trickling of blood- stained fluid from the nostrils, or both these symptoms may appear at the same time. The swelling then extends up the face until the head PLATE XXXIU PURPURA H^EMORRHAGICA 25 becomes generally enlarged and unsightly, and the breathing considerably interfered with. In many instances attention is first directed to enlarge- ment of one or more of the legs, or to a soft doughy swelling beneath the belly. The lining membrane of the eyelids, or the nostrils, or both, becomes spotted over with extravasated blood, and in some cases blood-stained fluid oozes from the skin at numerous points. The urine also may be discoloured by admixture with blood. Purpura is always attended with a good deal of prostration, a varying amount of fever, and general constitutional disturbance. In cases where the swelling is considerable, and the disease protracted, sloughing of skin in the region of the lips, or from the heels, is not unlikely to occur. Treatment. — Good sanitation and hygiene are matters of the first importance in dealing with this affection. A roomy, well-ventilated loose- box with efficient drainage should be provided for the patient, and the fioor should be strewn daily with carbolic solution, or some other equally efficient disinfectant. The body is to be well clothed and bandages applied to the legs with the object of keeping up the surface cii'culation, while at the same time a free and plentiful supply of air is allowed both night and day. The strength of the animal should be supported by good manger food, suitably prepared by boiling and scalding, as well as by eggs, beef- tea, &c. Stimulants, in the form of whisky or gin, will be found to aid materially in supporting the powers of life and guarding against com- plications. As to drugs, turpentine with tincture of perehloride of iron are generally employed with the object of arresting hemorrhage and re- storing the integrity of the red corpuscles. One ounce of each of these may be given in a pint of gruel morning and evening. A method of treatment which has been attended with marked success, both in this coun- try and on the Continent, is that of injecting into the trachea or windpipe a weak solution of iodine in iodide of potassium. Four grains of the former to 8 or 10 of the latter, dissolved in an ounce of water, suffices for a dose. Should the bowels be constipated, a little linseed -oil may he given in the food twice a day until a better condition is induced, but it shouLl not on any account be carried to the extent of exciting purgation. Where sloughing of skin takes place the wounds will require to be freely and repeatedly disinfected with one or another of the agents com- monly used for this purpose. When this disease appears in a mild form, as it sometimes does, it is termed by some scarlatina. There is, however, no disease of the horse which in any way resembles scarlatina, either clinically or pathologically. 26 HEALTH AND DISEASE H^MO-GLOBINURIA DBfinition. — Hsemo-glolnnuria is an acute blood disease characterized by sudden and severe lameness in one hind -limb, general paralysis, and dark discoloration of the urine, which is loaded with albumen. This disease used to be called hysteria, because first observed in mares. It is found, however, to be equally prevalent in geldings, and stallions are Suffering from Hsemo-globinuria also sometimes affected by it. It usually comes on after work following upon a short period of rest. Horses in high condition who receive large rations of highly nutritious food are specially liable to it. The late Professor Williams described the deposit thrown down on the addition of an acid to the urine as nitrate of urea. In 1883 Professor Axe combated the view enunciated by Williams and others who regard the disease as the outcome of an immoderate accumulation of urea in the blood, and he adduced a large amount of chemical and patliological evi- dence in support of his contention. In regard to tlie condition of the urine the Professor showed liy a H^MO-GLOBINURIA 27 series of fhoinical analyses: — 1. That the precipitate thrown down on the addition of nitric acid and subsequent boiling is essentially albumen, and not urea as was stated by Williams. 2. That the discoloration is due to the colouring matter of the blood. 3. That while the amount of urea contained in the urine varies in different cases, it cannot be said to exist in any abnormal proportion. He further stated that the simple presence of urea in the serum of the blood, as referred to by Williams, is no indication of its being the disease -producing agent, inasmuch as urea is normally present in it. As to the specific gravity of the urine, the Professor observed that in none of the cases to which his attention had been directed had any marked increase been observed. In respect of the composition of the urine, he had noticed a considerable diminution in the amount of the calcium carbonate, and a notable increase in the ammonio-maguesium phosphates. In speaking of the condition of the tissues after death he dwelt on the general septicsemic character of the changes, and specially referred to their oedematous condition. In a case recently brought under his notice the amount of fluid contained in the muscular and hepatic tissues w^as estimated and compared with that contained in the same structures in health, with the result stated below. Estimation of Moisture in Muscle Tissue of Horse suffering from "Azoturia". — 1. From the psoae muscles 8 ounces or 3840 grains of flesh were removed and correctly weighed. 2. On some of the fluid being removed, by squeezing, it was found to have lost 1050 grains. 3. It was then minced up, and placed in a water-bath (the temperature not exceeding 150° Fahr.) for 24 hours, and again weighed, but the weight was found to be constant: Water ... .. ... 2717 grains Flesh 1123 „ 3840 „ There being present in the muscle water equal to 707 per cent. Estimation of Moisture dl Hejxitic Tissue of a Horse suffering from ^'Azoturia". — 1. Eight ounces of liver were taken and correctly weighed. 2. On some of the fluid being removed, by squeezing, it was found to have lost 1125 grains. 3. The liver was now minced up and put into a water-bath (temperature 150° Fahr.) for 24 hours, and again weighed, w^heu it was found to have lost 2478 grains. 4. It was then put into the same bath for 12 hours longer, at the end of which time it was again weighed, but found to be constant: 28 HEALTH AND DISEASE Water ... 2478 grains Flesh 1362 „ 3840 „ There being present in the liver water equal to 64 '5 per cent. Estimation of Moisture in Muscular Tissue of a Horse in Health. — A piece of psose muscle was taken from a horse and weighed. After the water had been expelled, it was found to have lost 50 '37 per cent of moisture. Estimation of Moisture in Hepatic Tissue of a Horse in Health. — A piece of liver was taken from a mare and weighed. After the water had been expelled, it was found to have lost 44 '2 per cent of moisture. Analysis of Ui'ine in Health. — Three samples of urine were taken from three mares, and yielded respectively the following proportion of urea : — 1st sample ... ... ... ... 11-9 parts per 1000 2nd sample ... ... ... ... 12*4 ,, „ 3rd sample 11-38 „ „ When treated with peroxide of hydrogen and tincture of guaiacum thev gave no coloration, showing the absence of blood; when a small quantity of blood was added to the urine the hydrogen peroxide and guaiacum gave a distinct blue coloration. Analysis of Urine w "Azoturia". — On Wednesday, June 13th, 1883, a portion of urine removed from a bay cart mare suffering from "Azoturia" was submitted for analysis. Physical Characters. — Colour, in bulk, chocolate-brown; viewed in a test-tube, bright red, transparent, somewhat thicker than water; a .small amount of granular matter visible in suspension. Specific gravity 1'015. To test-paper it gave a distinctly alkaline reaction. On the addition of nitric acid there was no effervescence; on being boiled a flocculent precipitate of albumen was thrown down. A portion of urine was taken and tested by the guaiacum test previously employed for the healthy urine, when a beautiful blue coloration was produced, indicating the presence of blood. A portion of blood from the same animal afforded the same reaction. The total solids were equal to 30 '36 parts per 1000, and were of a bright-red hue, due to the pi-esence of the colouring matter of the blood, and were estimated according to Neubauer's process. The urea was estimated by Russell and West's process. The ash or total saline matter was found to be equal to 4 '61 parts per 1000. The ash contained a very large amount of iron, probably derived from the con- stituents of the blood. The ammonia was estimated by Schlosing's method, and found to be equal to "0039453 parts of urea per 1000. H^MO-GLOBINURIA 29 Proportion of Cliief Constituents in 1000 parts. Water ... Urea Ash Hippuric Acid ... ... i Extractives ... ... '- Blood and other matters I . 