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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRI

BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY

SPECIAL REPORT

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DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTIOK OF

DR. D. E. SALMON,
CHEBP OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY.

• BY

Dks. Michener, Law, Harbaugh, Trumbower, Liautard,
holcombe, huidekoper, and dickson.

PCELISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.

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WASHINGTON;

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1890.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Pago.

Letter of transmittal,

By Dr. D. E. Salmon, Chief of Bureau 7

Mttkods of administering medicines,

By Ch. B. Michexer, V. S ^

Diseases of the digestive organs,

By Ch. B. Micuenek, V. S 15

Diseases of the urinary organs,

By James Law, F. li. C. V. S -. ^9

Diseases of the respiratory organs,

By W. H. Harbaugii, V. S 87

Diseases of the generative organs,

By James Law, F. E. C. V. S 135

Diseases of the nervous system,

By M. R. TuuMBOWER, V. S ISl

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels,

By M. R. Trumboweu, V. S ~19

Diseases of the eye.

By James Law, F. R. C. V. S 247

Lameness,

By A. LiAUTARD, M. D., V. S 269

Diseases of the fetlock, ankle, and foot,

By A. AHoLCOMBE, D. V. S 357

Diseases of the skin.

By James Law, F. R. C. V. S 419

Wounds and their treatment.

By Ch. B. Michener, V. S 447

General diseases.

By Rush Shippen Huidekoper, M. D., Vet 4G1

Shoeing,

By William Dicicson, V. S 5-9

'>

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Fago.

Plate I. Digestive apparatus ^

II. Bots ^^

III. Intestinal worms - ""

IV. Longitudinal section througli kidney 86

V. Microscopic anatomy of kidney °o

VI. Microscopic anatomy of kidney 86

VII. Calculi and instrument for removal 83

VIII. Instruments used in difficult labor 180

IX. Normal presentations 180

X. Abnormal presentations 180

XI. Abnormal presentations 180

XII. Abnormal presentations 180

XIII. Abnormal presentations 180

XIV. Anterior presentations 180

XV. Position of the left lung 134

XVI. The nervous system '-^18

XVII. Interiorof cheat, showing position of heart and diaphragm 246

XVIII. Circulatory apparatus 246

XIX. Theoretical section of the horse's eye 268

XX. Skeleton of the horse 356

XXI. Superticial layer of muscles •- 356

XXII. Splint 356

XXIII. Ring-bone 356

XXIV. Various types of 8pa%nn 356

XXV. Bone-spavin 356

XXVI. Bone-spavin 356

XXVII. Dislocation of shoulder and elbow, Bourgelat's apparatus 356

XXVITI. The sling in use 356

XXIX. Anatomy of foot 418

XXX. Anatomy of foot 418

XXXI. Foundered feet 418

XXXII. Ring-bone and navicular disease 418

XXXIII. Quarter crack and remedies 418

XXXIV. Sound and contracted feet -. 418

XXXV. Diseases of the skin 446

XXXVI. Mites that infest the horse 446

XXXVII. General diseases. Inflammation 528

XXXVIII. General diseases. Inflammation , 528

XXXIX. Glanders, nasal septum of horse, right side, showing acute lesions. 528
XXXX. Glanders, middle region of nasal septum, left side, showing ulcers.. 528
XXXXI. Glanders, posterior half of nasal septum, right side, showing cica-
trices 528

XXXXII. Shoeing 542

XXXXIII. Shoeing 542

XXXXIV. Shoeing 542

5

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

Sir.: I have the honor to submit herewith a report upon diseases of
the horse, which has been prepared with great care by a number of the
most eminent members of the veterinary profession in the United States.
The production of a work of this character is a task of such magnitude
that it could not be undertaken by any one man with a prospect of its
early completion. It was deemed best, therefore, to divide the subject
into sections and to place the preparation of each section in the hands
of a veterinarian whose practical experience and reputation would in-
sure a valuable contribution. By adopting this plan the contents of
the volume have been made ready for the printer within a year from
the time the work was begun. While, on account of this method of
preparation, there may not be quite the same uniformity of style and
treatment which would be expected in a volume written by a single
author, it is hoped that this will not be found objectionable, and the
speedy completion and the co-operation of authors who have given
special attention to their subjects will prove of great advantage.

The need of a work on the diseases of the horse, which could be dis-
tributed to farmers as a safe and scientific guide in the treatment of
this species of our domesticated animals, either when affected with
slight disorders or serious illness, has long been felt. This obvious
want has led to the preparation of the present volume, which is designed
as the first of a series to cover the diseases of all varieties of farm ani-
mals. The writer would not advise the farmer in ordinary circumstances
to dispense with his veterinarian, any more than he would advise him
to treat the diseases of his own family, to manufiicture his own furni-
ture, or to bo his own blacksmith. There are, however, only too many
cases in which the veterinarian can not be procured in time for success,
if at all; and, consequently, the farmer who knows or has the means of
learning the nature of the disease and the proper treatment will be able
to save an animal when otherwise he would lose one. It is common for
intelligent people to laugh at the idea of attempting to make every man
his own doctor, his own veterinarian, or his own carpenter, and in an
ideal condition of society no doubt this would be absurd. But under
the conditions which actually obtain on our farms, the farmer who can
use tools, if but awkwardly, often finds it extremely convenient to
temporarilly usurp the functions of the carpenter; and he also finds
that in many cases he must treat his ailing animals or allow them to

7

8 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

suffer without treatment. Knowing this to be the case, is it not fa*
better for the stock-owner to have at his command the advice of veteri-
narians eminent in their profession than for him to follow the absurd,
often barbarous methods of treatment which have been handed down
by tradition from the empiricism and ignorance of long-past ages?

It is an extremely difficult matter to divest medical literature of tech-
nical terms and expressions more or less incomprehensible to the gen-
eral reader. This has made scientific medicine a sealed book to the
masses of our people, and there is no subject of which they are more
ignorant. An attempt has been made in this work to present the mat-
ter in as simple language as possible, and while some of the authors
have been more happy than others in this respect, it is believed that
no great difficulty will be met with in any of the articles.

While the subject has been treated in language of a more or less
popular style and the book is intended as a guide to the farmer, its in-
trinsic scientific value should not be entirely lost sight of In many
respects it is a notable contribution to existing knowledge, and it will
be prized by the veterinarian not less than by the farmer. No doubt
there are some defects in this first edition which the experience of the
future will enable us to remedy, but as a whole the book is one which
can not fail to be of immense service in educating horse-owners and in
hastening the adoption of humane and scientific treatment in the dis-
orders which afflict man's most patient and faithful servant.

The illustrations have been very carefully drawn by Mr. Ilaines, the
greater part of the subjects being selected by Dr. Cooper Curtice. In
cases where they have been copied due credit has been given on the
plates, but it should be stated here that we are indebted to Dr. John S.
Billings, of the Army Medical Museum, for the use of the Auzoux models
and a number of specimens of diseased feet from which drawings were
made.

Very respectfully,

D. E. SALMON,
Chief of Bureau of Animal Industry.

non. J. ^l. EusK,

Sccrttary of Agriculture.

SPECIAL REPORT

ON

DISEASES OF THE HORSE.

METHODS OF ADMINISTERING MEDICINES.

By CH. B. MICHENER, V. S.,

Professor of Cattle Pathology and Ohstetrics at the New York College of Vetei-inary Sur^
geons, Inspector of the Bureau of Animal Industry, etc.

Medicine may enter the body through any of the following designated
channels : First, by the mouth ; second, by the lungs and upper air-
passages; third, by the skin; fourth, under the skin (hypodermic
methods) ; fifth, by the rectum ; and, sixth, by intra- venous injections.

(1) By the mouth. — Medicines can be given by the mouth in the
form of powders, balls, drenches, and electuaries.

Fotcders.— These should be as finely pulverized as possible, in order
to secure a rapid solution and absorbtion. Their action is in this way
facilitated and intensified. Powders must be free from any irritant or
caustic action upon the mouth. Those that are without any disagree-
able taste or smell are readily eaten on the feed or taken in the drink-
ing water. When placed on the feed they should first be dissolved or
suspended in water and thus sprinkled on the feed. If mixed dry the
horse will often leave the medicine in the bottom of his manger.

Balls.— When properly made these are cylindrical in shape, 2 inches
in length and about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. They should
be fresh, but, if necessary to keep them some time, they should be made
up with glycerine, or some such agent, to prevent them from becoming
too hard. Very old, hard balls, are sometimes passed whole with the
manure, without being acted upon at all. Paper is to be wrapped
around balls when given ; it should be thin but firm ; toilet paper is the
best. Balls are preferred to drenches when the medicine is extremely
disagreeable or nauseating ; when the dose is not too large ; when the

10

horse is ugly to drench; when tbe medicine is intended to act slowly.
Certain medicines can not, or shonld not, be made into balls — medicines
requiring to be given in large doses, oils, caustic substances, unless
diluted and thoroughly mixed with the vehicle, deliquescent or efflores-
cent salts. Substances suitable for balls can be made uj) by the
addition of honey, sirup, soap, etc., when required for immediate use.
Gelatine capsules of different sizes are now obtainable and are a con-
venient means of giving medicines in ball form.

Drenches are to be given when the medicine is liquid, when the dose
is large, and when we desire speedy action.

Electuaries are medicines mixed mostly with licorice-root powder,
molasses, or sirup to the consistency of honey, or a "soft-solid." They
are intended, chiefly, to act locally npon the mouth and throat. They
are given with a wooden paddle or strong long-handled spoon.

When balls are to be given we should observe the following direc-
tions: In shape they should be cylindrical, of the size above mentioned,
and soft enough to be easily compressed by the fingers. If made round
or egg-shaped, if too long or too hard, they are liable to become fixed
in the gullet and cause choking. Balls may be given with the "balling-
gun" (obtainable at any veterinary instrument maker's) or by the hand.
If given by the hand a mouth speculum or gag should be used to prevent
the animal from biting the hand or crushing the ball. Always loosen
the horse before attempting to give a ball; if tied he may break his
halter and injure himself or the one giving the ball. With a little
practice it is much easier to give a ball without the mouth-gag, as the
horse always fights more or less against having his mouth forced open.
The tongue must be firmly grasped with the left hand and gently i)ul]ed
forward; the ball, slightly moistened, is then to be placed with the tips
of the fingers of the right hand as far back into the mouth as possible;
as the tongue is loosened it is drawn back into the mouth and carries
the ball backward with it. Tiie mouth should be kept closed for a
minute or two. We should always have a pail of water at hand to
offer the horse after balling. This i^recaution will often prevent him
from coughing out the ball or its becoming lodged in the gullet.

It is, very often, impossible to get balls i>roperly made, or to induce
owners or attendants to attempt to give them, and for these reasons med-
icines by tbe mouth are mostly given in the form of drenches. When
medicine is to be given as a drench we must be careful to use enough
water or oiltothoroughly dissolve or dilute it; more than this makes the
drench bulky and is unnecessary. Insoluble medicines, if not irritant or
corrosive, may be given simply suspended in water ; the bottle to be
well shaken immediately before giving the drench. The bottle used for
drenching purposes should be clean, strong, and smooth about its
neck ; it should be without shoulders, tapering, and of a size to suit
the amount to be given. A horn or tin bottle may be better, in that
they are not so easily broken by the teeth. If the dose is a small one

11

the horse's head may be held up by the left hand, while the mediciue is
poured iuto the mouth by the right. The left thumb is to be placed in
the angle of the lower jaw, and the fingers spread out in such a manner
as to support the lower lip. Should the dose be large, the horse ugly,
or the attendant unable to support the head as directed above, the
head is then to be held up by running the tines of a long handled
wooden fork under the nose-band of the halter ; the halter-strap or a
rope may be fastened to the nose-band and thrown over a limb, beam,
or through a pulley suspended from the ceiling. Another way of sup-
porting the head is to place a loop in the end of a rope, and introduce
this loop into the mouth just behind the upper front teeth or tusks, the
free end to be run through a pulley, as before described, and held by
an assistant. It is never to be fastened, as the horse might do himself
serious injury if made fast. The head is to be elevated just enough to
prevent the horse from throwing the liquid out of his mouth. The line
of the face should be horizontal, or only the least particle higher. If
the head is drawn too high the animal can not swallow with ease, or
even with safety. (If this is doubtful, just fill your mouth with water,
throw back the head as far as possible, and then try to swallow). The
person giving the drench should stand on some object in order to reach
the horse's mouth, on a level, or a little above it. The bottle or horn is
then to be introduced afc the side of the mouth, in front of the molar
teeth, in an upward direction. This will cause the horse to open his
mouth, when the base of the bottle is to be suddenly elevated, and
about 4 ounces of the liquid allowed to escape on the tongue as far back
as possible, care being used not to get the neck of the bottle between
the back teeth. The bottle is to be immediately removed, and if the
horse does not swallow this can be encouraged by rubbing the fingers
or neck of the bottle against the roof of the mouth, occasionally remov-
ing them. As soon as. this is swallowed repeat the operation until he
has taken all the drench. If coughing occurs, or if, by any mishap, the
bottle should be crushed in the mouth, lower the head immediately.

Do not rub, pinch, or pound the throat, nor draw out the tongue
when giving a drench. These in no way aid the horse to swallow and
oftener do harm.

BrencJies must never be given throngh the nose; they are liable to
strangle the animal, or, if the medicine is irritating, it sets up an in-
flammation of the nose, fauces, windpipe, and sometimes the lungs.
Cattle are easily drenched by simply holding them by the nose with the
left hand, while the medicine is poured into the mouth with the right.
Balls are not to be given to cattle ; they often become imbedded in the
great mass of food in the stomach and act tardily or not at all.

(2) Medicines are administered to the lungs and upper air passages
by insufflation, inhalation, and nasal douche. Insufflation consists of
blowing an impalpable powder directly into the nose. It is but rarely
resorted to. Gaseous and volatile medicines are given by inliakitiony

12

as is also medicated steam or vapor. Of the gases used we may men-
tion, as the chief ones, sulphurous acid gas, and occasionally chlorine.
The animal or animals are to be placed in a tight building, where these
gases are generated, until the atmosphere is sufficiently impregnated
with them. Volatile medicines, as the anaesthetics, (ether, chloroform,
etc.), are only to be given by the attending surgeon. Medicated vapors
are to be inhaled by placing a bucket containing hot water, vinegar and
water, scalded hay or bran, to which carbolic acid, iodine, or other
medicines have been added, in the bottom of a long grain bag. The
horse's nose is to be inserted into the toi) of the bag, and he thus in-
hales the " medicated steam." Care must be taken not to have this
hot enough to scald the animal. Scalding bran or hay is often thus
inhaled to favor discharges in sore throat or " distemper."

The nasal douche is employed by the veterinarian in treating some
local diseases of the nasal chambers. Special appliances and profes-
sional knowledge are necessary when using liquid medicines by this
method. It is not often resorted to, even by veterinary surgeons, since
the horse, as a rule, objects very strongly to this mode of medication.

(3) By the Skin. — Medicines are often administered to our hair-
covered animals by the skin, yet care must be taken in applying some
medicines, as tobacco- water, carbolic acid solutions, etc., over the entire
body, as poisoning and death follow in some instances from absorption
through the skin. We must also exercise care, and not apply poisonous
medicines over very large raw or abraded surfaces, for the same rea-
sons. For domestic animals medicines are only to be applied by the
skin for local purposes or diseases, as laudanum, chloroform liniment,
etc., for neuralgia.

(4) Under the Skin — Hypodermic Method. — Medicines are fre-
quently given by the hypodermic syringe, under the skin. It will not
be safe for any but medical or veterinary practitioners to use this form
of medication, since the medicines thus given are powerful poisons.
There are many precautions to be observed; a knowledge of anatomy
is indispensible.

(5) By the Rectum. — Medicines may be given by the rectum when
we can not give or retain them by the mouth ; when we want a local
action on tlie last gut; to destroy the small worms infesting the large
bowels; to stimulate the peristaltic motion of the intestines and cause
evacuation ; and to nourish the body. Medicines are here given in the
form of suppositories, or as liquid injections — enemas.

Suppositories are conical bodies made up of oil of theobroma and
opium (or whatever medicine is indicated in special cases), and are in-
troduced into the rectum or vagina to allay irritation and pain of these
parts. They are not much used in veterinary practice.

Enemas^ when given for absorption, should be small in quantity,
neutral or slightly acid in reaction, and of a temperature of from 90°
to lOOo F. These, like foods given by the rectum, should only be in-

13

troduced after the last bowel has been emptied by the hand, or by-
copious enemas of tepid water. Enemas or clysters are mostly given
to aid the action of physics, and should then be in quantities sufficient
to distend the bowel and cause the animal to eject them. Simple water,
salt and water, or soap and water, in quantities of a gallon or more,
may be given every half hour. It is best that the horse retain them for
some little time, as the liquid serves to moisten the dung and favor
a passage. Stimulating enemas (turpentine 2 ounces, in linseed oil 6
ounces), should be administered after those already mentioned have
emptied the last bowel, with the purpose of still further increasing the
natural worm-like movement of the intestines and aiding the purging
medicine.

Liquids may be thrown into the rectum by the means of a large
syringe, or difterent kinds of complicated pumps. A very good "in-
jection pip6" can be made by any tinsmith at a trifling cost, and should
be constantly on hand at every stock-farm. It consists of a funnel,
about 6 inches deep and 7 inches in diameter, which is to be furnished
with a pipe-like prolongation, placed at right angles to It, from 14. to 16
inches in length, and carefully- rounded and soldered at the ends. This
pipe must he perfectly smooth, in order to prevent injury to the rectum.
Introduce this pipe to its full extent, after thoroughly oiling it, and pour
the liquid into the funnel rapidly. The pressure of the atmosphere will
force the liquid into the bowels. For all ordinary purposes this instru-
ment is quite as good as the more complicated and expensive ones.

Ordinary cold water, or even ice-cold water, is highly recommended
by many as a rectal injection for horses overcome by the excessive heat
of summer, and may be given by this simple pipe.

(6) Intra- Venous Injections. — Injections directly into veins are
to bo practiced by medical or veterinary practitioners only, as are prob-
ably some other means of giving medicines— intra- trachael injections,
etc.

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS.

By CH. B. MICHENER, V. S.,

Professor of Cattle Fathologij and Obstetrics at the Xew York College -of Veterinary Sur-
geons, Inspector Bureau of Animal Industry, etc.

It will not prove an easy task to write " a plain account of the com-
mon diseases, with directions for preventive measures, hygienic care,
and the simpler forms of medical treatment" of the digestive organs of
the horse. This study includes a careful consideration of the food and
drink of our animals, their quality, quantiiy, analyses, etc. Tbis, of.
itself, is material for a book. Being limited as to space, one must en-
deavor to give simply an outline •, to state the most important facts,
leaving many gaps, and continually checking the disposition to write
anything like a full description as to cause, prevention, and modes of
treatment of disease.

These articles are addressed entirely to farmers and stoek-owners,
and I must ask my professional brethren to bear this in mind, when
disposed to complain of a want of scientilic treatment of the subjects.

Water. — It is generally held, at least in practice, that any water that
stock can be induced to drink is sufficiently pure for their use. Tliis
practice occasions losses that would startle us if statistics were at hand.
Water that is impure from the presence of decomposing organic mat-
ter, such as is found in wells and ponds in close proximity to manure
heaps and cess-pools, is frequently the cause of diarrhea, dysentery,
and many other diseases of stock, while water that is inipregnated with
different poisons, and contaminated with specific media of contagion,
produces death in very many instances.

Considering first the quantity of water required by the horse, it may
be stated that when our animals have access to water continually they
never drink to excess. Were the horse subjected to ship-voyages, or
any other circumstances where he must depend upon his attendant for
the supply of water, it may be roughly stated that each horse requires
a daily average of about 8 gallons of water. This will vary some-
what upon the character of his food ; if upon green food, less water
will be needed than when fed upon dry hav and grain.

15

16

The time of giving water should be carefully studied. At rest, the
horse should receive water at least three times a day ; when at work,
more frequently. The rule here should be to give in small quantities
and often. There is a popular fallacy that if a horse is warm he
should not be allowed to drink, many claiming that the first swallow
of water ''founders" the animal, or produces colic. This is erroneous.
No matter how warm a horse may be, it is always entirely safe to allow
him from six to ten swallows of water. If this is given on going into
the stable, he should be given at once a pound or two of hay and
allowed to rest about an hour before feeding. If water be now offered
him it will in many cases be refused, or at least he will drink but spar-
ingly. The danger, then, is not in the " first swallow " of water, but is
due to the excessive quantity that the animal will take when warm if
not restrained.

Water should never be given to horses when it is ice-cold. It may
not be necessary to add hot water, but we should be careful in jilacing
water-troughs about our barns to have them in such position that the
sun may shine upon the water during" the winter mornings. Water,
even though it be thus cold, seldom produces serious trouble if the
horse has not been deprived for a too great length of time.

In reference to the purity of water Smith, in his "Veterinary Hy-
giene," classes spring, deep-well water, and upland surface-water as
wholesome ; stored rain-water and surface-water from cultivated land
as suspicious ; river water to which sewage gains access and shallow-
well water as dangerous. The water that is used for drinking purposes
for stock so largely throughout some States can not but be impure. I
refer to those sections where there is an impervious clay subsoil. It
is the custom to scoop or hollow out a large basin in the different pas-
tures. During rains these basins become filled with water. The clay
subsoil being almost impervious acts as a jug, and there is no escape
for the water except by evaporation. Such water is stagnant, but
would be kept comparatively fresh by subsequent rains were it not for
the fact that much organic matter is carried into these ponds by sur-
face drainage during each succeeding storm. This organic matter soon
undergoes decomposition, and as the result we find diseases of differ-
ent kinds much more prevalent where this water is drunk than where
the water-supply is wholesome. Again, it must not be lost sight of
that stagnant surface-water is much more certainly contaminated than
is running water by one diseased animal of the herd, thus endangering
the remainder.

The chief impurities of water may be classed as organic and inorganic.
The organic impurities are either animal or vegetable substances.
The salts of the metals are the inorganic impurities. Lime causes
hardness of water, and occasion will be taken to speak of this when
describing intestinal concretions. Salts of lead, iron, and copper are
also frequently found in water, and will be referred to hereafter.

17

About the only examination of water that can be made by the aver-
age stock-raiser is to observe its taste, color, smell, and clearness.
Pure water is clear and is without taste or smell. It should possess a
slight bluish tint.

Chemical and microscopic examination will frequently be necessary
in order to detect the presence of certain poisons, bacteria, etc., and caii
of course only be conducted by experts.

Foods and feeding. — In this place one can not attemi)t anything like a
comprehensive discussion of the subject, and I must content myself
with merely giving a few facts as to the different kinds of food, prepa-
ration, digestibility, proper time of feeding, quality, and quantity. Im-
proper feeding and watering will doubtless account for over one-half of
the digestive disorders met with in the horse, and hence the reader can
not fail to see how very imijortant it is to have some proper ideas con-
cerning these subjects.

Kinds of food. — In this country horses are fed chiefly upon hay, grass,
roots, oats, corn, wheat, and rj'e. Many think that they could be fed on
nothing else. Stewart, in "The Stable Book," gives the following ex-
tract from Loudon's Encycloj)edia of Agriculture, which is of interest
at this point:

In some sterile countries they (horses) are forced to subsist on dried fish, and even
on vegetable mold; iu Arabia, on milk, flesh-balls, eggs, broth. In India horses are
variously fed. The native grasses are judged very nutritious. Few, perhaps no oata
are grown ; barley is rare, and not commonly given to horses. In Bengal a vetch,
something like the tare, is used. Ou the western side of India a sort of pigeon-pea,
called gram {Cicer arietinum) forma the ordinary food, with grass while in season, and
hay all the year round, Indian corn or rice la seldom given. In the West Indies
maize, guinea corn, sugar corn tops, and sometimes molasses, are given. In the
Mahratta country salt, pepper, and other epices are made into balls, with flour and
butter, and these are su^iposed to produce animation and to fine the coat. Broth
made from sheep's head is sometimes given. In France, Spain, and Italy, besides the
grasses, the leaves of limes, vines, the tops of acacia, and the seeds of the carob-tree
are given to horses.

For information as to the nutritive value, chemistry, and classifica-
tion of the different kinds of food, I will refer the reader again to
Smith's Veterinary Hygiene.

We can not, however, leave aside entirely here a consideration of the
digestibility of foods ; and by this we mean the readiness with which
foods undergo those changes in the digestive canal that fit them for
absorption and deposition as integral parts of the animal economy.

The age and health of the animal will, of course, modify the digesti-
bility of foods, as will also the manner and time of harvesting, preserv-
ing, and preparing the foods.

In the horse digestion takes place principally in the intestines, and
here, as in all other animals and with all foods, we find that a certain
part only of the i:»rovender is digested ; another portion is indigested.
This proportion of digested and indigested food must claim passing
notice at least, for if the horse receives too much food a large portion
11035 2

18

of digestible food must pass out unacted upon, entailing not only the
loss of this unused food, but also calling for an unnecessary expendi-
ture of vital force on the part of the digestive organs of the horse. It
is thus that, in fact, too much food may make an animal poor.

In selecting food for the horse we should remember the anatomical
arrangement of the digestive organs, as well as the physiological func-
tions performed by each organ. Foods must be wholesome, clean,. and
sweet; the hours of feeding regular; the mode of preparation found
by practical experience to be the best must be adhered to, and cleanli-
ness in preparation and administration must be observed.

The length of time occupied by stomach digestion in the horse varies
with the different foods. Hay and straw pass out of the stomach more
rapidly than oats. It would seem to follow, then, that oats should be
given after hay, for if reversed the hay would cause the oats to be sent
onward into the intestines before being fully acted upon by the stomach,
and as a result produce indigestion. Experience confirms this. There
is another good reason why hay should be given first, particularly if
the horse is very hungry or if exhausted from overwork, namely, it
requires more time in mastication (insuring proper admixture of saliva)
and can not be bolted as are the grains. In either instance water must
not be given soon after feeding, as it washes or sluices the food from
the stomach before it is fitted for intestinal digestion.

The stomach begins to empty itself very soon after the commence-
ment of feeding, and continues rapidly while eating. Afterwards the
passage is slower, and several hours are required before the stomach is
entirely empty. The nature of the work required of the horse must
guide us in the selection of his food. Eapid or severe labor can not be
performed on a full stomach. For such horses food must be given in
small quantity and fed to them about two hours before going to their
work. Even horses intended for slow work must never be engorged
with bulky, innutritions food immediately before going to labor. The
small stomach of the horse would seem to lead us to the conclusion
that this animal should be fed in small quantities and often, which, in
reality, should be done. The disproportion between the size of the
stomach and the amount of water drank tells us plainly that the horse
should always be watered before feeding. One of the common errors
of feeding, and the one that produces more digestive disorders than
any other, is to feed too soon after a hard dafs tcorJc. This must never
be done. If a horse is completely jaded it will be found beneficial to
give him an alcoholic stimulant on going into the stable. A small
quantity of hay may then be given, but his grain should be withheld
for one or two hours. These same remarks v>nll apply with equal force
to the horse that for any reason has been fasting for a long time. After
a fast feed less than the horse would eat; for if allowed too much the
stomach becomes engorged, its walls paralyzed, and "colic" is almost
sure to follow. The horse should be fed three or four times a day; nor

19

will it answer to feed liirn entirely upon concentrated food. Bulky food
must be given to detain the grains in their iiassage through the intes-
tinal tract; bulk also favors distention, and thus mechanically aids
absorption. To horses that do slow work for the greater i^art of the
time, chopped or cut hay fed with crushed oats, ground corn, etc., is
the best manner of feeding, as it gives the required bulk, saves time,
and half the labor of feeding.

tSuddcn changes of diet are ahcays dangerous.— Vlhcn desirous of chang-
ing the food, do so very gradually. If a horse is accustomed to oats a
sudden change to a full meal of corn will almost always sicken him. If
we merely intend to increase the quantity of the tisual feed,, this again
must be done gradually. The quantity of food given must always be
in proportion to the amount of labor to be i^erformed. If a horse is to
do less work, or rest entirely from work for a few days, see that he re-
ceives less feed. If this was observed even on Saturday night and
Sunday there would befewer cases of "Monday morning sickness, "such
as colics and lymphangitis. Foods should also be of a more laxative
nature when the horse is to stand for some days. Above all things we
should avoid feeding musty or moldy foods. These are very frequent
causes of disease of different kinds. Lung trouble, as bronchitis and
"heaves," often follows the use of such food. The digestive organs
always suffer from moldy or musty foods. Musty hay is generally con-
sidered to produce disorder of the kidneys; and all know of the danger
to pregnant animals from feeding upon ergotized grasses or grains.

Leaving these somewhat general considerations, I will refer briefly to
the different kinds of foods :

Eay. — The best hay for horses is timothy. It should be about one
year old, of a greenish color, crisp, clean, fresh, and possessing a sweet,
pleasant aroma. Even this good hay, if kept for too great a length of
time, loses part of its nourishment, and while it may not be positively
injurious, it is hard, dry, and indigestible. Yiew hay is difficult to di-
gest, produces much salivation (slobbering) and occasionally purging
and irritation of the skin. If fed at all it should be mixed with old hay.

Second crop or aftermath. — This is not considered good hay for horses,
but it is prized by some farmers as a good food for milch cows, they
claiming that it increases the flow of milk. The value of hay depends
upon the time of cutting, as well as care in curing. Hay should be
cut when in full flower, but before the seeds fixU; if left longer, it be-
comes dry and woody and lacks in nutrition. An essential point in
making hay is that when the crop is cut it should remain as short a
time as i)0ssible in the field. If left too long in the sun it loses color,
flavor, and dries or wastes. Smith asserts that one hour more than is
necessary in the sun causes a loss of 15 to •20 per cent, in the feeding
value of hay. It is impossible to state any fixed time that hay must
have to cure, this depeudingj of course, upon the weather, thickness of

20

the crop, and many other circumstances ; but it is well known that in
order to preserve the color and aroma of hay it should be turned or
tedded frequently and cured as quicMy as possible. On the other hand,
hay spoils in the mow if harvested too green or when not sufficiently
dried. Mow-burnt hay produces disorder of the kidneys and bowels
and causes the horse to fall off in condition. Musty or moldy hay has
often been said to produce that j>eculiar disease known variously as
cerebro-spinal meningitis, putrid sore throat, or choking distemper.

The average horse, getting grain, should be allowed from 10 to 12
pounds of good hay a day. It is a mistake of many to think that horses
at light work can be kept entirely on hay. Such horses soon become
pot-bellied, fall off in flesh, and do not thrive. The same is true of
colts; unless the latter are fed with some grain they grow up to be
long, lean, gawky creatures, and never make as good horses as those
accustomed to grain, with or in addition to their hay.

Stratc. — The straws are not extensively fed in this country, and when
used at all they should be cut and mixed with hay and ground or
crushed grains. Wheat, rye, and oats straw are the ones most used,
and of these oats straw is most easily digested and contains the most
nourishment. Pea and bean straw are occasionally fed to horses, the
pea being preferable according to most writers.

Chaff. — Wheat and rye chaif should never be used as a food for
horses. The beards frequently become lodged in the mouth or throat
and are productive of more or less serious trouble. In the stomach and
intestines they often serve as the nucleus of the "soft concretions"
which are to be described when treating of obstructions of the digestive
tract.

Oat chaff", if fed in small quantities and mixed with cut hay or corn-
fodder, is very much relished by horses. It is not to be given in large
quantities, as I have repeatedly witnessed a troublesome and sometimes
fatal diarrhea to follow the practice of allowing horses or cattle free ac-
cess to a pile of oat chaff".

Grains. — Oats take jjrecedence of all grains as a food for horses, as
the ingredients necessary for the complete nutrition of the body exist
in them in the best proportions. Oats are besides more easily digested
and a larger proportion absorbed and converted into the various tissues
of the body. Care must be taken in selecting oats. According to Stew-
art the best oats are one year old, plump, short, hard, clean, bright, and
sweet. New oats are indigestible. Kiln-dried oats are to be refused
as a rule, for even though originally good this drying process injures
them. Oats that have sprouted or fermented are injurious and should
never be fed. Oats are to be given either whole or crushed 5 whole in
the majority of instances, Crushed to old horses and those having de-
fective teeth. Horses, also, that bolt their feed are best fed upon
crushed oats and out of a manger large enough to permit of spreading
the grain in a thin layer.

21

The average liorse requires, ia addition to the allowance of hay above
spoken of, about 12 quarts of good oats daily. The best oats are those
cut about one week before being fully ripe. Not only is the grain richer
at this time in nutritive materials, but there is also less waste from
"scattering" than if left to become dead ripe. Moldy oats, like hay
and straw, not only produce serious digestive disorders, but have been
the undoubted cause of outbreaks of that dread disease in horses, al-
ready referred to, characterized by inability to eat or drink, sudden
paralysis, and death.

Wheat and rye. — These grains are not to be used as food for horses
except in small quantities, bruised or crushed, and fed mixed with other
grains or hay. If fed alone, in any considerable quantities, they are
almost certain to produce digestive disorders, laminitis (founder), and
similar troubles. They should never constitute more than one-fourth
of the grain allowance, and should always be ground or crushed.

Bran. — The bran of wheat is the one most used, and its value as a
feeding stuff is variously estimated. It is not to be depended upon if
given alone, but may be fed with other grains. It serves to keep the
bowels open. Sour bran is not to be given. It disorders the stomach
and intestines and may even produce serious results.

Maize—Corn. — This grain is not suitable as an exclusive food for
young horses, as it is deficient in salts. It is fed whole or ground.
Corn on the cob is commonly used as the food for horses affected with
" lampas." If the corn is old and is to be fed in this manner it should
be soaked in pure, clean water for ten or twelve hours. Corn is better
given ground, and fed in quantities of from 1 to 2 quarts at a meal
mixed with crushed oats or wheat bran. We must be very particular
in giving corn to a horse that is not accustomed to its use. It must
be commenced in small quantities and very gradually increased. I
know of no grain more likely to produce what is called acute indiges-
tion than corn if these directions are not observed.

Linseed. — Ground linseed is occasionally fed with other foods to keep
the bowels open and to improve the condition of the skin. It is of par-
ticular service duriug convalescence, wheu the bowels are sluggish in
their action. Linseed tea is very often given in irritable or inflamed
conditions of the digestive organs.