969-64 . 11-59 4-61 . 1416 1000-00 From a full consideration of all the facts and circumstances which his investigatiou had revealed, he was constrained to look upon the term "Azoturia" as a misnomer which could not be sustained in any sense whatever. Ca,USes. — The immediate cause of the disease is in some way connected with good living, and the blood has been stated to be surcharged with nitrogenous matter. This is very likely to be the case, but there is no scientific pro(^ of the truth of the proposition. That a change is induced in the blood by a short period of work after two or three days' rest is true, and whatever that change may be it is marked by an escape of albumen and colouring-matter of the blood with the urine. Symptoms. — The attack is usually very sudden; the subject may all at once become dead lame behind, as if from a broken limb, or severe injury to the loin; the muscles of the quarter are spasmodically contracted and hard, the animal breaks out into a profuse sweat, and the breathing becomes hurried and difficult. There is great discoloration of the urine, which may be of a dark-red or even porter colour. Sometimes there is difficulty in staling, when it becomes necessary to empty the bladder by means of the catheter. In a short time the animal falls, and is unable to rise. While on the ground he fights convulsively with the fore-limbs, and raises his head to his side as if suffering abdominal pain. The membranes of the eyes and nose are intensely reddened, the pulse is quick and full, and the temperature increased. Treatment. — A bold dose of aloes should be promptly administered, and, if possible, the animal should be slung. This is one of the few diseases in which some veterinary surgeons acUdse bleeding; no doubt the readiest way to reduce any deleterious matter which the blood may contain. A sack containing a large Cjuantity of hot bran or other poultice 211.— Cells of Liver of Horse affected with Hsemo-globinuria 30 HEALTH AND DISEASE completely covering the loins gives relief to the cramped muscles, and facilitates the action both of skin and kidneys. Enemas of warm water should be thrown into the rectum. When aloes have acted freely diuretics should follow, preferably spirit of nitrous ether, as being stimulating and sustaining. Should the convulsive movements of the limbs and general excitement be considerable, a dose of chloral hydrate should be given, and repeated if necessary. If there is not a free passage of urine the catheter should be used, and the water drawn ofl' from time to time as Fig. 212. — Section of Kidney of Horse .iffected n-ith Hsemo-globinuria A, Glomenilo-nephritis. B, Renal Tube containing Granular Casts. Degeneration of its Walls. D, Large Granular Cast from Urine Tube, ment with Blood. F, Small Tubes of Henle (healthy). c, Renal Tube, showing E, Vein, showing Engorge- may be required. Soap liniment, with plenty of friction, may be applied over the loins and quarters where rigidity of the muscles exists. The diet should be low, and of a laxative character. Many horses remain crippled for a considerable period after the acute symptoms have passed away, and some never recover the complete use of their hind-C[uarters. The result of the disease is to cause rapid wasting of the muscles of the croup and thigh, and this must be met by a long run at grass, with bli.sters to the part, and the daily administration of nerve tonics. All cases of this kind demand attention from a qualified veterinarian. These symptoms are such as are commonly seen in the more acute cases, but there are others in which the urine does not become discoloured nor does the animal displav those acute symptoms of lameness here described. In these cases the horse INFLUENZA OF HOKSES 31 is iiiiU.spo.se(l, with slight huiiouess in one of the legs, and until the urine has been examined there is nothing to indieate the nature ol' the malady from whieh he sutlers. A little aeid applied to the urine reveals at once the nature of the disease l)y causing the coagulation and deposit of all)uuien. 9. CONTAGIOUS DISEASES INFLUENZA OF HORSES A low form of catarrhal disease aifeeting the horse has for a long time been distinguished from common catarrh by the term inHuenza or dis- temper. It has existed in this country as far back as veterinary history extends, prevailing generally in the spring of the year, reappearing some- times in the autumn. InHuenza attracted a special attention in 1872, in consequence of an extensive outbreak in the United States, causing enormous loss among horses belonging to the tramway companies. In consequence of the swelling and inflammation of the eyes, which is in many cases one of the symptoms, it acquired the name of " pink eye", but at the time the American veterinary authorities admitted that there was nothing in its character to distinguish it from the old form of inHuenza, and they ascribed the excessive mortality to the injudicious treatment to which sick animals were subjected. The tramway companies insisted on keeping them at work after the indications of the disease had appeared, with the result which has been referred to. The new term " pink eye" was accepted in this country as evidence of the existence of a new disease among horses in the States, and consider- able alarm was created among horse-owners, who realized the risk of importing the disease from America, an event which really occurred, but not until several cases of what was considered to be " pink eye" had been detected in difterent parts of England. It may be observed here that the swelling and redness of the eye had always been recognized as a symptom in certain cases of influenza, and the older practitioners insisted on this fact when the attempt was made to substitute " pink eye" for inHuenza. The popular feeling, however, was too strong for them, and to this day cases of inHuenza, associated with swelling of the eyelids and redness of the lining membrane, continue to be described as cases of " pink eye". 32 HEALTH AND DISEASE Causes. — As iuHuenza affects a consideiahle number of aiiiiiuils which are associated together in large establishnients, the idea naturally arose that the disease was spread by contagion. In opposition to this tlieory there is the evidence that one case may be followed by another at the other end of a large stable. In other instances a large number of animals are attacked simultaneously. The disease also appears in certain localities, in which it lages for a time and then rapidly ceases without any ajjparent reason. In favour of the contagion theory it is urged that the introduction of a sick horse into a healthy stable is followed by the propagation of the disease, and that the introduction of horses into infected stables has, at least in many instances, been followed by an outbreak of the malady. It is undoubtedly expedient in practice to treat the disease as one of the contagia. Symptoms. — Influenza is distinguished from common catarrh by the \-ery marked depression and weakness which attend the early stages. The appetite is impaired, the temperature rises, the pulse gradually increases in frequency, and the depression becomes more pronounced as the disease advances. Swelling of the eyelids and redness of the mucous membrane are also observed, and sometimes the swelling extends to the limbs, or maybe the head. Discharge from the nostrils may, or, as in some cases, may not, be present. Muscular pain and weakness is shown l)y the feeble gait and the constant change of posture and resting of first one limit and then another. In other cases the disease appears to be concentrated in the digestive .system, affecting the liver chiefly, when the membranes of the eyes and nose become yellow, the foeces hard and coated with a glairy mucus. In other instances the respiratory organs seem to suffer most, and some of the worst cases terminate in a gangrenous pneumonia. Results. ^ — Influenza is not, under ordinary circumstances, a fatal disease; the mortality has been stated by different authorities to amount to 3, 4, 9, and 10 per cent. In the outbreak which occurred in the States in 1872 the mortality among 30,000 horses was 7 per cent. The average mortality from the disease is stated to be from 1 to 4 per cent. Treatment. — The great variation in the mortality may be put down to the diti'ercnce, in the surroundings of the sick animal. In ordinary cases authorities allow that medicines are of little value, and careful . arrangement of the diet, disinfection and ventilation of stables, and a general attention to sanitary arrangements are sufficient to combat the disease. Avoidance of exposure to climatic changes and absolute rest are essential. The disastrous effect of continuing to keep horses at work after the first indications of the disease are apjjarent has already been men- CONTAGIOUS PNEUMONIA OF THE HOUSE 33 tioned. Tlie main ohject of treatment should be to uphold the strength and keep fever in cheek. For this purpose a dose of spirits of nitric ether in combination with aromatic spirits of ammonia, with a little nitrate of potash morning and evening, is usually sufficient. In eases where serious complications arise, such as pneumonia, bilious fever, &c., skilled veterinary assistance must be employed. CONTAGIOUS PNEUj\IONIA OF THE HORSE The disease which has lately been described as contagious pneumonia is generally included in the term influenza; it is, in fact, that form of the infection in which the central respiratory system is specially implicated. Causes. — According to Schlitz, contagious pneumonia of the horse is due to a specific organism, an o"\"oid bacterium, one of a very large class of microbes, most of which are stained by aniline colours at both ends, with the central portion transparent and colourless. Inoculations made with the microbe of contagious pneumonia of the horse produce positive eft'ects in mice, rabbits, pigeons, and guinea-pigs, and injections into the lung structure of the horse produce all the symptoms of contagious pneumonia. A considei-able mortality attends this disease, reaching sometimes as high as 20 per cent. Treatment of this disorder would not, of course, be attempted by an amateur. GLANDERS AND FARCY It cannot be said that the horse is particularly subject to diseases which are propagated by contagion, but it is certainly the case that the animal is the victim of one malady which, from its insidious nature and the tenacity with which it clings to the premises in which it breaks out, will bear com- parison with any of the plagues which affect the lower animals. Glanders and farcy, or, more correctly, the one disease glanders, or in technical language equinia, which, according to its manifestation in different parts of the body, is distinguished by one or the other term, has a very wide distribution and a history which is lost in the lapse of time. It was known as for back as available records extend. According to an article which was published in Vol. VI, Part 1 of the Joiirnal of the Koyal Agricultural Society of England, 1895, the first English writer on agriculture, Fitzherbert, says, in his Boke of Husbandry, published by Pynson in 1523, when describing the " deseases and sorance of horses", that " Glaunders is a desease that may be mended, and cometh of a U HEALTH AND DISEASE heate and a sodeyue colde, and appereth at his nosethiylles and betweue his chall (jowl or jaw) bones. Mournynge on the chyne is a desease in- curable, and it appereth at his nosethryll lyke oke water. A Glaunder, when it breaketh, is lyke matter. Broken winded and pursiveness is but shorte blowynge. . . . The Farcyon is an yll soraunce and male well be cured in the begynnynge and wyll appere in dyuerse places of his bodye, and there wyll ryse pymples as muche as halfe a walnut-shell, and they will followe a veyne and wyll breake by itself, and as many horses as do playe with him that is sore and gnappe of the matter that runneth out of the sore shall have the same sorance within a moneth after; and therefore keep the sycke fi-om the whole. And if that sorance be not cured betyme he wyll dye of it." Other writers — Dr. Bracken on the Art of Farriery, 1739; Mr. Gibson, 1751; .James White, 1802 — give their views as to the nature and origin of the disease. Dr. Bracken does not believe that the affec- tion is contagious any more than a cold or consumption is, in which he is probably correct, as both these diseases are undoubt- edly contagious, but he guards his expres- sion of opinion against any mistake by asserting that the cause of the disease is atmospheric. It is curious to note that the same authority considers the discharge from the ulcers of farcy may be contagious. Mr. Gibson looks upon glanders as the most infectious of all maladies that attack the horse. James "White also con- siders glanders a contagious disease, but he believes also that it may arise spontaneously, adding, however, that the most common cause of farcy is contagion from a glandered or farcied horse. That he considered the diseases to be identical is apparent from his remark that they will recip- rocally produce each other. Causes. — Not many years ago numerous causes were quoted as being directly or indirectly concerned in the production of glanders, as, for in- stance, the debility arising from attacks of acute diseases, insufficient or bad quality of diet, and generally exposure to in.sanitary conditions. Since the discovery, however, of the infecting organism of glanders by Schutz and Loffler in 1882, which is known as the Bacillus mallei (fig. 213), only one cause can be referred to, i.e. the transmission of the infecting germ derived from a diseased animal. That the liacillus of glanders is the real cause of the disease was proved by Schutz. who cultivated the oraanisni GLANDERS I. Trache.i, showing earliest stage of glanderous ulceration. 2. Portion of Lung, sliowing superficial nodules of glanders. 3. Section of Lung, showing A, hasmorrhagia or earliest perceptible stage of pulmonary glanders : B, extended haemorrhage : CC, commencing caseation; D, cavity filled with caseous matter; E, fibroid degeneration of nodule. 4 Ulcerated Mucous Membrane of Nasal Septum. GLANDERS AND FARCY 35 on l)oileil potato, also on the sterilized serum of the horse and sheep, and produced glanders in horses and other animals l)y inoculation with the pure cultures. Infection of Glanders. — Communication of glanders from one horse to another with which it may be in contact is a fact which is hardly questioned iu the present day, but it is also true that in many cases a glandered horse has been kept in a stable with a number of others without any extension of the disease so far as an ordinary clinical examination would enable an observer to determine. This circumstance has been noted by some of the older writers. On the other hand, recent investigations prove that the period of incubation, by which term is meant the period which elapses between the introduction of the virus and the declaration of the disease, is exceedingly variable, although it has been stated by different writers that it may extend from a few days to a year. Incubation. — Experiments go to prove that an inoculated ass, an animal which is very susceptible to glanders, will be visibly affected in the course of six or seven days. It is, of course, almost impossible to determine the exact date of infection under ordinary circumstances, and there is also to be taken into account the question of susceptibility; but altogether the evidence which has been obtained by very careful enquiry leads to the conclusion that when the infective material is introduced into a horse's system through the breathing organs, or an open wound in any part of the body, the disease in some stage will be develojDed in the course of a few days. It may, however, remain in an absolutely dormant condition for months or years, and during this time, although the animal is to all intents and purposes a glandered horse, there may not be any external evidence whatever of the existence of the disease. It is consequently easy to understand authorities having expressed various opinions in refer- ence to the incubative period. Symptoms of Glanders. — Since the introduction of the mallein test