Roots — Potatoes. — These are used as an article of food for the horse
in many sections. If fed raw and in large quantities they often produce
indigestion. Their digestibility is favored by steaming or boiling.
They possess, in common with other roots, slight laxative properties.

Beets. — These are not much used as food for horses.

Carrots. — These make a most excellent food, particularly during sick-
ness. They improve the appetite and slightly increase the action of the
bowels and kidneys. They possess also certain alterative properties.
The coat becomes smooth and glossy when carrots are fed. Some vet-
erinary writers claim that chronic cough is cured by giving carrots for

22

sometime. The roots may be considered tlien as an adjunct to the reg-
ular regime, and if fed in small quantities are highly beneficial.

Grasses. — Grass is the natural food of horses. It is composed of a
great variety of plants, differing widely as to the amount of nourish-
ment contained, some being almost entirely without value as foods and
only eaten when there is nothing else obtainable, others are positively
injurious or even poisonous. K one of the grasses a re sufficient to keep the
horse in condition for work. Horses thus fed are "soft," sweat easily,
purge, and soon tire on the road or when at hard work. To growing
stock grass is ind:spensible, and there is little or no doubt but that it acts
as an alterative when given to horses accustomed to grain and hay. It
must be given to such subjects in small quantities at first. The stomach
and intestines undergo rest, and recuperate if the horse is turned to
grass for a time each year. It is also certain that during febrile diseases
grass acts almost as a medicine, lessening the fever and favoring re-
covery; wounds heal more rapidly than when the horse is on grain, and
some chronic disorders (chronic cough for instance) disappear entirely
when at grass. In my experience grass does more good when the horse
crops it himself. This may be due to the sense of freedom he enjoys
at pasture, to the rest to his feet and limbs, and for many similar
reasons. When cut for him it should be fed fresh or when but slightly
wilted.

PREPAEATION OF FOODS.

Foods are prepared for feeding for any of the following reasons : To
render the food more easily eaten; to make it more digestible; to
economize in amount; to give it some new property, and to preserve
it. We have already spoken of the preparation of drying, and need
not revert to this again, as it only serves to preserve the different foods.
Drying does, however, change some of the properties of food, i. e., re-
moves the laxative tendency of most of them.

The different grains are more easily eaten when ground, crushed, or
even boiled. Eye or wheat should never be given whole, and even of
corn it is found that there is less waste when ground, and, in common
with all grains, it is more easily digested than when fed whole.

Hay and fodder are economized when cut in short pieces. Kot only
will the horse eat the necessary amount in a shorter time, but it will be
found that there is less waste, and the mastication of the grains (whole
or crushed) fed with them is insured.

Eeference has already been made to those horses that bolt their food,
and we need only remark here that the consequences of such ravenous
eating may be prevented if the grains are fed with cut hay, straw, or
fodder. Long or uncut hay should also be fed, even though a certain
amount of hay or straw is cut and fed mixed with grain.

One objection to feeding cut hay mixed with ground or crushed grains,
and wetted, must not be overlooked during the hot months. Such food

23

is apt to undergo fermentation if not fed directly after it is mixed, and
tbe mixing-trongb even, unless frequently scalded and cleaned, becomes
sour and enough of its scrapings are given with the food to produce
flatulent (wind) colic. A small amount of salt should always be mixed
with such food.

Bad hay should never be cut simply because it insures a greater con-
sumption of it; bad foods are dear at any price and should never be fed.
We have before spoken of the advantage, of boiling roots. Kot only
does this render them less liable to produce digestive disorders, but it
also makes them clean. Boiling or steaming grains is to be recom-
mended when the teeth are poor, or when the digestive organs are weak.
Of ensilage as a food for horses I have no experience, but am inclined
to think that (and this opinion is based upon the imperfect manner iu
which the crop is often stored) disordered digestion would be more fre-
quent were it extensively fed.

DISEASES OF THE TEETH.

Dentition. — This covers the period during which the young horse is

cutting his teeth, from birth to the age of five years. With the horso

more difiQculty is experienced in cutting the secon<l or permanent teeth

than with the first or milk teeth. There is a tendency among farmers

and many veterinarians to pay too little attention to the teeth of young

horses. Percivall relates an instance illustrative of this, that is best

told in his own words :

I was requested to give my opinion concornin.q; a horse, then in his fifth year, -^-ho
had fed so sparingly for the last fortnight, and so rapidly declined in condition in
consequence, that his owner, a veterinary surgeon, was under no light apprehensions
ahout his life. He had himself examined his mouth, without having discovered any
defect or disease ; though another veterinary surgeon was of opinion that the diffi-
culty or inability manifested in mastication, and the consequent cuddiug, arose from
preternatural bluntness of the surfaces of the molar teeth, which were, in couse-
quenco filed, hut without beneficial result. It was after this that I saw the horse;
and I confess I was, at my first examination, quite as much at a loss to offer any sat-
isfactory interpretation .as others had been. While meditating, however, after my
inspection, on the apparently extraordinary nature of the case, it struck mo that I
had not seen the tnslis. I went bade into the stable and discovered two little tu-
mors, red and hard, in the situation of the inferior tiists, which, when pressed, gave
the animal insufferable pain. I instantly took out my pocket-knife and made cru-
cial incisions through them both, down to the coming teeih, from which momeut tbe
horse recovered his appetite and by degrees his wonted condition.

The mouths of young horses should also be frequently examined to
see if one or more of tbe milk teeth are not remaining too long, caus-
ing the second teeth to grow in crooked, in which case the first teeth
should be removed by the forceps.

Irregularities of teeth. — There is quite a fashion of late years, espe-
cially in large cities, to have horses' teeth regularly "floated" or "rasped"
by " veterinary dentists." In some instances this is ver^^ beneficial,
while in most cases it is entirely unnecessary. From the character of

24

the food, tlie rubbing or j?riudiug surface of the horse's teeth should be
rough. Still we must remember that the upper jaw is somewhat wider
than the lower, and that from the fact of the teeth not being perfectly
apposed, a sharp ridge is left unworn on the inside of the lower molars
and on the outside of the upper, which may excoriate the tongue or
lips to a considerable extent. This condition can readily be felt by the
hand, and these sharp ridges when found should be rasped down by a
guarded rasp. Any one can do this without the aid of the veterina-
rian. In some instances the first or last molar tooth is unnaturally
long, owing to the absence of its fellow on the opposite jaw. Should
it be the last molar that is thus elongated it will require the aid of the
veterinary surgeon, who has the necessary forceps or chisel for cutting
it. The front molar may be rasped down, if much patience is taken.
In decay of the teeth it is quite common to find the tooth correspond-
ing to the decayed one on the opposite jaw very much elongated,
sometimes to that extent that the mouth can not be perfectly closed.
Such teeth must also be shortened by the bone forceps, chisel, bone-
saw, or rasp. In all instances where horses "quid" their food, where
they are slobbering, or where they evince pain in mastication, shown
by holding their head to one side while chewing, the teeth should be
carefully examined. If, as is mostly the case, all these symptoms are
referable to sharp corners or projections of the teeth, these must be re-
moved by the rasp. If decayed teeth are found, or other serious difii-
culty detected, an expert should be called.

Toothache.— TM^ is rare in the horse and is mostly witnessed where
there is decay of a tooth. I have observed it only in the molar teeth.
Toothache is to be discovered in the horse by the pain expressed by
him while feeding or drinking cold water. I have seen horses affected
with toothache that would suddenly stop chewing, throw the head to one
side, and slightly open the mouth. They behave as though some sharp
body had punctured the mouth. If upon examination there is no for-
eign body found we must then carefully examine each tooth. If this
can not be done with the hand in the mouth we can, in most instances,
discover the aching tooth by pressing each tooth from without. The
horse will flinch when the sore tooth is pressed upon. In most cases
there is nothing to be done but the extraction of the decayed tooth, and
this, of course, is only to be attempted by the veterinarian.

There is a deformity^ known as parrot-mouth, that interferes with pre-
hension, mastication, and, indirectly, with digestion. The upper incis-
ors project in front of and beyond the lower ones. The teeth of both
jaws become unusually long, as they are not worn down by friction.
Such horses experience much difficulty in grazing. Little can be done
except to occasionally examine the teeth, and if those of the lower jaw
become so long that they bruise the " bars" of the upper jaw, they must
be shortened by the rasp or saw. Horses with this deformity should
never be left entirely at pasture.

25

DISEASES OF THE MOUTH.

Lampas is the name given to a swelling of the mucous membrane
covering the hard palate and projecting in a more or less prominent
ridge immediately behind the upper iucisors. There is no doubt but
that in some rare instances, and particularly while teething, there is a
congestion and swelling of this part of the roof of the mouth which
may interfere with feeding. In one instance in my practice I found the
swelling so extensive that the mucous membrane was caught between
the front teeth when the horse attempted to eat. Should this exist the
swollen parts are to be scarified, being careful not to cut deeply into the
structures. An astringent wash of alum water may also be beneficial.
Burning of the lampas is cruel and unnecessary, and should never be
permitted, as it often causes serious results to follow.

It is quite a common opinion among owners of horses and stablemen
that lampas is a disease that very frequently exists. In fact whenever
a horse fails to eat, and if he does not exhibit very marked symptoms
of a severe illness, they say at once " he has the lampas." It is almost
impossible to convince them to the contrary, yet in a practice extend-
ing over fifteen years I have never seen but two or three cases of what
is called lampas that gave rise to the least trouble or that called for
any treatment whatever. It may be put down, then, as more a disease
of the stableman's imagination than of the horse's mouth.

Stomatitis. — This is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining
the mouth and is produced by irritating medicines, foods, or other sub-
stances. In cities it frequently follows from eating out of ash-barrels.
The symptoms are swelling of the mouth, which is also hot and pain-
ful to the touch ; there is a copious discharge of saliva ; the mucous
membrane is reddened, and in some cases there are observed vesicles
or ulcers in the mouth. The treatment is simple, soft feed alone often
being all that is necessary. In some instances it may be advisable to
use a wash of chlorate of potash, borax, or alum, about one-half ounce
to a pint of water. Hay, straw, or oats should not be fed unless
steamed or boiled.

Glossitis, or inflammation of the tongue, is very similar to the above,
and mostly exists with it and is due to the same causes. Injuries to
the tongue may produce this simple inflammation of its covering mem-
brane, or, if severe, may produce lesions much more extensive, such
as lacerations, abscesses, etc. These latter would require surgical
treatment, but for the simpler forms of inflammation of the tongue the
treatment recommended for stomatitis should be followed.

Ptyalism or salivation consists in an abnormal and excessive secre-
tion of saliva. This is often seen as a symptom of irregular teeth, in-
flammation of the mouth or tongue, or of the use of such medicines as
lobelia, mercury, and many others. Some foods produce this, as clover,
and particularly second cropj foreign bodies, as nails, wheat chaft', and

26

corn cobs becoming lodged iu the mouth. If the cause is removed, as a
rule uo further attention is necessary. Astringent washes may be
applied to the mouth as a gargle or by means of a sponge.

Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining of the
pharynx (back part of the mouth). Ic rarely exists unless accompanied
by stomatitis, glossitis, or laryngitis. In those instances where the in-
flammation is mostly confined to the pharynx we notice febrile symptoms-
difficulty of swallowing either liquids or solids ; there is but little cough
except when trying to swallow ; there is no soreness on pressure over
larynx (large ring of the windpipe). Increased flow of saliva, difficulty
of swallowing liquids in particular, and cough only when attempting
to swallow, are the symptoms best marked in pharyngitis. For treat-
ment, chlorate of potash iu half-ounce doses three or four times a day
is the best. This may be given suspended in warm water as a gargle,
or may be mixed with licorice-root i^owder and honey and given
with a strong spoon or wooden paddle. Borax or alum water may be
substituted for chlorate of potash in the same-sized doses. Soft food
should be given, but I have seen some cases where the animal would
eat corn from the cob better than anything else.

Paralysis of the pharynx, or, as it is commonly called, "paralysis of
the throat," is one of the most stubborn diseases of the horse that we are
ever called to treat. A horse is suddenly noticed to be unable to eat,
and his manger is found to contain much saliva and frothy food that
has been returned through his nose. The symptoms which enable us to
tell that paralysis of the pharynx exists are as follows : The owner says
he has a horse that " can't eat." That is all he knows. We find the
animal with a somewhat anxious countenance; manger, as above de-
scribed ; pulse, respiration, and temperature, at first, about the same
as in health ; the horse will constantly try to eat or drink, but is un-
able to do so ; if water be offered him from a pail he will apparently drink
with avidity, but, if we notice, the quantity of water in the pail remains
about the same ; he will continue trying to drink by the hour; if he can
succeed in getting any fluid in to the back part of the mouth it comes
out at once through the nose. Foods also return through the nose, or
are dropped from the mouth, quidded. An examination of the mouth
by inserting the hand fails to find any obstruction or any abnormal
condition, except, perhaps, that the parts are too flabby to the touch.
These cases go on from bad to worse; the horse constantly and rapidly
loses in condition, becomes very much emaciated, the eyes are hollow
and lustreless, and death soon occurs from inanition.

Treatment is very unsatisfactory. Severe blisters should be applied
behind and under the jaw; the mouth is to be frequently swabbed out
with alum or chlorate of potash, 1 ounce to a pint of water, by means
of a sponge fastened to the end of a stick. Strychnia is the best agent
to be used to overcome this paralysis, and should be given in 1-grain
doses three or four times a day. If the services of a veterinarian can

27

be obtained he sboiikl give this medicine by means of a hypodermic
syringe, injecting it deeply into the pharynx. In my experience the
blister externally, the frequent swabbing of the mouth, as above de-
scribed, and the use of a nerve stimulant are all that can be done. This
disease may be mistaken at times for foreign bodies in the mouth or for
the so called cerebrospinal meningitis. It is to be distinguished from
the former by a careful examination of the moutb, the absence of any
offending body, and by the flabby feel of the mouth; from the latter by
the animal appearing in perfect health in every particular except this
inability to eat or drink.

Abscesses sometimes form in the i^harynx and give rise to symptoms
resembling those of laryngitis or distemper. Interference with breath-
ing, that is of recent origin, and progression, without any observable
swelling or soreness al)out the throat, will make us suspect the forma-
tion of an abscess in this location. But little can be done in the way
of treatment, save to hurry the ripening of the abscess and its dis-
charge, by steaming with hops, hay, or similar substances. If the ab-
scess can be felt through the mouth it must be opened by the attend-
ing veterinary surgeon.

DISEASES OF TDE CESOPHAGUS OR GULLET.

It is rare to find disease of this organ, except as a result of the in-
troduction of foreign bodies too large to pass, or to the exhibition of
irritating medicines. Great care should be taken in the administration
of 'irritant or caustic medicines that they be thoroughly diluted. If
this is not done erosions and ulcerations of the throat ensue, and this
again is prone to be followed by constriction — narrowing — of the gullet.
The mechanical trouble of choking is quite common. It frequently
occurs when the animal is suddenly startled while eating apples or roots,
and we should be careful never to suddenly approach or put a dog
after horses or cows that are feeding upon such substances. If left
alone they very rarely attempt to swallow the object until it is suffi-
ciently masticated.

Choking also arises from feeding oats in a deep, narrow manger, to
such horses as eat very greedily, or bolt their food. Wheat chaff is
also a frequent source of choke. This accident may result from the
attempts to force eggs down without breaking or from giving balls that
are too large or not of the proper shape.

Whatever object causes the choking, it may lodge in the upper part
of the oesophagus, at its middle portion, or close to the stomach, giving
rise to the designations oi i^haryngeal, cervical,, and thoracic choke. In
some cases where the original obstruction is low we find all that part
of the gullet above it to be distended with food.

The symptoms will vary according to the position of the body causing
choke. In pharyngeal choice the object is lodged in the upper j)ortion of
the oesophagus. The horse will j)reseut symptoms of great distress,

28

hurried breathing, frequent cough, excessive flow of saliva, sweating,
treiiibliug, or siampiug with the fore-feet. The abdomen rapidly dis-
tends with gas. The diagnosis is completed by manipulating the upper
■part of the throat from without and by the introduction of the hand
into the back part of the mouth, finding the body lodged here. In
cervical choke (where the obstruction is situated at any point between
the throat-latch and the shoulder) the object can both be seen and felt.
The symptoms here are not so severe; the horse will be seen to occa-
sionally draw himself uj), arch his neck, and sometimes utter a loud
shriek; the expression becomes anxious, and attempts at vomiting are
made. Tlie abdomen is mostly full and tympanitic. Should there be
any question as to the trouble a decided conclusion may mostly be
reached by pouring water into the throat from a bottle. If the ob-
struction is complete you can see the gullet Ijecome distended with
each bottle of water by standing on the left side of the horse and watch-
ing the course of the oesophagus, just above the windpipe. This is not
always a sure test, as the obstruction may be an angular body, in
which case liquids would pass it. Solids taken would show in these
cases; but solids should not, however, be given, as they serve to in-
crease the trouble by rendering the removal of the body more difficult.
In cervical choke one can always, with a little care, feel the imprisoned
object.

In thoracic choice the symptoms are still less severe. Our attention will
be directed to this part of the oesophagus by food or water being ejected
through the nose or mouth after the animal has taken a few swallows.
There will be some symptoms of distress, fullness of the abdomen,
cough, and occasionally the crying or shrieking as heard in cervical
choke. The diagnosis is complete if, upon passing the probang (a hol-
low, flexible tube made for this purpose), an obstruction is encountered.

Treatment. — If the choke is at the beginning of the gullet (pharyngeal)
we must endeavor to remove the obstacle through the mouth. A
mouth-gag or speculum is to be introduced into the mouth to protect
the hand and arm of the operator. Then while an assistant, with his
hands grasped tightly behind the object, presses it upward and forward
with all his force, the operator must pass his hand into the mouth until
he can seize the obstruction and draw it outward. This mode of pro-
cedure must not be abandoned with the first failure, as we may get the
obstacle farther toward the mouth by continued efforts. If we fail
with the hand, forceps may be introduced through the mouth and the
object seized when it is just beyond the reach of the fingers. Should
our efforts entirely fail we must then endeavor to force the obstruction
downward by means of the probang. This instrument, which is of such
signal service in removing choke in cattle, is decidedly more dangerous
to use for the horse, and I can not pass this point without a word of
caution to those who have been known to introduce into the horse's
throat such objects as whip-stalks, shovel-handles, etc. These are

29

always dangerous, and I have seen more than one horse die from this
barbarous treatment.

Cervical choice. — lu this, as well as in thoracic choke, we must first of
all endeavor to soften or lubricate the obstruction by pouring' oil or
mucilaginous drinks down the gullet. After this has been done we are
to endeavor to move the object by gentle manipulations with the hands.
If choked with oats or chaflt' (and these are the objects that most fre-
quently produce choke in the horse), we should begin by gently squeez-
ing the lower portion of the impacted mass, and endeavoring to work it
loose a little at a time. This is greatly favored at times if we apply hot
fomentations immediately about the obstruction. We should persist in
these efforts for at least an hour before deciding to resort to other and
more dangerous modes of treatment. Should we fail, however, the pro-
bang may be used. In the absence of the regular instrument, which
must always be flexible and finished with a smooth cnp-shaped ex-
tremity, we may use a long piece of inch hose. The mouth is to be
kept open by a gag of wood or iron and the head slightly raised and
extended. The probang is then to be carefully guided by the hand into
the upper i^art of the gullet and gently forced downward until the ob-
struction is reached. Pressure must then be gradual and firm. Do not,
at first, attempt too much force, or the oesophagus will be ruptured.
Simply keep up this firui, gentle pressure until you feel the object mov-
ing, after which you are to rapidly follow it to the stomach. If, again,
this mode of treatment is unsuccessful, a veterinarian or medical doctor
is to be called in, who can remove the object by cutting down upon the
gullet, opening it, and removing the offending body. This should
scarcely be attempted by a novice, as a knowledge of the anatomy of the
parts is essential to avoid cutting the large artery, vein, and nerve that
are closely related to the oesophagus in its cervical portion.

Thoracic choice can only be treated by means of the introduction of
oils and mucilaginous drinks and'the careful use of the probang. Some
practitioners speak very highly of the value of thick soap-suds, gener-
ously horned down the animal's throat.

Stricture of the oesophagus is mostly due to corrosive medicines, pre-
vious choking (accompanied by lacerations, which, in healing, narrow
the passage), and pressure on the gullet by tumors. In the majority of
cases of stricture we soon have dilatation of the gullet in front of the
constricted portion. This dilatation is due to the frequent accumula-
tiou of .solid food above the constriction. Little can be done in either
of these instances except to feed on sloppy or liquid food.

Sacular dilatation of the cesophagus.— This mostly follows choking, and
is due to rupture of the muscular coat of the gullet, allowing the inter-
nal or mucous coat to hernia or iiouch through the lacerated muscular
walls. This sac or pouch gradually enlarges, from the frequent impris-
onment of food, until it presses upon the gullet and prevents swallow-
ing. When liquids are taken the solid materials are partially washed

30

out of the poncb. The symptoms presenting themselves are as follows:
The horse is able to swallow a few mouthfuls of food without ai^pareut
distress; then he will suddenly stop feeding, paw, contract the muscles
of his neck, and eject a portion of the food through his nose or mouth.
As the dilatation thus empties itself the symptoms gradually subside,
only to re-appear when he has again taken solid food. Liquids pass
without any, or but little, inconvenience. Should this dilatation exist
in the cervical region, surgical interference may sometimes prove effect-
ual ; if in the thoracic portion, nothing can be done, and the patient
rapidly passes from hand to hand by ''swapping," until, at no distant
date, the contents of the sac become too firm to be dislodged as here-
tofore, and the animal succumbs.

DISEASES OF THE STOMACH.

Impaction — Stomach staggers, or gorged stomach. — These are terras
given to the stomach when it is so enormously distended with food that
it loses all power of contracting upon its contents. It occurs most
frequently in those horses that after a long fast are given a large feed,
or in those that have gained access to the grain-bin and eaten rav-
enously. The proportionally small stomach of the horse, as well as his
inability to vomit, will account for the frequency of stomach staggers.
I have witnessed this trouble most frequently in teamsters' horses and
those that are not fed as often as they should be. After a long fast it
is the custom to feed abundantly. The horse bolts his food, and the
stomach not having time to empty itself becomes distended and
paralyzed. To prevent this condition it is sufiBcient to feed at shorter
intervals, to give small quantities at a time, and to secure the feed-bins
so that if a horse gets loose he can not " stuff himself to bursting."

Si/mp)toms. — Percivall says that "a stomach simply surcharged with
food, without any accomj)anying tympanitic distention, does not ap-
pear to occasion local pain, but to operate rather that kind of influence
upon the brain which gives rise to symptoms, not stomachic, but cere-
bral. Hence the analogy between this disease and staggers, and hence
the appellation for it of ' stomach staggers.'" The horse soon after eat-
ing becomes dull and heavy, or drowsy ; slight colicky symptoms are
observed, and are continuous; he rarely lies down, but carries his head
extended and low, nearly touching the ground. Dullness rapidly in-
creases, the eyes are partially closed, vision is impaired, he presses or
thrusts his head against the manger or sides of the stall, and paws or
even climbs with his fore feet. Respirations are less frequent than in
health, the pulse slow and sluggish. All these symptoms rapidly in-
crease in severity ; he becomes delirious ; cold sweats bedew the body;
he trembles violently, slobbers or vomits a sour, fermenting mass,
staggers from side to side, or plunges madly about until he drops dead.
Usually the bowels are constipated, although (and especially if the en-
gorgement is due to eating wheat or rye) diarrhea has been observed.
These symptoms resemble in some particulars those of "blind" or

31

" mad" staggers, but if we are careful to get the history of the ease, i. e.,
ravenous eating after a long fast, or gaining access to graiu-biiis, we
should not be in much danger of confounding them. Post-mortem ex-
aminations sometimes reveal rupture of the stomach, owing to its enor-
mous distension, and to the violence with which he throws himself in his
delirium. If not ruptured the stomach will be distended to its utmost.

Treatment for these cases is very unsatisfactory. A j)urgative of
Barbadoes aloes, 1 ounce, should be given at once. We should then
try to stimulate the walls of the stomach to contraction by giving cay-
enne pepper, one-half ounce, or half-ounce doses of Jamaica ginger.
Injections into the rectum, last gut, of turijentine 2 ounces, in 8 ounces
of linseed oil, may stimulate the bowels to act, and thus, in a measure,
relieve the stomach. Cold applications applied to the head may in
some cases relieve the cerebral symptoms already* referred to, and some
recommend bleeding for the same purpose.

Tympanites of the stomach. — This is of somewhat frequent occurrence,
according to my observation, but is not, I believe, as a rule, separately
treated of by works on veterinary medicine. It is similar in cause and
symptoms to the above, yet distinct enough to enable the careful ob-
server to readily differentiate between them. In tymi)anites of the
stomach we find this organ to be greatly distended as before, but in
this case its contents are gaseous, or probably a mixture of food and
gases, like fermenting yeast. This disease of the horse corresponds
exactly with "hoven" or "blown" in cattle, and may be due to over-
loading the stomach with young, succulent, growing herbage, clover in
particular, from whose subsequent fermentation gas is liberated in
quantities sufficient to enormously distend the stomach. Growing
wheat or rye are also fertile causes of this distention if eaten in any con-
siderable amounts. Another very frequent cause of stomach-bloat is
overfeeding, particularlj' if given immediately before hard work. Many
l^eople, if they expect to make a long journey, think to fit their horses
for the fatigue consequent thereto by giving an extra allowance of oats
or other food just before starting. This is most injudicious. The horse
starts to his work feeling full and oppressed; he soon grows dull and
listless, and fails to respond to the whip ; sweats profusely; attempts
to lie down ; his head is carried forward and downward, and if checked
up is heavy on the reins, stumbles or blunders forward and often falls.
If looked at carefully you can not fail to observe that he is unusually full
over the posterior ribs. The flanks may also be distended Avith gas,
and sound like a drum on being struck, though I have seen cases where
the gases were entirely confined to the stomach. With this condition
the pain and distress are constant ; the swelling referred to plainly ap-
preciable; head extended and low, retching or even vomiting of fer*
mented food. On placing the ear to the horse's windpipe a distinct me-
tallic sound can be heard,, as of air rushing through the windpipe.
Such cases are rapid in their course and often fatal.

32

Treatment must be prompt and energetic. An antacid should be given,
and, as these cases mostly occur on the road away, probably, from all
drug-stores, you should hasten to the first house. Get common baking
soda, and administer 2 to 4 ounces of it as quickly as possible. One-
half ounce of cayenne pepper may be added to this with advantage, as
it serves to aid the stomach to contract upon its contents, and expel the
gas. Charcoal, in any amount ; chloride of lime, one-half ounce ; carbon-
ate of ammonia, one-half ounce ; or any medicine that will check or stop
fermentation, or absorb the gases, may be given. A physic of 1 ounce
of aloes, or 1 pint of linseed oil should be given to unload the stomach
and bowels. Cold water, dashed with force over the stomach, is thought
by some to favor condensation of the gas. This lesson should be learned
from one of these attacks — and doubtless will be if, as is often the case,
the horse dies — that when a horse or any other animal is expected to
do an unusual amount of work in a short time he will best do it upon
a spare feed. Curb your generosity and humanity (?) for the brute un-
til the journey's end, and even then wait until the horse is thoroughly
rested before giving the usual feed.

Rupture of the stomach. — This mostly occurs as a result of engorged
or tympanitic stomach, and from the horse violently throwing himself
when so affected. It may result from disease of the coats of the stom-
ach, gastritis, stones or calculi, tumors, or anything that closes the
opening of the stomach into the intestines, and very violent pulling or
jumping immediately after the animal has eaten heartily of bulky food.
These or similar causes may lead to this accident.

The symptoms of rupture of the stomach are not constant, nor always
reliable. We should always make inquiry as to what and how much
the horse has been fed at the last meal. Vomiting has, pretty gen-
erally, been declared to be a symptom of rupture of this organ. I wish
to preface what I may say concerning this with the statement that 1
have observed vomiting when the post-mortem examination revealed
rupture; that I have found rupture of the stomach where vomiting
had not occurred; that I have witnessed vomiting where the horse soon
after made a rapid recovery, i. e., when the stomach was not ruptured.
In spite of this contradictory evidence, I am of the opinion that, taken
in connection with other symptoms, this sign is of value as pointing
toward rupture of the stomach. This accident has occurred in my
practice mostly in heavy draught horses. A prominent symptom ob-
served (though I have also seen it in diaphragmatic hernia) is where
the horse, if possible, gets the front feet on higher ground than the
hind ones, or sits on his haunches, like a dog. This position affords
relief to some extent, and it will be maintained for some minutes ; it is
also quickly regained when the horse has changed it for some other.
Colicky symptoms, of course, are present, and these will vary much,
and present no diagnostic value. As the case progresses " the horse
will often stretch forward the fore legs, lean backwards and down-

33

wards until the belly nearly touches the ground, and then rise up again
with a groan, after which the fluid from his nostrils is issued in increased
quantity." The pulse is fast and weak, breathing hurried, body bathed
in a clammy sweat, limbs tremble violently, the horse reels or staggers
from side to side, and death quickly ends the scene.

In the absence of any pathognomonic symptom Percivall says we
must take into account the history of the case; the subject of it; the
circumstances attending it; the swollen condition of the abdomen; the
symptoms of colic that cease suddenly and are succeeded by cold
sweats and tremors; the pulse from being quick and small and thready,
growing weak and more frequent, and, at length running down and
becoming altogether imperceptible; the countenance denoting gloom
and despondency of the heaviest character; looking back at the flank
and groaning; sometimes crouching with the hindquarters; with, or
without eructation and vomiting.

There is no treatment that can be of any use whatever. Could we be
sure of our diagnosis it would be better to destroy the animal at once.
Since, however, there is always the possibility of a mistake in diagnosis,
we may give powdered opium in 1-drachm doses every two or three hours,
with the object of keeping the stomach as quiet as possible.

Gastritis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the
stomach. As an idiopathic disease it very rarely exists; but is mostly
seen to be due to mechanical irritation, or to giving irritant and corro-
sive poisons in too large doses or without sufficient dilution. The
symptoms are not well marked; there is a febrile condition, colicky
pains, and, mostly, intense thirst. When poisons have produced gas-
tritis there will be other symptoms referable to the action of the partic-
ular poison swallowed. If, for instance, the gastritis is due to a salt
of lead we must expect to find difficult or labored breathing, abdominal
pains, partial paralysis of extensor muscles primarily, tottering gait,
convulsions, and death. Where the poisoning by lead is gradual the
symptoms differ somewhat. There is a general appearance of unthrifti-
ness, loss of appetite, staring coat, constipation, watery swellings under
the jaws, a gray or blue line along the margin of the gums, and a pro-
gressive paralysis, noted often at first in the anterior extremities.
Colicky symptoms are also observed. Abortion is often noticed during
chronic lead-poisoning. In all cases of lead-poisoning the stomach, and
often intestines, show erosions of its lining membrane, which in other
parts is darker in color, and the mucous membrane is easily stripped
oft'. Chronic poisoning by lead is to be expected near paint works,
about newly-painted buildings, where paint kegs are left in the fields,
where horses take small particles of lead with their food, where soft
water runs through new lead pipes, and where the drinking water is
drawn from wells or cisterns containing lead. Lead can be detected in
almost all parts of the body at the post-mortem, examination of chronic
poisoning.

11035 3

34

Treatment. — In acute gastritis, due to the careless or accidental ad-
ministration of large quautities of this poison, M-e must give sulphuric
acid, 30 to GO drops well diluted with water, milk, white of eggs, oils,
and demulcent drinks, as linseed gruel or tea. If the gastritis is
chronic, due to the long ingestion of small i^articles of lead, we must
administer from one-half to 1 pound of Epsom salts. Iodide of potas-
sium in 1-drachm doses, twice or thrice daily, are here of much service.
If much pain exists it may be relieved by giving morphia in 3 to 5
grain doses, repeated two or three times a day.

Where arsenic is the poison producing gastritis or gastro-enteritis
(inflammation of the stomach and bowels), we have symptoms of ab-
dominal pain, nausea, or vomiting, purging that is accompanied by an
ofl'ensive odor, staggering gait, quickened breathing, i)aralysis of the
hind extremities, and death. On opening a horse that has died of
arsenical poisoning Ave are struck by the escape of large quantities of
offensive gas. There are patches of inflammation and extravasation of
blood in the stomach, and often in the intestines, ('hemical tests
should be resorted to before giving a decided opinion that death is due
to arsenic. Poisoning from this agent is most common where sheep
have been dii^ped in arsenical preparations for the "scab'^ and then
allowed to run on pasture without first drying their wool. Arsenic is
thus deposited ujion the grass and is eaten by horses grazing thereon,
producing the symtoms of gastritis and death. Gastritis may also occur
from poisoning by copper, the mercurials, and some vegetable drugs.
Gastritis produced by any of the irritant poisons is to be treated with
oils and demulcent drinks. Opium may be given to allay j)ain and
inflammation. Care should be observed in fee'ding for a time, being
careful to give only soft and easily digested foods.

BOTS — laev^:e op the gadfly.

There are such erroneous opinions extant concerning the bot and
the depredations it is supposed to commit upon the horse that a some-
what careful study should be made of it.

Of the many insect parasites and tormentors of solipeds the gad-
flies (CEstridae) are of the most importance. Cobbold, who is the best
authority on the subject, says :

The common gad-fly {GastrojjMlits equi) attacks the animal while grazing late in
the summer, its object being, not to derive sustenance, but to deposit its eggs. This
is accomplished by means of a glutinous excretion, causing the ova (eggs) to ad-
here to the hairs. The parts selected are chiefly those of the shoulder, base of the
neck, and inner part of the fore legs, especially about the knees, for in these situations
the horse "will have no difficulty in reaching the ova with its tongue. When the
animal licks those parts of the coat where the eggs have been idaced the moisture of
the tongue, aided by warmth, hatches the ova, and in something less than three
weeks from the time of the deposition of the eggs the larvie have made their escape.
As maggots they are next transferred to the mouth and ultimately to the stomach
along with food and drink. A great many larvre perish during this passive mode of
immigration, some being dropped from the mouth and others being crushed in the

35

fodder during mastication. It has Lecii calculated tliat out of the raany hundreds
of eggs deposited ou a single horse scarcely one out of iifty of the larvse arrive within
the Stomach. Notwithstanding this waste the interior of the stomach may become
completely covered (cuticular portion) with bots. Whether there he few or many
they are anchored in this situation chiefly hy means of two large cephalic hooks.
After the hots have attained perfect growth thej voluntarily loosen their hold aud
allow themselves to he carried along the alimentary canal until they escape with the
feces. In all cases they sooner or later fall to the ground and when transferred to
the soil they hury themselves beneath the surface in order to undergo transformation
into the pupa condition. Having remained in the earth for a period of six or seven
weeks they finally emerge from their pupal-cocoons as perfect dipterous (winged)
insects— the gad-fly. It thus appears that bots ordinarily pass about eight months
of their lifetime in the digestive organs of the horse.