it is not of so much importance as it formerly was to estimate the value of certain indications which were once looked upon as sufKcient to render an animal suspected. The distinctive symptoms of the worst stage of glanders are not easily mistaken; in fact, they are quite familiar to most persons who have been in any way concerned with the management of horses. Ulceration of the lining membrane of the nostrils, with an adhesive dis- charge at first of semi-transparent character and later of a purulent nature, with swelling of the glands under the jaw, are among the most character- istic svmptoms. The local disease of the nasal membrane is commonly confined to one side, so far at least as clinical examination can determine, and the enlarged glands are always on the side corresponding to the 36 HEALTH AND DISEASE diseased nostril. In the chronic form of ghmdeis the discharge from the nostril is sometimes so slight as to attract very little attention, and no ulcers can be seen on any part of the nasal membrane, which, however, is frequently pallid or of a bluish discoloration. Even these symptoms are, however, absent in many cases in which a post-mortem examination will prove the animal to be affected with glanders. When glanders presents itself in the form of farcy, the real difierence in the symptoms results from the presence of the local disease in the skin, chiefly that of tlie hind extremities. The nodules and subsequent ulceration in the mucous membrane, which are characteristic of glanders, are accepted as indications of fiircy when they appear in the skin. In both forms of the disease there is the same affection of the lymphatic vessels and their associated glands, and the distinctive nodules of glanders which are found in the lungs are also seen in cases of farcy. Accompanying the eruption of the so-called farcy buds in the skin of the extremities there is usually a tumefaction of the lymphatic vessels and general enlargement of the affected limb. Indeed, the first symptom of the disease is commonly a certain degree of stiffness of movement, which becomes more marked as the swelling increases. Farcy, when treated as a separate disease, was considered to be less serious and more amenable to treatment than glanders. In many instances animals apparently recovered under a course of tonic medicine with liberal rations, but it was allowed that such recovered animals often exhibited distinctive symptoms of glanders after an attack of any acute disease, as influenza or pneumonia. The symptoms of farcy are so definite that any experienced stableman would consider himself competent to decide whether or not the disease existed in any horse under his charge, but recent investigations by Algerian veterinary surgeons, and also by Professor Nocard, indicate that it is extremely likely for the most marked symptoms to lead to a wrong diag- nosis, as there exists in horses a form of inflammation of the lymphatics — which was first noticed by the veterinary surgeons of the Algerian army, and described by them as suppurating lymphangitis — which presents the chief symptoms of farcy, i.e. swelling of the limb, enlargement of the lymph vessels, formation of small tumours (farcy buds) which burst and subsequently undergo ulceration. How extremely close the resemblance between the two diseases — epi- zootic lymphangitis and farcy— ;is may be judged from Professor Nocard's remarks in reference to fifty-nine cases of apparent farcy — forty-three only were really the subjects of the true disease (glanders); the other sixteen were affected with suppurating lymphangitis. The two affections may be distinguished by microscopic examination of the matter disclimgod from (GLANDERS AND FARCY 37 tlie pustules ill the skin. In epizootic lyinplinngitis will be observed a number of small, highly retractile lemon-shaped bodies, some free and others contained in the pus corpuscles. These are the cryptococci by which the disease is caused. Glanders, on the other hand, will be recognized liy the maUein test, and, in addition, the inoculation of guinea-pigs and the cultivation of the organism on ditl'ereiit media, as potato, bouillon, agar-agar, and serum-gelatine. Such complicated tests are, of course, not likely to l)e applied excepting in cases where a valual)le horse is con- demned as suffering from farcy, and tlie symptoms are limited to the lymphatit's of the extremities. Precautions to be taken to prevent the spreading of Glanders. — It is now perfectly well known that glanders is communicable to the human subject, and by inoculation to guinea-pigs, sheep, and goats. Cattle only suffer local disease, rabbits are very slightly susceptible. Among the carnivora, lions and other animals of the same class, kept in menageries and fed on raw flesli of horses, incur the risk of getting glandei'ous matter in this way introduced into their systems. Several cases of extensive ulceration of the skin of the paws, followed by the death of the animals, have occurred among lions in different parts of the country. It is satis- foctory, however, to note that the infective matter of glanders does not retain its activity for a very long time ; exposure to dry air kills it in fifteen to twenty days; but so long as a horse is affected -with the disease in any form, a constant supply of the virus is kept up, and susceptible animals, as well as men attending upon the diseased horse, incur a certain amount of risk. Suspected animals, therefore, should be kept in a secure place until the nature of the disease is determined. The injection of maUein will at once resolve any doubt which may exist, and if the sus- pected horse exhibits the characteristic reaction— that is, rise of tempera- ture to 103°, 104°, or 105°, with signs of systematic disturbance, dulness and loss of appetite, and a swelling at the seat of inoculation — it is tolerably certain that the suspected horse is suffering from glanders, and it should be destroyed without delay. Glanders is the only contagious disease of the horse which is dealt with by any general order under the Diseases of Animals Act, 1894. The Glanders and Farcy Order of 1894 gives extensive powers to local authorities with regard to public warning of the existence of the disease; the movement of diseased or suspected horses, asses, or mules; cleansing and disinfection ; and also for slaughter of diseased horses and the payment of compensation. The first duty of the owner of a diseased horse is to give notice of the fact of the existence of the disease to a police constable in his district, which notice will be communicated to the local authoritv and to 38 HEALTH AND DISEASE the Board of Agriculture in order that the necessary measures may be adopted. Use of Mallein in the Detection of Glanders. — Before the dis- covery of mallein, a few years aero, the only test which couki be applied in doubtful cases was the inoculation of an ass with the nasal discharge. Later on, guinea-pigs were found to answer the purpose even better, and Dr. Woodhead employed a double test by inoculating the most susceptible Fig. 214. — Inoculating with Mallein animal, a guinea-pig, and at the same time a comparatively unsusceptible one, a rabbit. If the guinea-pig died after exhibiting distinct symptoms of glanders, and the rabbit recovered after showing slight signs of fever, as a rise of temperature with local irritation, or slight ulceration, it was concluded that the horse was affected with glanders. The use of mallein, however, is a much more delicate test, because it is equally effective when applied to horses which are not suspected, or at least exhibit no sign of disease of any kind, but are known to have been in the same stable with a glandered horse. }fall('rii is prepared by cultivating STRANGLES OF THE HOUSE 39 the bdviUus (if iflaiulcis in iHiuilKni, t(i which 5 per cent of glyeerine has been added. The vessels containing the cultivation are kept from three to six weeks at a temperature of 100" Fahr. The cultures are then sterilized bv steam, and afterwards filtered tlirou<;li unglazed earthenware to separate the dead bacilli. A clear sherry-col()ure( 1 li(pud is obtained, perfectly free from organisms. It has been proved by numerous experi- ments in this country and on the Conti- nent that the injection (fig. 214) of the fluid mallein under the skin of the neck of a horse produces characteristic reaction, even in cases in which after death only a single glanderous nodule has been found in the lungs. The test has been also applied to healthy horses and to horses atfected with bronchial catarrh, pleurisy, strangles, and nasal gleet, but in no instance has the complete characteristic reaction been observed. It may, therefore, be considered that the mcdlem test is perfectly reliable, even in cases in which the disease was in the early stage. Fig. 215, STRANGLES OF THE HORSE Strangles, or pyrogenic fever, or external scrofula, are names given to this catarrhal disease, which is so very common among young horses. ( )n the cjuestion of the infectious nature of the disorder opinions differ very materially. Dr. Twill, in his recent work on the pathology of the domestic animals, describes strangles as an acute infectious disease. Robertson defines it as a specific febrile disease of the horse probably under certain conditions contagious. Williams states in definite terms his opinion that the disease is not contagious, but he admits, nevertheless, that it is better to take precautions against its diffusion by separating the diseased horse from healthy ones. In the popular view the disease is the result of some peculiar condition of the system, which leads to the external manifestations characteristic of strangles, in the course of which the morbid matter is discharged from the system, and the animal is supposed to be so much the better for its removal. In favour of the contagion theory there are the facts derived from experimental enquiry connnenced a hundred years back. In these iuvesti- 40 HEALTH AND DISEASE gations strangles was directly transmitted by inoculation with the nasal discharge. Similar experiments have been performed by other investi- gators with negative results. Schiitz, however, discovered an organi.sm some years ago, a streptococcus, with pure cultivation of which he suc- ceeded in causing the disease in healthy colts, and from the whole of the evidence it will be decidedly safe to accept the view that strangles is a contagious disease of the horse. Strangles only occurs in the equine I'ace, including the horse, ass, and mule. It is common to young horses fi'om two to five years, and occa- sionally it occurs in colts of a few weeks old; also it may appear in very old horses, in which case it is com- monly spoken of as bastard strangles, and invariably runs a mild course. Symptoms. — It is generally ad- mitted that the earliest symptoms of strangles are those of a mild catarrh, slight fever, increase of pulsation and discharge from the nostrils, cough and sore throat, followed by a diffuse swell- ing of the glands and cellular tissue under the jaw. One of the difficulties in dealing with the disease as a con- tagious malady arises fi'om the absence of any special symptoms, rendering accurate diagnosis in the early stage impossible. Practically the question is only one of importance when immediate diagnosis is essential, as in the case of the admission of an animal to a show-yard. This difficulty, however, is lessened by the fact that all catarrhal affections may prove to be more or less contagious, and ordinary benign strangles is probabh- not more infectious than an ordinary cold in the head. In a few hours, or at most in a day or two, more characteristic symp- toms of strangles may be looked for. The nasal discharge becomes puru- lent. A swelling under the throat, the beginning of an abscess, will be apparent, and during the formation of pus, fever is more acute. The animal's appetite is now impaired, the temperature rises considerably, and the pulse becomes much more frequent. AVhen the suppuration is com- plete, and the abscess beneath the jaw has been emptied, the febrile symptoms gradually disappear. Treatment. — Good nursing appears to be all that is really necessary in dealing with strangles of the ordinary type: fumigations to the tliioat Fig. 216.— Steaming- f.ir stnuiirles ANTllKAX OF TllK 1101!SK 41 (fig. 216) and poultices (tig. 217) arc eonmioiily cniployeil for the pur- pose of assisting the suppurati\o [irocess. When mature, the al>sce.ss should be opened, and the matter discharged collected in a basket on saw-dust and burned. The jjus cavity should be well syringed out with a 5-per-cent solution of car- bolic acid, and afterwards filled with cotton-wool which has been previously wrung out in the same solution. The plug of wool should be changed every day, and the part kept thoroughly clean. Soft diet and warm clothing, with thorough ventilation of stables, constitute the addi- tional treatment which is retjuired. Strangles sometimes as- sumes a chronic, and occasionally a malignant, form, ending in the intro- duction of pus into the circulation (pyaemia) or the extension of the sup- purative process to the glandular system; sometimes also blood-poisoning (septicfemia) occurs when the exudation j^roducts become putrid. Cases of the more malignant forms of the disease do not come within the scojdc of domestic treatment, but require skilled professional aid. Fig. 217. — Poulticing for Strangles ANTHRAX OF THE HORSE The disease which is recognized as true anthrax is due to the existence in the body of a specific organism, the Bacillus anthracis (fig. 218), a motionless rod which is found in the blood and in all the tissues of the body into which lilood can penetrate. The organism belongs to the class of aerobic bacteria, that is, living only in air. Without the presence of oxygen the anthrax bacillus very quickly dies. Anthrax bacilli are readily cultivated in bouillon or gelatine. In the animal body the organism multiplies by the formation of spores, and the almost invariable fatality which results from the introduction of the microbe is due to the formation of a poi-son during the development of the organism. Anthrax is much more prevalent among cattle and sheep than among horses, and when the latter are infected it is usually in consequence of a previous outbreak of the disease among other stock on the farm. Cases which have occurred recentlv. however, leave no doubt tliat the horse mav be infected with 42 HEALTH AND DISEASE the disease in its own stable, through the agency of contaminated pro- vender, hay, or oats; the latter particularly have been proved in several instant-es to be highly infective to the horses which consume them. Symptoms. — Anthrax in all animals runs its course to a fatal termi- nation with remarkable rapidity, and there is often nothing in the indications to excite suspicion of the nature of the disease. There are the ordinary signs of fever, rise of internal temperature, quick pulse, and increased respiration. The animals stagger when attempting to walk, and sometimes sufier from colic. The most characteristic symptom is swelling of the throat, extending down- wards towards the chest; finally there is profuse perspiration, which is followed by death usually within thirty hours from the time of the attack. In most cases a fatal result is the first indication of the existence of the disease. An animal which has been left in apparent health is found dead an hour or two after- wards. The post-mortem appearance indicates general congestion of the internal organs, with effusion of blood into the tissues and cavities of the body and also under the skin. Treatment. — Owing to the rapid i^rogress of the disease, curative treatment is never attempted in cases which are diagnosed as anthrax, but it may be remarked that the diagnosis is extremely difficult, even when the disease is suspected to be anthrax, from the fact that the organism is not detectable in the blood until shortly before death, and it is only found in al)undance after death, as seen in fig. 218, B. Prevention will include an enquiry into the circumstances which have led to the introduction of the disease, and with this view it will be neces- sary to examine the articles of food by the aid of the microscope, and also by use of cultivative media on which the organism is known to grow. The final test of the inoculation of guinea-pigs or rabbits with the water in which the suspected provender has been soaked will probal)ly be necessary. In cases of the outbreak of anthrax among horses kept in stables it will be safe to conclude that the organism had been introduced into the blood by contaminated provender, water, or litter, but when horses are attacked while on a pasture it is very likely that an enquiry will prove that the Fig. 218. — Bacillus anthracis A, Bacilli in chains. B, Bacilli disconnected. HORSE-POX, TUBERCULOSIS, AND ENDOCARDITIS I. Natural Horse-pox simulating Glanders. 