The species just described infest chiefly the stomach and duodenum-
small gut leading from the stomach.

Another species of oestrus affecting the horse is the oestrus hoemorrhoi-
Aalis. These are found fastened to the mucous membrane of the rectum,
(last gut) or even outside upon the anus, and occasion much irritation
aud annoyance, and, at times, require to be removed by the fingers or
forceps.

The opinion, almost uni'rersally entertained, that bots frequently
cause colicky pains, is erroneous. Itis very common to hear by-stauders
declare that almost every horse with abdominal pains "has the bots,"
and their suggested treatment is always varied and heroic.

Almost all horses in the country, as well as horses in the cities during
their first year there, have " the bots." It is in exceptionally rare in-
stances that they produce any appreciable symptoms or disturbances.
In my own practice I have never known bots to be the cause of any
serious ailment of the horse ; and only once has my father, in a practice
extending over fifty years, known bots to be the cause of death. In
this instance the bots seemed to have simultaneously loosened their
hold upon the mucous lining of the stomach, and were forced as an im-
permeable wedge into the pyloric orifice, or outlet, of the stomach, and
thus, preventing the passage of food or medicine, produced death.
Were the bots to attempt to fasten themselves to the sensitive lining of
the bowels in their outward passage they might cause irritation and
expressions of pain in the form of colicky symptoms, but this they sel-
dom or never do. The opinion frequently expressed ixt postmortem ex-
aminations, when the stomach is found to be ruptured, that " the bots
have eaten through the stomach," is again a mistake. Bots never do
iMs; the rupture is due to overdistention of the viscus with food or
gases. Some writers on veterinary medicine have even urged that bots,
by their presence, stimulated the stomach secretions, and were thus
actually an aid to digestion. This opinion is as far from the truth as
the more general one referred to above, concerning the harm they do.

Bots may, and probably do, when in large enough numbers to be
fastened to the true digestive portion of the stomach, slightly interfere
with digestion ; the animal may not thrive, the coat stares, and emacia-

36

tion may follow ; but beyond this, with the exception already noted,
they are harmless. Even were they the cause of trouble, there are no
medicines that affect them ; neither acids, nor alkalies, anthelmintics
(worm medicines), nor anodynes cause them to become loose and to
pass out of the body. To prevent them it is necessary to watch for their
eggs on the legs and different parts of the body in the late summer and
autumn. These eggs are to be carefully scraped oft" and burned. Horses
should not be watered from stagnant ponds, as they frequently swallow
the ripening eggs with such water. It is entirely useless to attempt
any treatment to rid the horse of bots ; the^^ go at their appointed time,
and can not be dislodged before this. We should remember that in
following their natural course or stages of existence the bots loosen
their hold during May and June mostly. They are then expelled in
great numbers, and horse-owners, noticing them in the manure, hasten
to us saying "my horse has the bots." If we are honest we tell him
that, in the natural course of events, nature is doing for him that which
we can not do. We may say in conclusion, then, that bots seldom pro-
duce any evil effects whatever ; that not more than once in ten thousand
times are they the cause of colicky symptoms, and that they require no
medicine to eject them.

INDIGESTION.

Indigestion is a term applied to all those conditions where, from any
cause, digestion is imperfectly i^erformed. It is not at all uncommon to
witness in the horse symptoms similar to those of dyspei)sia in man.
The disturbances of digestion included under this head are not so pro-
nounced as to produce colic, yet our consideration of diseases of the
digestive organs would be incomplete if we failed to mentiou this, the
most frequest of all digestive disorders. The seat and causes of indi-
gestion are found to vary in different horses, or even in the same horse
at different times. Apart from the indigestibilitj" of the food itself
there are many causes productive of indigestion. The teeth are often
at fault. Where these are sharp, irregular, or decayed the food is im-
perfectly masticated and swallowed before there is a prox)er admixture
with the saliva. Bolting of the food; the bile— secretion of the liver
— may be defective in quality or quantitj^; there may be lack of secre-
tion of the pancreatic juice, or there may be simply want of peristaltic
movement of the stomach and intestines, thereby causing an interrup-
tion of the passage of the ingesta. The principal seat of indigestion,
however, is in the stomach or small intestines. Whenever, from any
cause, the secretions from these parts are excessive or difiScient, dys-
pepsia or indigestion must invariably follow. Indigestion is often due
to keeping horses on low, marshy pastures, and particularly during
cold weather; wintering on hard, dry hay or corn-stalks, and other
bulky and inuutritive food ; irregular feeding or overferdnig (though
this latter is more likely to produce engorged stomach, or tympanites

37

of the stomach, which have been described by some as "acute indi-
gos tiou.")

■Si/mptoms. — Indigestion is characterized by irregular appetite; re-
fusing all food at times, and at others eating ravenously ; the appetite
is not only irregular, but is often depraved ; there is a disposition on
the part of the liorse to eat unusual substances, as wood, soiled bed-
ding, or even his rwn feces ; the bowels are irregular, to-day loose and
bad smelling, to-morrow bound ; grain often i^assed whole in the feces
and the hay passed in balls or impacted masses undergoing but little
change ; the horse frequently passes considerable quantities of wind
that has a sour odor. The animal loses flesh, the skin presents a hard,
dry appearance, and seems very tight (hide-bound). If these symp-
toms occur in a single horse in a stable where others are kept we must
look, not to the feed, but to the animal himself for the cause of his
trouble.

Treatment. — It is evident, from the many causes of indigestion and
from its protean forms, that we must be exceedingly careful in our ex-
aminations of the subject of this disorder. We must commence with
the food, its quality, quantity, and time of feeding; examine the water
supply, and see, besides, that it is gi%"en before feeding; then we must
carefully observe the condition of the mouth and teeth ; and, continuing
our observations as best we may, endeavor to locate the seat of trouble
— whether it is in the stomach, intestines, or annexed organs of diges-
tion, as the liver and pancreas. If the teeth are sharp or irregular
they must be rasped down ; if any are decayed they must be extracted;
if indigestion is due to ravenous eating or bolting the food, we must
then feed from a large manger where the grain can be spread and the
horse compelled to eafc slowly.

In the great majority of cases I have found a cathartic, aloes 1 ounce,
or linseed oil 1 pint, to be of much service if given at the outset. Any
irritation, such as worms, undigested food, etc., that are operating as
" causes," are thus removed, and in many instances no further treat-
ment is required. There is mostly a tendency to distension of the
stomach and bowels with gas during indigestion, and I have never
found any treatment so effective as the following alkaline tonic: Bak-
ing soda, powdered ginger, and powdered gentian, equal parts. These
are to be thoroughly mixed and given in heaping tablespoonful doses,
twice a day, before feeding. This powder is best given by dissolving
the above quantity in a half pint of water, and given as a drench.

INTESTINAL WORMS.

Although there are several species of worms found in the intestines
of horses, it will be sufficient, in an article like this, to refer only to
three or four of the most common ones. Worms are most frequently
seen in young horses, and in those that are weak and debilitated. They
commonly exist in horses that are on low, wet, or marshy xjastures, and
in those that drink stagnant water.

38

The intestinal worm most commonlj'^ seen is known as the Luinhncoid
worm. In form it is much like the common earth-worm. It is white or
reddish in color, and measures from 4 to 12 inches in length, though
some have been seen that were nearly 30 inches long. In thickness
they vary from the size of a rye straw to that of a lady's little finger,
being thickest at the middle, and tapering at both ends. They are
found singly or in groups or masses, and infest chiefly the small intes-
tines.

Another common variety of intestinal worm is called the pin worm,
and is found mostly in the large intestines. These are semi transpa,reut,
thread like worms, measuring in length from 1 to 2 inches.

The tape-worm, once seen, is easily recognized. It is white, flat,
thin, broad, and jointed. The head is found at the smaller end of the
worm. Tape- worms of the horse sometimes measure from 20 to 30 feet
in length.

Symptoms of intestinal tcorms. — Slight colicky i^ains are noticed at
times, or there may only be switching of the tail, frequent passages of
manure, and some slight straining, itching of the anus, and rubbing of
the tail or rump against the stall or fences ; the horse is in poor condi-
tion ; does not shed his coatj is hide-bound and pot- bellied; the appe-
tite is depraved, licking the walls, biting the wooden work of the stalls,
licking parts of his body, eating earth, and being particularly fond of
salt; the bowels are irregular, constipation or diarrhea being noticed.
Some place much dependence upon the symptom of itching of the up-
j)er lip, as shown by the horse frequently turning it up and rubbing it
upon the wall or stalls. Others again declare that whenever we see the
adherence of a dried whitish substance about the anus worms are pres-
ent. The owe symptom, however, that we should always look for, and
certainly the only one that may not deceive us, is seeing the horse pass
the worms in his dung.

Treatment. — Eemedies to destroy intestinal worms are much more ef-
ficient if given after a long fast, and then the worm medicine must be
supplemented by a physic to carry out the worms. Among the best
worm medicines may be mentioned santonine, turi)entine, tartar emetic,
infusion of tobacco, and bitter tonics. To destroy tapeworms, areca
nut, male-fern, and pumpkin seeds are the best. If a horse is pass-
ing the long round worms, for instance, the plan of treatment is to
give twice daily for three or four days a drench composed of turpen-
tine, 1 ounce, and linseed oil 2 or 3 ounces, to be followed on the fourth
day by a physic of Barbadoes aloes, I ounce. If the pin- worms are
present (the ones that infest the large bowels), injections into the rec-
tum of infusions of tobacco, infusions of quassia chii)s, one-half pound
to a gallon of water, once or twice daily for a few days, and followed by
a physic, are most beneficial. It should be borne in mind that intes-
tinal worms are mostly seen in horses that are in poor condition ; and
an essential part of our treatment then is to improve the appetite and

39

powers of digestion. This is best doue by giving tbe vegetable tonics.
One-hair ounce of Peruvian bark, gentian, ginger, quassia, etc., is to
be given twice a day in the feed or as a drench. Unless some such
medicines and good food and pure water are given to tone up the di-
gestive organs the worms will rapidly accumulate again, even though
they may have all been expelled by the worm medicines proper.

DISEASES OF THE INTESTINES.

Spasmodic or cramp colic. — This is the name given to that form of colic
produced by contraction, or spasm, of a portion of the small intestines.
It is produced by indigestible food ; foreign bodies, as nails and stones
in the bowels ; large drinks of cold water when the animal is warm ;
driving a heated horse through deep streams, cold rains, draughts of
cold air, etc. Unequal distribution of or interference with the nervous
supply here produces cramp of the bowels, the same as external cramps
are produced. Spasmodic colic is much more frequently met with in
high-bred, round-barreled nervous horses than in coarse, lymphatic
ones.

Symptoms.— These should be carefully studied in order to diagnose
this from other forms of colic requiring quite different treatment. Spas-
modic colic always begins suddenly. If feeding, the horse is seen to
stop abruptly, stamp impatiently, and probably look backwards. He
soon evinces more acute pain, and this is shown by pawing, suddenly
lying down, rolling, and getting up. There is then an interval of ease;
he will resume feeding, and appear to be entirely well. In a little while,
however, the pains return and are increased in severity, only to again
pass off for a time. As the attack progresses these intervals of ease
become shorter and shorter, and pain may be continuous, though even
now there are exacerbations of pain. Animals suffering from this form
of colic evince the most intense pain ; they throw themselves down, roll
over and over, jump up, whirl about, drop down again, paw, or strike,
rather, with the front feet, steam and sweat, make frequent attempts to
pass their urine, and the penis is partially erected. Only a small
amount of water is passed at a time, and this is due to the bladder be-
ing so frequently emptied, i. e., there is but little water to pass. These
attempts to urinate are almost always regarded as sure symptoms of
trouble of the kidneys or bladder. In reality they are only one of the
many ways in which the horse expresses the presence of pain. Allow
me to digress slightly, and to assure the reader that diseases of the
bladder or kidneys of the horse are exceedingly rare. The stomach and
bowels are affected in a thousand instances where the kidneys or blad-
der are once. Attempts to pass water and failure to do so are not
enough to warrant us in pronouncing the case one of " trouble with his
water," nor should we, if a horse yields or sinks when pinched over the
loins, declare that kidney disease exists. Try this pressure on any

40

horse, and tbe great majority will be seen to thus yield; in fact, this is
rather a sign or symptom of health than of disease.

To recapitulate the symptoms of spasmodic colic : Keep in mind the
history of the case, the type of horse, the suddenness of the attack, the
intervals of ease (which become of shorter duration as the case pro-
gresses), the violent pain, the normal temperature and pulse during the
intervals of ease, the frequent attempts to urinate, the erection of the
penis, etc., and there is but little danger of confounding this with
other foruis of colic.

Treatment. — Since the pain is due to spasm or cramp of the bowels,
medicines that overcome spasms — anti-spasmodics — are the ones indi-
cated. Probably there is no medicine better than chloral hydrate.
This is to be given in a dose of 1 ounce in a half pint of water as a
drench. A very common and good remedy is sulphuric ether and laud-
anum; of each 2 ounces in half pint of linseed oil. Another drench
may be composed of 2 ounces each of sulphuric ether and alcohol in 8
ounces of water. If nothiug else is at hand we may give whisky; one-
half pint in hot water. If relief is not obtained in one hour from any
of the above doses, they may then be repeated. The body should be
warmly clothed and perspiration induced. Blankets dipj)ed in very hot
water to which a small quantity of turpentine has been added should
be placed around the belly and covered with dr^' blankets, or the abdo-
men may be rubbed with stimulating liniments or mustard- water. The
difficulty, however, of applying hot blankets and keeping them in place
forces us in most instances to dispense with them. If the cramp is due
to irritants in the bowels a cure is not complete until we have given a
cathartic of 1 ounce of aloes or 1 pint of liuseed-oil. Injections into the
rectum of warm, soapy water, or salt and water, aid the cure.

One word here about injections, or enemas, as they are called. These,
as a rule, should be lukewarm and from 3 to 0 quarts are to be given
at a time. They may be repeated every half hour if necessary. Great
care is to be taken not to iujure the rectum in giving rectal injections.
A large syringe is the best means by which to give them. If this ia
not to be had, take a large elder, from which the pith has been removed,
or a piece of hose. A large hog's bladder is to be filled with the fluid
to be injected and tied about one end of the elder or hose. The point
to be introduced into the rectum must be blunt, rounded, and smooth.
It is to be thoroughly oiled and then carefully pushed through the anus
in a slightly upward direction. Pressure upon the bladder will force
its contents into the bowel. Much force must be avoided, for the
rectum may be lacerated and serious complications or even death re-
sult. Exercise will aid the action of the bowels in this and similar
colicky troubles, but severe galloping or trotting is to be condemned.
If the horse can have a loose box or paddock it is the best, as he will
then take what exercise he wants. If the patient be extremely violent
it is often wise to restrain him, since rupture of the stomach or dis-
placement of the bowels may result and complicate the troubles.

41

Flatulent colic — Tympanites — Wind colic — Bloat. — Among the most
frequent causes of this form of colic are to be meutioned sudden changes
of food, too long fasting and food then given while the animal is ex-
hausted, new hay or grain, large quantities of green food, food that
has lain in the manger for some time and become sour, indigestible
food, irregular teeth, crib-biting, and in fact anything that produces
indigestion may produce flatulent colic.

The symptoms of wind colic are not so suddenly developed, nor so
severe as those of cramp colic. At first the horse is noticed to be dull,
paws slightly, may or may not lie down. The pains from the start are
continuous. The belly enlarges, and by striking it in front of the
haunches a drum-like sound is elicited. If not soon relieved the above
symptoms are aggravated, and in addition we notice difficult breath-
ing, profuse perspiration, trembling of anterior limbs, sighing respira-
tion, staggering from side to side, and, finally, plunging forward dead.
The diagnostic symptom of flatulent colic is the distention of the bow-
els with gas, detected by the bloated appearance and resonance on
percussion.

The treatment for wind colic differs very materially from that of
cramp colic. Alkalines neutralize the gases formed, and must be
promptly given. Probably as good a domestic remedy as can be had
is baking-soda, in doses of from 2 to 4 ounces. If this fails, give chlo-
ride of lime in half-ounce doses, or the same quantity of carbonate of
ammonia every half hour until relieved. Absorbents are also of serv-
ice, and we may give charcoal in any quantity. Relaxants and anti-
spasmodics are also beneficial in this form of colic. Chloral hydrate
not only possesses these qualities, but it also is an anti-ferment and a
pain-reliever. It is then particularly well adapted in the treatment of
wind colic, and should be given in the same sized doses and in the
manner directed for spasmodic colic.