2. Natural Horse-pox simulating Aphthous Stomatitis. 3. Tuberculosis: Section of Affected Lung; A.\, newly-formed tubercles; BB, tubercles undergoing caseous degeneration; cc, divided blood- vessels. 4. Endocarditis (valvular disease). HORSE-POX 43 ground has been contaminated with the infective material conveyed in refuse from manufactories, or from a previous outbreak of the disease among cattle or sheep. In any case the immediate removal of horses from the place where the disease originated is an obvious precaution which should be at once adopted. Anthrax is easily communicated to man by accidental inoculation during post-mortem examination or while cutting up carcasses of animals dead of the disease. It is on this account particularly desirable to note that for the purpose of diagnosis a portion of the ear may be cut off and the blood which Hows from the cut surface may be used for microscopic examination, cultivation of the organism on artificial media, or for test inoculation, without any serious risk to the operator. Carcasses of animals which have died of anthrax should be burned or buried uncut and covered with quick-lime. The anthrax bacillus, when cut oil' in this way from contact with air, very quickly becomes inert. HOESE-P(\X Veterinarians in this country do not generally recognize the existence of small-pox in the horse. The disease is described by Continental authorities as an eruption on the pasterns, the posterior surface of the joints being chiefly aff"ected. The skin becomes swollen and red, the inflammation extends some distance up the limb, vesicles, or small blisters, followed by pustules, appear and discharge a viscid fluid. A similar eruption appears sometimes in the nose and lips, and also on the mucous membrane of the mouth and nostrils. The disease is admitted to be very rare in this country, and when it does occur it is most probable that it would be mistaken for the disease of the pastern which is known as " grease". Horse-pox is a benign aftection, terminating in recovery without treatment in a few weeks. Experimental and accidental inoculations are said to produce in man an eruption similar to that following the introduction of the vaccine virus, and it is asserted that the disease so conveyed protects the individual from small-pox. CtLOSS-ANTHRAX This is a form of anthrax in which the disease specially involves the tono-ue, and, in a less degree, the tissues of the throat. It is not, how- ever, to be confounded wath septic glossitis, a malady in which the tongue becomes considerably enlarged, as the result of excoriation and local poison- ing by inoculation with septic organic matter. 44 HEALTH AND DISEASE Gloss-anthrax is sudden iu its onset, and rapid in its course, provino; fatal in twenty-four to forty-eight hours. It is specially marked by an enlargement of the entire length of the tongue, during which large vesicles or blisters appear on some part of its surface, and occasionally on the cheeks also. Within them is contained a quantity of red and blackish- red watery exudation, but this soon escapes, leaving behind grayish-black unhealthy-looking sores. The tongue is swollen, and partly protrudes from the mouth, at first presenting a red appearance, but soon becomino- dark and livid. The enlargement is also observed between the jaws, extending to the throat, and sometimes along the course of the neck. The tumefied state of the tongue renders mastication and swallowing impossible, and considerably embarrasses the breathing. The face in this condition presents a hideous, and at the same time an anxious, expression. The lining membranes of the eyes and nose are intensely reddened, the pulse is rapid, small, and weak, the temperature of the body increased, and a fatal prostration, speedily associated with twitching and trembling of the muscles and patchy sweats, supervenes. Treatment is of no avail in these cases, and they should be summarily disposed of As a means of preventing further spread of the disease every sanitary precaution should be taken as regards the horse, the stable, and the litter removed out of it. RABIES OF THE HORSE It is well known that the bite of a rabid animal is the sole cause of this disease in the horse. In this country it is always traced to the bite of a rabid dog. The time which elapses between the inoculation of the animal by the teeth of a dog and the appearance of the disease varies from four to twelve weeks, and cases are recorded in which it is extended to a much longer period. Symptoms. — If it is known that the horse has been bitten by a rabid i.log, the attendant will carefully watch for the first symptoms of derange- ment. Otherwise, no suspicion being excited, very little attention will be paid to the early symptoms. The horse becomes nervous and excitable, bites at any object within his reach, and occasionally seems disposed to attack the persons to whom he is quite accustomed. In some cases the horse will bite his ow^n skin, and will very likely swallow indigestible substances, anything which is lying on the ground. There is always considerable thirst, and those who look for any indications of hydrophobia, dread of water, will be disappointed, as that symptom is peculiar to the human subject. As the disease becomes more pronounced the horse TKTA.NUS OF THE HORSE 45 becomes violently exeited, aiul is affected with spasms of the neck and legs. When a stick is held out the horse will seize it, and may make a feint to attack the person holding it, but, instead of succeeding, the muscular spasm becomes so violent that the horse generally falls, and after a while rises again in an apparently tranquil state. Death usually occurs in less than a week, but, as a matter of common precaution, the horse will be killed as soon as the nature of the tlisease is ascertained. TETANUS OF THE HORSE Tetanus occupies a somewhat dubious position in the classification of diseases. Formerly it was looked upon as a tonic spasm of the voluntary muscles, resulting from irritation affecting the nerves from an unhealthy wound. The affection was divided into traumatic tetanus, when it was traced to an injury or wound, and idiopathic, when it occurred inde- pendently of any external wound. It is somewdiat remarkable that the older writers insist very strongly upon the influence of various common causes in the production of this disease. Thus Delatere Blaine, writing in the early part of the present century, refers to tetanus or locked-jaw as a morbid irritation of part or the w^hole of the nervous system, originating in the brain itself, or ultimately reaching it, according as it is idiopathic or symptomatic. Idio- pathic tetanus, he remarks, is most frequent in the horse, and its causes are, some of them, evident, others, occult. In the list of ordinary causes to which he attributes the disease is cold, especially when the body is heated, as in the case of a plunge into a river during a hunting run, or a horse standing still during a check after a severe burst, or the constant dripping of water on to the body from a defective roof of a stable ; also the presence of worms in the alimen- tary canal, especially botts in the stomach. Traumatic or symptomatic tetanus he traces to various external injuries, contusions, lacerations, and wounds made in surgical operations. Wounds of tendinous and liga- mentous parts have always been considered to be particularly dangerous. Even twenty years ago tetanus is described as a disease, the general pathology of which is very little known, and writers referred it to an exalted polarity of the nerve-centres, or to a bad condition of the blood, or the effects of cold acting on the sensitive nerves. The views above stated, with certain modifications, obtained until Nicolaier, in 1884, discovered that inoculation of mice, rabbits, and guinea- pigs with portions of soils, obtained from streets and from fields, produced symptoms which were considered to be tetanic in their character. fn 46 HEALTH AND DISEASE tlie abscess which was formed at the point of inoculation several micro- organisms were found, and one of them produced similar tetanic symptonLs when inoculated into other animals. Some considerable time elapsed before what is now known as the tetanus