A physic should always be given in flatulent colic as early as possi-
ble, the best being Barbadoes aloes in the dose already mentioned.
Injections, per rectum, of turpentine 1 to 2 ounces, linseed-oil 8 ounces,
may be given frequently to stimulate the peristaltic motion of the bow-
els and favor the escape of wind. Blankets wrung out of hot water do
much to afford relief; they should be renewed every 5 or 10 minutes
and covered with a dry woolen blanket. This form of colic is much
more fatal than cramp colic, and requires prompt and persistent treat-
ment. It is entirely unsafe to predict the result, some apparently mild
attacks going on to speedy death, while others that appear at the onset •
to be very severe yielding rapidly to treatment. Do not cease your
efforts until you are sure the animal is dead. I was called, in one
instance, and on reaching my patient the owner informed me that "the
horse had just died." The heart, however, was still beating, and by
energetic measures (tapping, etc.) I "brought him back to life," as the
onlookers asserted. In these severe cases puncturing of the bowels in

42

the most prominent (distended) part by means of a small trocar and
canula, or with the needle of a hypodermic syringe, thus allowing tlio
escape of gas, has often saved life, and such punctures are not foUo-wed
by any bad results in the majority of instances.

Impaction of the large intestines. — This is a very common bowel trouble
and one which, if not promptly recognized and properly treated, results
in death. It is caused mostly b^^ overfeeding, especially of grain, and
I have noticed that it is much more common where rye is fed alone, or
with other grains; old, dry, hard hay, or stalks when largely fed ; defi-
ciency of secretions of the intestinal tract, lack of water, want of exer-
cise, paralysis of nerve endings, medicines, etc.

Symptoms.— Imiiaction of the large bowels is to be diagnosed by a
slight abdominal pain, which may disappear for a day or two to reap-
pear with more viole-ice. The feces is passed somewhat more frequently,
but in smaller quantities and more dry ; the abdomen is full, but not
distended with gas 5 the horse at first is noticed to paw and soon begins
to look back at his sides. Probably one of the most characteristic
symptoms is the position assumed when down. He lies flat on his
side, head and legs extended, occasionally raising his head to look
toward his flank ; he remains on his side for from five to fifteen minutes
at a time. Evidently this position is the one giving the most freedom
from pain. He rises at times, w^alks about the stall, paws, looks at his
sides, backs up against the stall which he presses with his tail, and
soon lies down again, assuming his favored position. The bowels have
ceased entirely to move. The pulse is but little changed at first, being
full and sluggish ; later, if this condition is not overcome, it becomes
rapid and feeble. I have known horses to suffer from impaction of the
bowels for a week, yet eventually recover, and others have reported
cases extending two or even three weeks which ended favorably. As
a rule, however, they seldom last over four or five days, many, in fact,
dying sooner than this.

The treatment consists of efibrts to produce movement of the bowels,
and to prevent infLammation of the same from arising. A large cathartic
is to be given as early as possible 5 either of the following are recom-
mended: Powdered Barbadoes aloes 1 ounce, calomel 2 drams, and
powdered nux vomica 1 dram; or linseed oil 1 pint, and croton oil 15
drops. Some favor the administration of Epsom salts, 1 pound, with
one-quarter pound of common salt, claiming that this causes the horse
to drink largely of water, and thus mechanically softening the impacted
mass and favoring its expulsion. Whichever physic is selected it is
essential that you give a full dose. This is much better than small and
repeated doses. It must be borne in mind that horses require about
twenty-four hours in which to respond to a physic, and under no cir-
cumstances are physics to be repeated sooner than this. If aloes has
been given and has failed to operate at the proper time, oil or some dif
ferent cathartic should then be administered. Allow the horse all the
water he will drink. The action of the physic may be aided by giving,

43

every three or four hours, one-half ounce of tincture of belladonna, or
one-halt dram of powdered nux vomica. Copious enemas are to be
given every hour, and should be varied; giving first soapy water, thea
salt and water, or the emulsions of turpentine already alluded to in
describing other diseases of the bowels. Enemas of glycerine, 2 to 4
ounces, are often beneficial. Eubbing or kneading of the abdominal
walls, the application of stimulating liniments or strong mustard
water will also, at times, favor the expulsion of this mass. Walking
exercise must occasionally be given. If this treatment is faithfully
carried out from the start the majority of cases will terminate favorably.
Where relief is not obtained inflammation of the bowels may ensue,
and death follow from this cause.

Constipation or costiveness is often witnessed in the horse, and particu-
larly in the foal. Many colts die every year from failure on the part
of the attendant to note the condition of the bowels soon after birth.
W^henever the foal fails to pass any feces, and in particular if it pre-
sents any signs of colick^^ pains — straining, etc. — immediate attention
must be given it. As a rule, it will only be necessary to give a few
injections of soapy water in the rectum and to introduce the finger
through the anus to break down any hardened mass of dung found
there. If this is not effective, a purgative must be given. Oils are
the best for these young animals, and I mostly select castor oil, giving
from 2 to 4 ounces. The foal should always get the first of the mother's
milk, as this milk, for a few days, possesses decided laxative properties.
If a mare, while suckling, is taking laudanum or similar medicines, the
foal should bo fed during this time by hand and the mare milked upon
the ground. Constipation in adult horses is mostly the result of long
feeding on dry, innutritions food, deficiency of intestinal secretions,
scanty water supply, or lack of exercise. If the case is not complicated
with colicky symptoms, a change to light, sloppy diet, linseed gruel or
tea, with plenty of exercise, is all that is required. If colic exists a
cathartic is needed. In very many instances the constipated condition
of the bowels is due to lack of intestinal secretions, and when so due,
must be treated by giving fluid extract of belladonna three times a day
in 2-dram doses, and handful doses daily of Epsom salts in the feed.

ALIjMENTARY concretions — GASTRIC AND INTESTINAL.

Gastric concretions, calculi {stones) in the stomach. — There are prob-
ably but few symptoms exhibited by the horse that will lead us to sus-
pect the presence of gastric calculi, and possibly none by which we can
unmistakably asser^ v-heir presence. Stones in the stomach have been
most frequently found in miller's horses. A small piece of the mill-stone
or other foreign body may serve as a nucleus around which is deposited
in layers the calcareous substances which abound in their feed (the
sweepings of the mill floor, mixed with good food). I have noticed, and
it is generally recorded by veterinary writers, that a depraved and

44

capricious appetite is liommon in horses tliat have a stone forming in
their stomach. There is a disposition to eat the wood work of the sta-
ble, earth, and, in fact, ahnost any substance within their reach. This
symptom must not, however, be considered as pathognomonic, since it
is observed when calculi are not present. Occasional colics may result
from these " stomach stones," and when these lodge at the outlet of the
stomach they may give rise to symptoms of engorged stomach, already
described. I remember one instance in which I found a stone that
weighed nearly 4 pounds in the stomach of a horse.

The position that seems to aftord the most relief to the afflicted ani-
mal is sitting upon the haunches. Constipation may or may not be
present. From all this we may conclude that there is reason to sus-
pect the presence of stone in the stomach, if there is a history of de-
praved appetite ; repeated attacks of colic (and particularly if these have
recovered abruptly) ; and the position sought by the horse while suffer-
ing— sitting on the haunches, or standing with the front feet upon
some elevation. During the fatal attack the symptoms are simply
those of obstruction, followed by those of inflammation and gangrene,
and are not diagnostic. There is, of course, no treatment that will
prove effective. We can simi)ly give remedies to move the bowels, to
relieve pain, and to combat inflammation.

Intestinal concretions, calculi (stones) in the intestines. — These concre-
tions are found mostly in the large bowels, though they are occasionally
met with in the small intestines. They are of various sizes, weighing
from 1 ounce to 25 i>ounds ; they may be single or multiple, and differ
in composition and appearance, some being soft (composed mostly of
animal or vegetable matter), while others are porous or honey-combed
(consisting of animal and mineral matter), and others again that are
entirely hard and stone-like. The hair-balls, so common to the stomach
and intestines of cattle, are very rare in the horse. Intestinal calculi
form around some foreign body as a rule, mostly a nail, piece of wood,
or something of this description, whose shape they assume to a certain
extent. Layers are arranged concentrically around such nucleus until
the sizes above spoken of are formed. These stones are also often found
in millers' horses, as well also as horses in limestone districts where the
water is hard. When the calculi attain a sufficient size and become
lodged or blocked in some part of the intestines, they cause obstruction,
inflammation of the bowels, colicky symptoms, and death. Some vete-
rinarians pretend to diagnose the presence of these bodies during life,
but I know of no certain signs or symptoms that reveal them. Recur-
ring colics and character of food and water may enable us to make a
good guess at times, but nothing more.

The symptoms will be those of obstruction of the bowels. Upon post-
mortem examinations we will discover these stones, mostly in the large
bowels ; the intestines will be inflamed or gangrenous about the point
of obstruction. Sometimes calculi have been expelled by the action

45

of a physic, or they may be removed by the hand when found to occupy
the last gut.

Treatment. — As in concretions of the stomach, there can be but little
done more than to overcome spasm (if any exists), and to give physics
with the hope of dislodging the stone or stones and carrying them on
and outward.

Intussusception or Invagination is the slipping of a portion of the in-
testine into another portion immediately adjoining, like a partially
turned glove linger. This may occur at any jjart of the bowels, but is
most frequent in the small guts. The invaginated portion may be
slight — 2 or 3 inches onl}^ — or extensive, measuring as many feet.
Treves, who has written a most valuable work on intestinal obstruc-
tion in man, may be quoted in substance, to some extent. He cautions
us not to confound what he classes as "obstructive intussusception"
with intussusception of the dying. This latter is often seen upon
post-mortem examination of children, or with us in 3'oung colts. These
invaginations occur shortly before death, and are due to irregular con-
tractions of the bowels that take place during the act of dying. Mus-
cular actions are, at this time, irregular and tumultuous, and it is not
surprising that intussusception is produced. "Intussusceptions of the
dying" are characterized by the following peculiarities : They are small,
free from any trace of congestion, inflammation, or adhesion, and can
very easily be reduced by slight traction,- they are apt to be mul-
tiple, and are most frequently directed forward. In obstructive intus-
susception, on the other hand, the inturned bowel is in the direction of
the anus. There are adhesions of the intestines at this point, conges-
tion, inflammation, or even gangrene.

Causes of invagination. — This accident is most likely to occur in horses
that are suffering from spasm of the bowel or in those where a small
portion of the gut is i)aralyzcd. The natural worm or ring-like con-
traction of the gut favors the passage of the contracted or paralyzed
portion into that immediately behind it. It may occur during the ex-
istence of almost any abdominal trouble, as diarrhea, inflammation of
the bowels, or from injuries, exposure to cold, etc.

Symptoms. — Unless the invaginated portion of the gut becomes strang-
ulated, probably no symptoms will be appreciable, except constipation.
Strangulation of the bowel may take place suddenly, and the horse die
within twenty-four hours, or it may occur after several days, a week
even, and death follow at this time. There are no symptoms positively
diagnostic. Colicky pains, more or less severe, are observed, and there
are no, or but few, j^assages of dung. I have observed severe straining
in some instances of intussusception, and this should be given due
credit when it occurs. As death approaches the horse sweats profusely,
sighs, presents an anxious countenance, the legs and ears become cold,
and there is often freedom from pain immediately before death. In some
rare instances the horse recovers, even though the invaginated portion of

4G

the gut Las become strangulated. The imprisoned portion here sloughs
away so gradually that a union has taken place between the intestines
at the point where one portion has slipped into that behind it. The
piece sloughing off is found passed with the manure. Such cases are
exceedingly rare, but their possibility should guide us in our treatment.
Cathartic medicines are more calculated to do harm than good. Wo
should treat with anodynes and anti-spasmodics, chloral hydrate, laud-
anum, and sulphuric ether, and medicines to prevent inflammation.
Some practitioners favor the administration of powdered opium, 1 to 2
drams, every three or four hours. Injections of salt and water or
emulsions of turpentine are given with the somewhat fanciful idea of pro-
ducing peristalsis of the intestines in a direction opposite to the normal
one, i. e., contraction from the anus forward. If this can be produced by
these or any other means, it will prove a valuable adjunct to other
treatment. Soft feed and mucilaginous and nourishing drinks are to be
given during these attacks.

Volvulus, Gut-tic or Ticisting of the Bowels. — These are the terms ap-
plied to the bowels when twisted or knotted. This accident is rather a
common one, and frequently results from the violent manner in which
a horse throws himself about when attacked by spasmodic colic. The
symptoms are the same as those of intussusception and obstructions of
the bowels 5 the same directions as to treatment are therefore to be
observed.

Diarrhea is due to eating moldy or musty food, drinking stagnant
water, diseased condition of the teeth, eating irritating substances, to
being kept on low, marshy pastures, and exposure during cold nights,
low, damp stables, or to some morbid or inflammatory condition of the
intestinal canal or some of its annexed organs. It is more frequently
a symptom of functional disorder than an organic disease. Some horses
are predisposed to scour and are called "washy" b}^ horsemen; tliey
are those of long bodies, long legs, and narrow, flat sides. Horses of
this build are almost sure to scour if fed or watered immediately before
being put to w^ork. Fast or road work, of course, aggravates this
trouble. Diarrhea may exist as a complication of other diseases, as
pneumonia and influenza for instance, and again during the diseases of
the liver.

The si/m2)toms are the frequent evacuations of liquid stools, with or
without pronounced abdominal pain, loss of appetite, emaciation, etc.

Treatment is at times very simple, but requires the utmost care and
judgment. If due to faulty food or water it is sufficient to change
these. If it results from some irritant in the intestines, this is best
gotten rid of by the administration of an oleaginous purge, the diarrhea
mostly disappeai-ing with the cessation of the operation of the medicine.
If, however, purging continues, it may be checked by giving wheat flour
in water, starch water, whiteoak bark tea, chalk, opium, or half-dram
doses of sulphuric acid in one-half pint of water twice or thrice daily.

47

I Lave good results from powdered opium>^!^ga!faf^jS«*^ subnitrate of
bismuth, 1 ouuce, repeated three times a day. Oae-quarter pouud
doses of the "Thompsoniau composition," to which may be added 1
ouuce of baking soda, given two or three times a day, are frequently
effective. It should be remembered in all cases to look to the water
and feed the horse is receiving. If either of these is at fault they are
at once to be discontinued. We should feed sparingly of good, easily
digested foods. In that peculiar build of nervous horses that scour on
the road but little can be done, as a rule. They should be watered and
fed as long as possible before going on a drive. If there is much flat-
ulency accompanying diarrhea, baking soda or other lalkaline medicines
often produce a cure, while if the discharges have a very disagreeable
odor, this can be corrected by 1 ouuce of sulphite of soda or half-dram
doses of carbolic acid in water, repeated twice a day. Be slow to resort
to either the vegetable or mineral astringents, since the majority of
cases will yield to change of food and water, or the administration of oils.
Afterwards feed upon wheat-flour gruel or other light foods. The
body should be warmly clothed.

Siqyerpnrgation.— This is the designation of that diarrhea or flux
from the bowels that, at times, is induced by and follows the action of
a physic. It is accompanied by much irritation or even inflammation
of the bowels, and is always of a serious character. Although in rare
instances it follows from a usual dose of physic and where every pre-
caution has been taken, it is most likely to result under the following
circumstances: Too large a dose of physic ; to giving physics to horses
suflering from pneumonia, iufluenza^ or other debilitating diseases; to
riding or driving a horse when purging ; to exposure or draughts of
cold air, or giving large quantities of cold water while the physic is
operating. There is always danger of superpurgation if a physic is
given to a horse suflering from diseases of the respiratory organs. Small
and often-repeated physics are also to be avoided, as they produce de-
bility and great depression of the system and predispose to this dis-
order. When a physic is to be given we should give the horse sloppy
food until the medicine begins to operate 5 we must clothe the body
with a warm blanket ; keep out of draughts; give only chilled water in
small quantities. After a horse has purged from twelve to twenty-four
hours it can mostly be stopped or " set," as horsemen say, by feeding
on dry oats and hay. Should the purging continue, however, it is
best treated by giving demulcent drinks— linseed tea, oatmeal or wheat-
flour gruel. After this the astringents spoken of for diarrhea may be
given. Besides this the horse is to receive brandy in doses of from 2
to 4 ounces, with milk and eggs, four or five times a day.

Laminitis "founder" is a frequent sequelae of superpurgation and is
to be guarded against by removing the shoes and standing the horse on
moist sawdust or some similar bedding.
Dysentery— 'Willia.ms defines dysentery, or bloody flux, as an intes-

48

tinal inflammatory action of a peculiar or specific character, attended
with fever, occasional abdominal pain, and fluid alvine discharges,
mingled with blood or albuminous materials ; the tissue changes, which
are usually regarded as special, being situated chiefly in the minute
gland structures and inter-connective tissue of the large intestine, and
of an ulcerative or gangrenous character. To be plainer, dysentery is
characterized by coffee-colored or bloody discharges, liquid, and very
offensive in odor, and passed with much tenesmus (straining). It is
very rare in the horse.

Causes. — Probably the most common cause is keeping young horses
in particular for a long time on low, wet, marshy pastures, without
other feed (a diarrhea of long standing sometimes terminates in dysen-
tery) ; exposure during cold, wet weather; decomposed foods; stagnant
water that contains large quantities of decomposing vegetable matter;
low, damp, and dark stables, particularly if crowded ; the existence of
some disease, as tuberculosis of the abdominal form.

Symptoms. — The initial symptom is a chill, which probably escapes
notice in the majority of instances. The discharges are offensive and
for the most part liquid, although it is common to find lumps of solid
fecal matter floating in this liquid portion ; shreds of mucous membrane
and blood are passed, or the evacuations may be muco-purulent; there
is much straining, and, rarely, symptoms of abdominal pain ; the horse
lies down a great deal ; the pulse is quickened and the temperature
elevated. The appetite may remain fair, but in spite of this the horse
rapidly loses flesh and becomes a sorry-looking object. Death rarely
follows under two to three weeks. Thirst is a prominent symptom.

Treatment — This is most unsatisfactory, and 1 am inclined to place
more dependence upon the care and feed than any medication that may
be adopted. First of all the horse must be placed in a dry, warm, yet
well- ventilated stable; the skin is to receive attention by frequent rub-
bings of the surface of the body, with blankets, and bandages to the
legs. The water must be pure and given in small quantities; the food,
that which is light and easily digested. Medicinally, we must give at
first a light dose of castor oil, about one-half pint, to which has been
added 2 ounces of laudanum. The vegetable or mineral astringents
are also to be given. Starch injections containing laudanum often
afford great relief. The strength must be kept up by milk punches,
eggs, beef tea, oat-meal gruel, etc. In spite of the best care and treat-
ment, however, dysentery mostly proves fatal.

Hcemorrlioids — Piles. — These are rare in horses, although more fre-
quently met with than most people suppose. They are diagnosed by
the appearance of bright-red irregular tumors after defecation, which
may remain visible at all times or be seen only when the horse is down
or after passing his manure. They are mostly due to constipation, to
irritation or injuries, or follow from the severe straining during dysen-
tery, I have observed them to follow from severe labor pains in the
mare.

49

Treatment.— Attention must be paid to the condition of the bowels;
they should be soft, but purging is to be avoided. The tumors should
be washed in warm water and thoroughly cleansed, after which we must
scarify them and gently but firmly squeeze out the liquid that will be
seen to follow the shallow incisions. While this treatment may be
considered as heroic, to say the least, by medical practitioners, yet it
has invariably proven successful in my experience, no, bad results fol-
lowing. After thus squeezing these tumors and before replacing
through the anus, bathe the parts with some anodyne wash. I prefer
for this purpose the glycerite of tannin and laudanum in equal parts.
Mucilaginous injections into the rectum may be of service for a few days.

Enteritis is an inflammation of the mucous-membrane lining the
bowels. This inflammation may extend and involve the muscular or even
serous coats. From my observations enteritis is exceedingly rare in the
horse unless caused by irritants or corrosive poisons, or following from
invagination, twisting of the bowels, etc. In ftict, I can not remember
ever to have seen but one case of enteritis apart from these or similar
causes. It is claimed, however, by some that enteritis may be pro-
duced by drinking when warm large quantities of cold water, driving
through deep streams when the animal is heated, washing the entire
surface of the body at such a time, and by feeding moldy or musty
foods, or keeping the horse in damp cellar stables.

Symptoms. — Febrile symptoms, from the onset, mark all attacks of
idiopathic enteritis. The membranes of the nose, mouth, and eyes are
congested and reddened, the mouth is hot and dry, respirations are in-
creased, the pulse is hard and rapid, temperature is elevated to 103^ or
105° Fah. Colicky pains are continuous. The horse walks about the
stall, pa«^s, lies down carefully, and most frequently turns himself upon
his back by the side of the stall and remains in this position for some
time. Thirst is present. As a rule, the bowels are sluggish or even
entirely inactive, but when this disease is due to irritant foods or med-
icines purging and tympanites may be present. The inflammatory
pulse, high temperature, continuous pain, which is increased upon
l^ressure, position of the horse when down, coldness of ears and legs,
etc., will enable us to diagnose a case of enteritis. Where enteritis fol-
lows as a complication of diseases before described, the symptoms will
depend upon the character of the original intestinal disorder.

Treatment. — We must rely almost wholly upon opium internally.
Give 1 or 2 drams of powdered opium every three or four hours.
One dram of extract of belladonna should be added to the above
doses of opium. Calomel in 1-dram doses twice a day is also recom-
mended. As a rule, purgatives and enemas are not to be given ; our
object is to keep the bowels as quiet as possible. Hot blankets applied
to the belly, or counter-irritants to abdominal walls, are advisable. Give
mucilaginous drinks, as linseed tea, oatmeal gruel, and starch water.
Avoid all solid foods that are in the least hard, dry, and indigestible.
11035 4

50

If, when the symptoms of iuflammatiou subside, the bowels do not act,
try to encourage this by meaus of walking exercise and injections per
rectum. Should these fail a mild cathartic is indicated.

Another form of disease, described by some as enteritis, by others as
muco enteritis ixwd'-'- anoplexy of the large Z>o^ce'.s,"is much more common.
It is perhaps the most rapidly fatal of all bowel diseases, and is seen
most frequently in heavy draught horses. Its causes are hard to deter-
mine, but it may follow exposure to cold storms, immersing the body
in cold water, and in fact about the same causes that produce true
enteritis. In this disease we find in the large bowels mostly an exten-
sive effusion or extravasation of blood between the mucous and muscular
coats, giving a bluish or black color. The intestinal walls are thickened
by this effusion and sometimes measure from 2 to 3 inches in thickness,

The symptoms are severe and jiersistent pain, labored respiration,
rapid and zcealc pulse, profuse perspiration, aud paleness of the visible
mucous membranes, A peculiar, anxious expression exists that, once
seen, is almost diagnostic. Toward the last the horse sighs, breathes
stertorously, staggers and pitches about, and dies in a state of delirium.
They rarely live more than ten or twelve hours, and often die inside of
six hours.

Treatment. — This is of but little avail, since the case has mostly made
great i^rogress before being seen. Probably the best domestic remedy
is white-oak bark tea given in large aud frequently repeated doses.
Tannic acid, 1 dram, or tiuid extract of ergot, 1 ounce, are preferable,
if at hand, and can be given every half hour until four or five doses
have been taken. Hot ai)plications to the body — blankets wrung out
of hot water and sprinkled with turpentine — are to be applied fre-
quently. Mustard water should be applied with smart friction to the
legs. Could we see these cases at their inception general bloodletting
might prove of service.

Hernia. — There are several different kinds of hernice that require no-
tice at this point, not all of which, however, produce any serious symp-
toms or results. Abdominal hernia or ruptures are divided into reduci-
hie, irreducible, and strangulated, according to condition; aud 'into ingui-
nal, scrotal, ventral, umbilical and diaphragmatic, according to their
situation. A hernia is reducible when it can be easily returned into the
abdomen. It consists of a soft swelling, without heat, pain, or any
uneasiness, generally larger after a full meal, and decreases in size as
the bowels become empty. An irreducible hernia is one that can not be
returned into the abdomen, and yet does not cause any pain or uneasi-
ness. Strangulated hernia is one where the contents of the sac are
greatly distended, or where from pressure upon the blood-vessels of the
imprisoned portion the venous circulation is checked or stopped, thereby
causing extensive congestion, swelling, inflammation, and, if not re-
lieved, gangrene of the part and death of the animal. Hernia may be
congenital and accidental or acquired.

51

Congenital scrotal hernia. — Not a few foals are noticed from birth to
have an euhirged scrotum, which gradnally increases in size up to about
the sixth mouth, sometimes longer. In some instances I have noticed
the scrotum of a six-months old colt to be as large as that of an adult
stallion, and have been repeatedly asked to prescribe treatment for it.
This is entirely unnecesary in ninety-nine out of every hundred cases,
as this enlargement entirely disappears by the time the colt has reached
his second year. Any interference, medicinal or surgical, is worse than
useless. If the intestine contained within the scrotum should at any
time become strangulated, it must then be treated the same as in an
adult horse.

Scrotalhernia is caused by dilatation of the sheath of the testicle, com-
bined with relaxation of the fibrous tissue surrounding the inguinal ring,
thus allowing the intestine to descend to the scrotum. At first this is in-
termittent, appearing during work and returning when the horse is at
rest. For a long time this form of hernia may not cause the least uneasi-
ness or distress. In course of time, however, the imprisoned gut becomes
filled with feces, its return into the abdominal cavity is prevented, and
it soon becomes strangulated. While the gut is thus filling the horse
often appears dull, is disinclined to move, appetite is impaired, and there
is rumbling and obstruction of the bowels. Colicky symptoms now
supervene. I do not wish to imply that strangulation and its conse-
quent train of symptoms always follows in scrotal hernia, as I know of an
old horse where the scrotum, by weight of the contained gut, forms a
pendulous tumor reaching half way to the hock, and yet he has never
experienced any serious inconvenience.

Inguinal hernia is but an incomi)lete scrotal hernia, and, like the lat-
ter, may exist and cause no signs of distress, or again it may become
strangulated and cause the death of the animal. Inguinal hernia is seen
mostly in stallions, next in geldings, and very rarely in the mare. Bear-
ing in mind that scrotal hernia is seen only in horses, we can proceed to
detail the symptoms of both strangulated, inguinal, and scrotal hernia
at the same time. When, during the existence of colicky symptoms,
we find a horse kicking with his hind feet while standing, or lying upon
his back, we should look to the inguinal region and scrotum. If scro-
tal hernia exists the scrotum will be enlarged and lobulated; by press-
ure we may force a i)ortion of the contents of the gut back into the
abdomen, eliciting a gurgling sound. If we take a gentle but firm hold
upon the enlarged scrotum and then have an assistant cause the horse
to cough, the swelling will be felt to expand and as quickly contract
again.

The history of these cases will materially aid us, as the owner can
often assure us of preceding attacks of "colic," more or less severe,
that have been instantaneously relieved in some (to him) unaccounta-
ble manner. The colicky symptoms of these hernial are not diagnostic,
but, probably, more closely resemble those of enteritis than any other

52

bowel diseases. Cold sweats, particularly of the scrotum and thighs, are
held by some writers to be j)atboguomonic.

The diagnosis can, in many cases, only be made by a veterinarian,
when he has recourse to a rectal examination; the bowels can here be
felt entering the internal abdominal ring. If the reader can be sure of
the existence of these hernioe, he should secure the horse upon its back,
and, with a hand in the rectum, endeavor to catch hold of the wander-
ing bowel and pull it gently back into the cavity of the abdomen. Press-
ure should be made upon the scrotum during this time. I once suc-
ceeded in reducing a strangulated scrotal hernia, after having cast the
animal, by keeping a bag of cracked ice upon the scrotum, thus con-
densing the imprisoned gases and causing contraction of the swelling.
If these means fail a veterinarian must be called to reduce the hernia
by means of incising the inguinal ring, rej)lacing the intestines, and
castrate, using clamps and performing the " covered operation."

Ventral hernia. — In this form of hernia the protrusion is through
some accidental opening or rupture of some of the abdominal coats or
coverings. It may occur at any part of the belly except at the umbili-
cus, and is caused by kicks, blows, hooks, severe jumping or pulling,
etc. Ventral hernia is most common in pregnant mares, and is here
due to the weight of the foetus or some degenerative changes taking
place in the abdominal coats. It is recognized by the appearance of a
swelling, at the base of which can be felt the opening or rent in the
abdominal tunics, and from the fact that the swelling containing the
intestines can be made to disappear when the animal is placed in a
favorable position.

Treatment. — In many instances there is no occasion for treatment, and
again, where the hernial sac is extensive, treatment is of no avail. If
the hernia is small we may attempt a cure by the methods to be de-
scribed in treating of umbilical hernia. If we are fortunate enough to
be present when the hernia, occurs, and particularly if it is not too large,
we may, by the proper application of a pad and broad bandage, effect
a perfect cure.

Umbilical hernia is the passing of any portion of the bowel or omen-
tum through the navel, forming a " tumor" at this point. This is often
congenital in our animals, and is due to the imperfect closure of the
umbilicus and to the position of the body. Many cases of umbilical
hernia, like inguinal and scrotal of the congenital kind, disappear
entirely by the time the animal reaches its second or third year. Ad-
vancing age favors cure in these cases from the fact that the omentum
(swinging support of the bowels) is proportionally shorter in adults
than in foals, thus lifting the intestines out of the hernial sac and
allowing the opening in the walls to close. Probably one of the most
frequent causes of umbilical hernia in foals is the practice of keeping
them too long from their dams, causing them to fret and worry, and
bo neigh or cry by the hour. The coutractiou of the abdominal muscles

53

and pressure of the intestiues during neighing seem to open the um-
bilicus and induce hernia. Accidents may cause umbilical hernia in
adults in the same manner as ventral hernia is produced, though this
is very rare.

Treatment. — The treatment of umbilical hernia varies much with
different practitioners. We should remember the fact that cong(nital
hernije are often removed with age, but i^robably congenital umbilical
hernife less frequently than others. Among the many plans of treat-
ment are to be mentioned the application of a pad over the tumor, the
pad being held in place by a broad, tight bandage placed around the
animal's body. The chief objection to this is the difficulty in keeping
the pad in its place. Blisters are often applied over the swelling, and
as the skin hardens and contracts by the formation of scabs an
artficial bandage or i^ressure is produced that at times is successful.
Another treatment that has gained considerable repute of 4ate years
consists in first clipping off the hair over the swelling. Nitric acid is
then applied by a small brush, using only enough to moisten the skin.
This sets up a deep-seated adhesive inflammation, which, in very many
cases, closes the opening in the navel. Still another plan is to inject a
solution of common salt by means of the hypodermic syringe at three
or four points about the base of the swelling. This acts in the same
manner as the preceding, but in my experience is not as effectual.

Others again, after keeping the animal fasting for a few hours, cast
and secure it upon its back ; the bowel is then carefully returned into
the abdomen. The skin over the opening is to be pinched up and one
or two skewers are to be run through the skin from side to side as close
as possible to the umbilical opening. These skewers are kept in place
by passing a cord around the skin between them and the abdomen and
securely tied. Great care must be taken not to draw these cords too
tight, as this would cause a speedy slough of the skin, the intestines
would extrude, and death result. If properly applied an adhesion is
established between the skin and the umbilicus which effectually closes
the orifice.

Diaphragmatic hernia. — This consists of the i^assage of any of the
abdominal viscera through a rent in the diaphragm (midriff) into the
cavity of the thorax. It is rather a rare accident and one often impos-
sible to diagnose during life. Colicky symptoms, accompanied by great
difficulty in breathing, and the i^eculiar position so often assumed
(that of sitting upon the haunches) are somewhat characteristic of this
trouble, though these symptoms, as we have already seen, may be pres-
ent during diseases of the stomach or anterior portion of the bowels.
Even, could we pronounce, with certainty, this form of hernia, there is
little or nothing that cau be done. Leading the horse up a very steep
gangway or causing him to rear up may possibly cause the hernial
portion to return to its natural position. This is not enough, however j
it must be kept there.

54

Feritonitis is an inflammation of the serous membrane lining the
cavity of and covering the viscera coutaiaed within the ahdomeu.
It is very rare to see a case of idioi)athic peritonitis. It is, however,
somewhat common from extension of the inflammatory action involving
organs covered by the ijeritoneum. Peritonitis is often caused by in-
juries, as i)uuctured wounds of the abdomen, severe blows or kicks, or,
as is still more common, following the operation of castration. It fol-
lows frequently from strangahited heruiae, invagination, rupture of the
stomach, intestines, liver, or womb.

Symptoms. — Peritonitis is mostly preceded by a chill ; the horse is not
disposed to move, and if compelled to do so, moves with a stiff or sore
gait; he paws with the front feet, and probably strikes at his belly
with the hind ones ; lies down very carefully, and as the pain is in-
creased while down, he maintains during most of the time the standing
position 5^ he walks uneasily about the stall. Constipation is usually
l^reseut. Pressure on the belly causes acute pain, and the horse will
bite, strike, or kick at you if so disturbed ; the abdomen is tacked up }
the extremities fine and cold. The temperature is higher than normal,
reaching from 102'^ to 104^ Fah. The pulse in peritonitis is almost, of
itself, diagnostic; it is quickened, beating from seventy to ninety beats
per minute, and is hard and iviry. This peculiarity of the pulse is
characteristic of inflammation of the serous membrane, and if occurring
with colicky symptoms, and, in i^articular, if following any injuries,
accidental or surgical, of the peritoneum, we may rest assured that
peritonitis is present. Peritonitis in the horse is mostly fatal when it
is at all extensive. If death does not occur in a short time, the inflam-
mation assumes a chronic form, in which there is an extensive efl'usion
of water in the cavity of the belly, constituting what is known as
ascites, and which, as a rule, results in death.

The treatment of i)eritonitis is to be somewhat like that of enteritis.
Opium in powder, 1 to 2 drams, with calomel, one-half dram, is to be
given every two, three, or four hours, and constitute our main de-
pendence in this disease. Extensive counter-irritants over the belly,
consisting of mustard-plasters, turpentine stupes, or even mild blisters,
are highly recommended. Purgatives must never be given during this
complaint. Should we desire to move the bowels it can be done by
gentle enemas, though it is seldom necessary to resort even to this.