bacillus was obtained in the state of pure cultivation, owing to the fact that the microbe was anaerobic, and consequently would not grow in the air. Pure oxygen, it is said, destroys it completely. The bacillus occurs in the form of small motile rods with the sjjore at one end, giving to the organism the appearance of a minute drum -stick, and it grows readily on the usual media when kept in an atmosphere of hydrogen. Dr. Sims Woodhead, in his work on Bacteria and their Product, remarks, in reference to the universal distribution of the bacillus, that M. Bos- sano obtained soil from forty -three dif- ferent regions in various parts of the Fip. 219 -Bacillus tetani gloijc, and produccd tctanus in white mice and guinea-pigs with twenty -seven out of the forty-three specimens, and from his experiment Bossano con- cluded that soils which contain much organic matter almost invariably contain tetanus bacilli. The information which has been obtained of late years proves that tetanus is one of the pure contagia, and is due to the introduction of the specific microbe into the animal system through a wound in some part of the exterior of the body. Whether or not it is possible that the disease may arise from the introduction of contaminated soil into a wound in any part of the alimentary canal it is impossible to determine. There do not, however, appear to be any facts which would militate against this assumption, and infection occurring in this way- — that is, through the agency of a wound in the interior of the body — would naturally give rise to the idea that the disease was idiopathic in its origin. There can be no doubt, however, that the majority of cases are due to the infliction of a wound on the exterior of the body, especially in such a position that the injured part is likely to come frequently in contact with the earth. It appears that on entering the wound the bacillus of tetanus locates itself in the damaged tissues, and is not distributed throughout the Iwily The poison, however, which it produces in the wound during its growth will be readily absorbed and carried to the nerve centres, inducing the irri tation which results in the tetanic spasm of the muscles. TETANUS OF THE H0K8E 47 Tetanus does not spread from one horse to another hy contagion or infection, but it can be transmitted by inoculation with the pus, or by a portion of the damaged structure of a wound, and there is a certain amount of risk incurred by the persons who dress such wounds if they happen to have any abrasions of the skin of the hands. It is usual to classify the disease according to the part of the body which is most affected, and in accordance also with the rapidity of its progress. Thus there is acute and chronic tetanus. The terms which are sometimes in use — rhcumatismal tetanus as the result of cold, and toxic Fig. 220.— Tetanus tetanus due to poisoning by .strychnine — do not properly come under consideration in connection with the true contagious disease. When the tetanic spasm affects the muscles of the head and neck the condition is described as trismus. When the spasm affects the muscles of the back, and pulls the head backwards, the term opisthotonos is applied; in the opposite condition the word emprosthotonos was used to indicate the bend- ing of the body forward, and in cases where the spasm affected one side of the body, cau,sing it to curve to that side, the condition was defined as pleurosthotonos. All these states are recognized in different phases of the disease in the human subject, but they are rarely met with in the hor.se, with the .single exception of the first, described as trismus, which is the most common form. Symptoms of Tetanus.— At the commencement of the disease, from ten to sixteen days after the introduction of the infectious material, .some 48 HEALTH AND DISEASE stiffness in the muscles of the head and neck may be observed. The animal exhibits some difficulty in grasping its food, and in most cases the muscular spasm rapidly increases, and the animal is incapable of mo^•ing the head and neck. The jaws are locked or brought forcibly together, the tail is elevated, and the legs are stiff and abducted. In this condition any sudden alarm produces an accession of the spasm, and in the horse a characteristic symptom is the sudden retraction of the eye into its orbit, and the thrusting forward over it of the nictitans membrane (haw). In the acute form of tetanus the spasm is perceived to extend rapidly along the muscles of the back, loin, and tail, and to the muscles of the ex- tremities, which are commonly spread out, and are only moved with difficulty. The respiration is always laboured in consequence of the affection of the respiratory muscles, and the nostrils are widely dilated. The surface of the body is commonly covered with perspiration. The duration of the disease varies, according to the acuteness of the attack, from three or four days to several weeks, but the majority of fatal cases terminate within a week. In cases which recover, the muscular stiffness may continue for several weeks, gradually becoming less until it entirely ceases. Generally it may be said that should the animal survive the ninth day recovery is rendered probable. Chronic Tetanus is indicated by a less defined spasm, which com- monly remains limited to the head and neck; in many cases the animal retains a certain power over the muscles of mastication and can take soft food. Post-Mortem Appearances. — There are no very important changes recognized in the nerve centres or in the nerve fibres beyond slight con- gestion, which sometimes is apparent in the nerves proceeding from the wound. The blood is dark in colour, and there are patches of blood- coloured exudation under the serous and mucous membranes. The lungs are usually congested, sometimes in a state of gangrene. Commonly the muscles are very dark in colour, and are marked with patches of lilood- coloured exudation here and there. Treatment. — Absolute cjuietude experience has proved to be essential. The late Professor Spooner used to advise his students to lock the stable door and take possession of the key, and this cannot be regarded otherwise than as excellent advice. Where an animal offers no resistance it is desir- able that he should be slung to prevent the injury which results from his struggling to maintain the erect position. When the patient can masticate, any kind of green food or cooked food may be given, otherwise the diet will have to be restricted to gruel, or meat soup thickened with meal, and at all times cold water should be within tlie animal's reach. The surface of STOMATITIS PUSTULOSA CONTAGIOSA 49 the liody should be protected from cold by clothing adapted to the season. Medicines appear to be of little use. When they are employed, narcotics should be selected, and exhibited by the method of hypodermic injection. The injection of large quantities of antitoxic serum has been tried recently, but with very moderate success, and under most favourable cir- cumstances tetanus must be looked upon as an extremely fatal disorder, STOMATITIS PUSTULOSA CONTAGIOSA This is a specific contagious disease of a febrile character, in which an eruption appears in the mouth and on the lips, and sometimes on the skin of the fiice, rarely on other parts of the body. It is communicable from horse to horse, either by inoculation or by contact of the virus with the mucous membrane of the mouth. It has a period of incubation from one to three days, and runs its course in from ten to twelve days. Foals and young horses are most susceptible to infection, and old ones least so. The spread of infection usually takes place by means of food and water, and by the use of infected mangers, troughs, pails, and other stable utensils. It is seldom fatalf but on gaining access to a stable of young horses it spreads raj^idly through them unless prompt measures of precaution arc taken for its suppression. One attack of the disease is protective against another for some time, bub for what pei'iod is not known. Symptoms. — Save in exceptional cases there is not much constitu- tional disturbance. A slight rise of temperature, a little increase in the number of pulsations, are the only signs of general disorder. Twenty-four to forty-eight hours after infection, soreness of the mouth is evinced by the discharge of sticky saliva in the act of feeding, and more or less difficulty of mastication. The mucous membrane of the mouth is at this time of a bright red colour, and here and there small pimples are seen on the inner surface of the lips, or beneath the tongue or the gums, or maybe on the skin of the lips, or on all these jjarts in succession. Each pimple becomes charged with matter, and is quickly resolved into a round superficial ulcer with a sharp thin edge, and showing little or no tendency to spread. The eruption may be considerable and closely packed, or it may consist only of a few scattered sores. In some instances the gland beneath the jaw (submaxillary lymj^hatic gland) is enlarged, and the erup- tion may appear in the nostrils, giving rise to a discharge, when the disease is sometimes mistaken for glanders. VOL. II. 38 50 HEALTH AXD DISEASE With the soreness of the mouth thei-e may or may not be difficulty of swallowing. About the sixth day the sores begin to heal, while others of more recent eruption will still be in the nodular form or in the early stage of ulceration. The features which distinguish this disease from glanders, with which it may be confounded, are: (l) the short period of incubation; (2) the rapidity of its spread; (3) the superficial, sharply-defined, thin-edged ulcer; (4) the great rapidity with which the sores heal; (5) the absence of any inflamma- tion of the lymphatic vessels; (6) the sudden onset and the short duration of the nasal discharge. Treatment. — The disease usually runs a benign course, and requires but little interference on the part of the attendant. The mouth may Ije washed out two or three times a day with a solution of chlorate of potash, or a weak solution of alum, but beyond this no local applications are needed. General treatment will not go beyond the administration of a little nitrate of potash in the food once a day. The diet should consist of bran, boiled roots, and scalded chaff, over which a little common salt may be sprinkled. Measures of Prevention. — In this connection it must be rcmem- l)ered that the chief source of the virus is the saliva. When the disease makes its appearance, the sick should be promptly removed from the healthy, the l^edding should be burned, the mangers and fittings, baskets and buckets, &c., well scoured with a strong solution of soda, and freely disinfected. The floor of the stable should be scraped, well brushed out, and dressed with carbolic solution, or well covered with lime. TUBERCULOSIS OF THE HORSE It was for a long time believed that the horse was i-efractory to the invasion of tubercle, and the impression still remains that the disease is extremely rare in this animal. Recent enquiries, however, tend to prove that this view is erroneous. The improved methods of investigation which have lately been introduced have enabled the pathologist to demonstrate the existence of the tubercle bacillus in various organs — lungs, liver, &c. — in diseases which were formerly described by other names, as caseous degenera- tion, lymphadenoma, and induration, or scirrhus. The detection of the tubercle bacillus in morbid deposits in the glands and other structures is, of course, conclusive, and it may also be said that it is essential for correct diagnosis. Koch's discovery of the tubercle bacillus (fig. 221) established a new era in the history of consumption and other forms of tuberculous disease. TUBERCULOSIS OF TIIK HORSE 51 It is now admitted that all these aflections may properly be classed among tlie true contagia, depending as they do on the introduction of a specific organism from without. Experimental evidence leaves no room for doubt tliat the affection occurs by introduction of the germs into the respiratory organs along with inhaled air, and also into the digestive organs with the food. In the horse, as in most animals, the lungs are more often affected than other organs, and it may be assumed that the most frequent mode of infection is through the respiratory passages. The animal, however, is not exempt from the other mode of infection. Inoculation with tuberculous matter causes, in most cases, tuberculosis by the introduction of the virus into the blood. Symptoms. — Even in cases where signs of disease are present there is nothing to be discovered which is posi- tively indicative of tuberculous deposit — cough, difficulty of breathing under exertion, irregular appetite, and emacia- tion are all signs of tuberculosis, but these may all be due to other affections, and it is not until an opportunity for Fig. 221.— BacUlus of Tuberculosis microscopic examination of expectorated matter or a post-mortem examination occurs that the existence of the tubercle is as a rule discovered. Morbid Appearances. — The structural changes which are met with depend very much upon the organ which is affected. In the lungs there are sometimes found miliary tubercles, while in other cases masses of deposit an inch or more in diameter are met with. These larger masses contain a quantity of soft yellow material in the centre. The bronchial lymphatic glands, and also the glands in other parts of the body, are some- times enormously enlarged, and present yellow^ softened masses in their interior, and occasionally patches of calcareous or earthy deposit. ]\Iasses of tuberculous matter are occasionally found in the liver, spleen, and kidneys — more rarely in the intestines. On the lining membranes of the chest and belly isolated tuberculous patches are met with, but the grapy form, as it is called, which is so common in cattle, is not often seen in the horse. Cases of tuberculous deposit in the bones have been recorded, and are probably more common than is generally supposed, the fact being that cases of disease of the bones in the horse are commonly classed under the head of caries or necrosis, and 52 HEALTH AND DISEASE the diseased structures are uot submitted to any critical examination for the detection of the tubercle bacilli. In the event of tubercle being detected, on post-mortem examination of one horse of a number kept in the same stable, the tuberculin test might be applied experimentally. DOURINE (MALADIE DU COIT) This is a specific contagious disease which, like rabies, is communicated only by contact of the virus with an abraded or broken surface. AYhether occurring in the male or female horse, it primarily afiects the external organs of reproduction, viz. the penis in the male and the vaginal passage in the female. (See Plate XXXV.) In consequence of this, and the frequency with which it is transmitted from one to the other during the act of copulation, it has been distin- guished as " Maladie du Coit", or Covering Disease. Some distinguished veterinary authorities in France and elsewhere have regarded it as identical with syphilis of man, but there is no real evidence upon which to base such a conclusion. It must be admitted that there are in both certain common features, as there are in other specific afi"ections, but the points of divergence are too many and too decided to allow us to assent to the doctrine of unity, for which Bouley, Trasbot, and some other Continental pathologists are responsible. For the same reasons we dissent from the view that it is identical with glanders. Dourine has appeared as an epizootic in Russia, France, Austria, Switzer- land, and other parts of the Continent from time to time during the past century, with disastrous results to the breeding-stock of those countries, but we are not aware of its having occurred in any part of Great Britain. Origin. — The cause of this disease is the entrance into the blood of a species of protozoa — the Trypanosoma equipedum. This is a unicellular organism having a flagellum by which it is capable of considerable activity. So fa]*as at present known it is the only trypanosoma which is not trans- mitted by a biting insect. The common mode of access of the virus is through the medium of the external genital organs during the act of copulation. The spread of the malady is effected more especially by stallions when going from mare to mare during the breeding season. It has been induced experimentally, by Nocard, with matter from a diseased centre in the spinal cord, and previously, by Herting, with dis- charges from the vaginal mucous membrane. Symptoms. — The period of incubation is said to extend from eight to twenty-eight days. At the expiration of the term a discharge i.ssues SOUTH AFRICAN HOUSE SICKNESS 53 from the penis of the m