Ascites, or dropsy of the abdomen, is mostly" seen as a result of sub-
acute cr chronic peritonitis, but may be due to diseases of the liver,
kidneys, heart, or lungs. There will be found, on opening the cavity
of the belly, a large collection of yellowish or reddish liquid ; from a
few quarts to several gallons may be present. It may be clear in
color, though generally it is yellowish or of a red tint, and contains
numerous loose flakes of coagulable lymph.

Symiytoms.-^ThiirG is slight tenderness on pressure; awkward gait of
the hind legs; the horse is dull, and may have occasional very slight

55

colicky paius, sliowii by looking back and striking at tlie belly with
the hind feet. Ofteuer, however, these colicky symptoms are absent.
Diarrhea often precedes death, but during the progress of the disease
the bowels are alternately constipated and loose. On percussing the
abdominal walls we find that dullness exists to the same height ou both
sides of the belly; by suddenly pushing or striking the abdomen we
can hear the rushing or flooding of water. If the case is an advanced
one the horse is pot-bellied to the extreme, and dropsical swellings are
seen under the belly and upon the legs.

Treatment is, as a rule, unsatisfactory. Saline cathartics, as Epsom
or Glauber salts, and diuretics, ounce doses of saltpeter, are to be
given. If a veterinarian is at hand he should withdraw the accumula-
tion of water by tapping and should then endeavor to prevent its re-
currence (though this is almost sure to follow) by giving three times a
day saltpeter, 1 ounce, and iodide of potash, 1 dram, and by the appli-
cation of mustard or blisters over th^ abdominal walls. Tonics, min-
eral and vegetable, are also indicated". Probably the best tonic is one
consisting of powdered sulphate of iron, gentian, and ginger in equal
parts. A heaping tablespoonful of the mixture is to be given as a
drench or mixed with the feed, twice a day. Good nutritious foods
and gentle exercise complete the treatment.

DISEASES OF THE LIVEE.

This organ in the horse is but rarely the seat of disease, and when
we consider how frequently the liver of man is affected, this can not
but appear strange to all. There is a difference of the anatomical ar-
rangement of the liver of the horse from that of man that may to some
extent account for this rarity of disease in the former. It is very com-
mon to hear the w^ould-be veterinarian assert that a horse "has disease
of his gall-bladder." He thus displays his ignorance, as the horse has
no such biliary reservoir. This absence of the gall-bladder may ac-
count to a certain extent for his freedom from liver diseases; as over-
distension of this and the presence in it of calculi (stones) in man is a
frequent source of trouble. In domestic animals, as in man, hot cli-
mates tend to i)roduce diseases of the liver, just as in cold climates
lung diseases prevail. Not only are diseases of the liver rare in horses,
but they are also very obscure, and in many cases pass totally unob-
served until after death. There are some symptoms, however, which,
when present, should make us examine the liver as carefully as possi-
ble. These are jaundice (yellowness of the mucous membranes of the
mouth, nose, and eyes) and the condition of the dung, it being light in
color and pasty in appearance.

Hepatitis, inflammation of the liver, may be general or local and may
assume an acute or chronic form. The symptoms of acute hepatitis are :
Dullness ; the horse is sufl'ering from some internal pain, but not of a se-
vere type; constipated and clay colored dung balls, scanty and high-

56

colored urine, and general febrile symptoms. If lying down lie is mostly
found on the left side; loolis occasionally toward the right side, which,
upon close inspection, may be found to be slightly enlarged over the
posterior ribs, where pain upon pressure is also evinced. Obscure
lameness in front, of the right leg mostly, is said by some of the best
veterinary writers to be a symptom of hepatitis. The horse, toward tlie
last, reels or staggers in his gait and falls backward in a fointing fit,
during one of which he finally succumbs. Death is sometimes due to
rupture of the enveloping coat of the liver or of some of its blood-ves-
sels.

Among the causes that lead to this disease we must mention first the
stimulating effect of overfeeding, particularly during hot weather.
Those horses that are well fed and receive but little exercise — old favor-
ites that are being liberally fed and have passed the time of service,
pensioned heroes of years of faithful toil — these are the best subjects
for diseases of this organ. We must add to these causes the more
mechanical ones, as injuries on the right side over the liver, worms in
the liver, gall-stones in the biliary ducts, foreign bodies, as needles or
nails that have been swallowed and in their ^vauderings have entered
the liver, and, lastly, in some instances, the extension of inflammation
from neighboring parts, thus involving this organ. Acute hepatitis may
terminate in chronic inflammation, abscesses, rupture of the liver, or
may disappear, leaving behind no trace of disease whatever.

Treatment. — This should consist, at first, of the administration of 1
ounce of Barbadoes aloes or other physic. A large blister is to be ap-
plied to the right side, letting it extend from a little behind the girth
backward to the last rib and in width about 12 to 14 inches midway
between the spine above and the middle of the belly below. General
blood-letting, if had recourse to early, must prove of much benefit in
acute inflammation of the liver. The vein in the neck— jugular— must
be opened, and from 4 to 0 quarts of blood may be drawn. Saline medi-
cines, to act on the kidneys, should follow this treatment; 1-ounce doses
of saltpeter or muriate of ammonia, repeated three or four times a day,
are probably as good as any. The horse is to be fed sparingly on soft
food, bran-mashes chiefly. If we prove successful and recovery takes
place, see to it that the horse afterwards gets regular exercise and that
his food is not of a highly nutritious character, or excessive.

It will, I think, be useless to attempt much of a description of c/tromc
hepatitis, the symptoms of this trouble being so obscure that the veteri-
nary surgeon, in most cases, can scarcely hope to do more than diag-
nose it by exclusion. True, if a horse has had acute hepatitis and re-
mains dull for too great a length of time, with occasional slight colicky
symptoms, yellow membranes, etc., we may not fear of being far wrong
in saying that this disease has passed to the chronic form ; but to diag-
nose this form of hepatitis, without any such previous knowledge of
the case, is, to tell the truth, very often " guess-work " with us.

57

Jaimdice— Icterus—The Yelloics.—Thm is a condition caused by the
retention and absorption of bile into the blood. It was formerly con-
sidered to be a disease of itself, but can not, I think, be accepted as
more than a symptom, or at most as expressing the existence of func-
tional disorder of the liver. " The Yellows " is observed by looking at
the eyes, nose, and mouth, when it will be seen that these parts are
yellowish instead of the pale-pink color of health. In white or light-
colored horses the skin even may show this yellow tint. The urine is
saflron-colored, the dung is of a dirty gray color, and constipation is
mostly present. Jaundice may be present as a symptom of almost any
inflammatory disease. We know that when an animal is "fevered"
the secretions are checked, the bile is retained and absorbed through-
out the system, and yellowness of the mucous membranes follows.
Jaundica may also exist during the presence of simple constipation,
hepatitis, biliary calculi, abscesses, hardening of the liver, etc.

Treatment. — When jaundice exists we must endeavor to rid the sys-
tem of the excess of bile, and this is best accomplished by giving pur-
gatives that act upon the liver. Calomel, 2 drams, with aloes, 7 drams,
should be given. Glauber salts in handful doses once or twice a day
for a week is also effective. May-apple, rhubarb, castor oil, and other
cathartics that act upon the first or small bowels, may be selected.
We must be careful to see that the bowels are kept open by avoiding
hard, dry, bulky foods.

Rupture of the liver. — This is known to occur at times in the horse,
most frequently in old, fat horses and those that get but little exercise.
Horses that have suffered from chronic liver disease for years eventually
present symptoms of colic and die quite suddenly. Upon post-mortem
examination we discover that the liver had ruptured. The cicatrices
or scars that are often found upon the liver lead me to think that that
organ may suffer small rupture and yet the horse recover from it. This
result can not obtain, however, if the rent or tear is extensive, since in
such cases death must quickly follow from hemorrhage, or, later, from
peritonitis. Enlarged liver is particularly liable to rupture, and it is
not surprising that, when we read of this organ weighing 55 to CO pounds,
this accident occurs. The immediate causes of rupture appear to
be excessive muscular exertion, sudden distention of the abdomen with
gas, or some accident, as falling or being kicked by another horse.

The symptoms of rupture will depend upon the extent of the lacera-
tion. If slight there will be simply the symptoms of abdominal pain,
looking back to the sides, lying down, etc.; if extensive the horse is
dull and dejected, has no appetite, breathing becomes short and catch-
ing, he sighs or sobs, visible mucous membranes are pale, extremities
cold, pulse fVist, small, and weak or running down. Countenance now
shows much distress, he sweats profusely, totters in his gait, props bis
legs wide apart, reels, staggers, and falls. He may get up again, but
soon falls dead. The rapid running-down pulse, paleness of the eyes,

58

nose^ aud mouth, sigbing, stertorous breathing, tottering gait, etc., are
the symptoms by which we know that the auimal is dying from inter-
nal hemorrhage.

Treatment. — But little can be done. Opium in powder, in doses of 2
drams every two or three hours, may be given, with the idea of pre-
venting as much as i)ossible all movements of internal organs. If we
have reason to suspect internal bleeding we should give large and fre-
quent doses of white- oak bark tea, dram doses of tannic or gallic
acid, or the same quantity of sugar of lead, every half hour or hour.
Fluid extract of ergot or tincture of the chloride of iron, in ounce doses,
may be selected. Cold water dashed upon the right side or injected
into the rectum is highly spoken of as a means of checking the hem-
orrhage.

Biliary calculi. — Gall-stones. — These are rarely found in the horse, but
may occupy the hepatic ducts, giving rise to jaundice and to colicky
X)ains. There are no absolutely diagnostic symptoma, but should we
fiud a horse that suffers from repeated attacks of colic, accompanied by
symptoms of violent pain, and that during or following these attacks
the animal is jaundiced, wc may hazard the conjecture that gall-stones
are present. There is little or nothing to be done except to give medi-
cines to overcome pain, trusting that these concretions may pass on to
the bowels, where, from their small size, they will not occasion any in-
convenience.

Diseases of the pancreas and spleen are so rare, or their symptoms
so little understood, that it is impossible to write anything concerning
either of these organs and their simple diseases that will convey to the
reader information from a worthy stand-point, i. e., that of experience
and observation. It is sometimes well, even for the veterinarian, to
know that he does not know. This knowledge has saved my readers
an infliction.

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1 SYV. S riNAI. WOllM s

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS.

By JAMES LAW, F. R. C. V. S.,

Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., in Cornell University,

The urinary organs constitute tlie main channel through which are
excreted the nitrogenous or albuminoid principles, whether derived di-
rectly from the food or from the muscular and other uitrogenized tissues
of the body. They constitute, besides, the channel through which are
thrown out most of the poisons, whether taken in by the mouth or skin
or developed in connection with faulty or natural digestion, blood-
forming, nutrition, or tissue destruction; or, finally, poisons that are
developed within the body as the result of normal cell-life or of the life
of bacteria or other germs that have entered the body from without. To
a large extent, therefore, these organs are the sanitary scavengers and
purifiers of the system, and when their functions are impaired or ar-
rested the retained poisons quickly show their presence in resulting
disorders of the skin and connective tissue beneath it, of the nervous
system, or other organs. Nor is this influence one-sided. Scarcely an
important organ of the body can suffer derangement without entailing
a corresponding disorder of the urinary system. Nothing can be more
striking than the mutual balance maintained between the liquid secre-
tions of the skin and kidneys during hot and cold weather. In sum-
mer, when so much liquid exhales through the skin as sweat, compar-
atively little urine is passed, whereas in winter, when the skin is inact-
ive, the urine is correspondingly increased. This vicarious action of
skin and kidneys is usually kept within the limits of health, but at
times the draining otf of the water by the skin leaves too little to keep
the solids of the urine safely in solution, and these are liable to crys-
tallize out and form stone and gravel. Similarly the passage in the
sweat of some of the solids that normally leave the body, dissolved in
the urine, serves to irritate the skin and produce troublesome eruptions.
A disordered liver contributes to the production, under different cir-
cumstances, of an excess of biliary coloring-matter, which stains the
urine; of an excess of hippuric acid and allied products, which, being
less soluble than urea (the normal product of tissue change), favor the
forniatiou of stone, of taurocholic acid, and other bodies that tend, when

59

60

in excess, to destroy the blood globules aud to cause irritation of the
kidneys by the resulting hfemoglobiu excreted in the urine, and of
glycogen too abundant to be burned up in the system, which in-
duces saccharine urine (diabetes). Any disorder leading to impaired
functional activity of the lungs is causative of an excess of hippuric
acid and allied bodies, of oxalic acid, of sugar, etc., in the urine, which
irritate the kidneys even if they do not produce solid deposits in the
urinary passages. Diseases of the nervous system, and notably of the
base of the brain and of the spinal cord, induce various urinary dis-
orders, prominent among which are diabetes, chylous urine, and al-
buminuria. Certain affections, with imperfect nutrition or destructive
waste of the bon^^ tissues, tend to charge the urine with i>hosphates of
lime aud magnesia, and endanger the formation of stone and gravel.
In all extensive inflammations and acute fevers the liquids of the urine
are diminished, while the solids (waste products), which should form
the urinary secretion, are increased, and the surcharged urine proves
irritant to the urinary organs or the retained waste products poison
the system at large.

Diseases of the heart and lungs, by interfering with the free onward
flow of the blood from the right side of the heart, tend to throw that
liquid back on the veins, and this backward pressure of venous blood
strongly tends to disorders of the kidneys. Certain poisons taken with
the food and water, notably that found in magnesian limestone and
those found in irritant diuretic plants, are especially injurious to the
kidneys, as are also various cryptogams, whether present in musty hay
or oats. The kidneys may be irritated by feeding green vegetables
covered with hoar-frost or by furnishing an excess of food rich in phos-
phates (wheat bran, beans, pease, vetches, lentils, rape-cake, cotton-seed
cake) or b^^ a privation of water which entails a concentrated condition
aud high density of the urine. Exposure in cold rain or snow storms,
cold draughts of air, aud damp beds are liable to further disorder an
already overworked or irritable kidney. Finally, sprains of the back
and loins may cause bleeding from the kidneys or inflammation.

The right kidney, weighing 23^ ounces, is shaped like a French bean,
and extends from the loins forward to beneath the heads of the last two
ribs. The left kidney (Plate IV), resembles a heart of cards, and extends
from the loins forward beneath the head of the last rib only. Each con-
sists of three distinct parts, (a) the external (cortical) or vascular part, in
which the blood-vessels form elaborate capillary networks within the
dilated globular sacs which form the beginnings of the secreting
(uriniferous) tubes and on the surface of the sinuous secreting tubes
leading from the sacs inward toward the second or medullary part of
the organ; (6) the internal (medullary) part, made up in the main of
blood-vessels, lymi)hatics, aud nerves extending between the notch on
the inner border of the kidney to and from the outer vascular portion,
in which the secretion of urine is almost exclusively carried on; and

61

(d) a large saccular reservoir in the center of the kidney into which all
iiriuiferous tubes pour their secretions and from which the urine is
carried away through a tube (j, (ureter), which passes out of the notch at
the inner border of the kidney and which opens by a valve-closed orifice
into the roof of the bladder just in front of its neck. The bladder is a
dilatable reservoir for the retention of the urine until the discomfort of
its presence causes its voluntary discharge. It is kept closed by cir-
cular muscular fibers surrounding its neck or orifice, and is emptied by
looped muscular fibers extending in all directions forward from the
neck around the blind anterior end of the sac. From the bladder the
urine escapes through a dilatable tube (urethra) which extends from-
the neck of the bladder backward on the floor of the pelvis, and in the
male through the penis to its free end, where it opens through a pink
conical papilla. In the mare the urethra is not more than an inch in
length, and is surrounded by the circular muscular fibers closing the
neck of the bladder. Its opening may be found directly in the median
line of the floor of the vnlva, about 4| inches from its external opening.

General sijmptoms. — These apply especially to acute inflammations
and the irritation caused by stone. The animal moves stiffly on the
hind limbs, straddles, and makes frequent attempts to pass urine, which
may be in excess, deficient in amount, liable to sudden arrest in spite
of the straining, passed in driblets, or entirely suppressed. Again, it
may be mo(lifie<l in density or constituents. Difficulty in making a
sharp turn, or in lying down and rising with or without groaning, drop-
ping the back when mounted or when pinched on the loins is sugpest-
ive of kidney disease, and so to a less extent are swelled legs, dropsy,
and diseases of the skin and nervous system. The oiled hand intro-
duced through the rectum may feel the bladder beneath and detect any
over-distension, swelling, tenderness, or stone. In ponies the kidneys
even may be reached.

Examination of the urine. — In some cases the changes in the urine
are the sole sign of disease. In health the horse's urine is of a deep
amber color and has a strong odor. On a feed of grain and hay it may
show a uniform transparency, while on a green ration there is an
abundant white deposit of carbonate of lime. Of its morbid changes
the following are to be looked for: (1) Color: White from deposited
salts of lime ', brown or red from blood clots or coloring matter ; yoUow
or orange from bile or blood-pigment 5 pule from excess of water, or
variou sly colored from vegetable ingredients (santonin makes it i"ed,
rhubarb or senna, brown; tar or carbolic acid, green). (2) Density:
The horse's urine may be 1.030 to 1.050, but it may greatly exceed this
in diabetes and may sink to 1.007 in diuresis. (3) Chemical re-action^
as ascertained by blue litmus or red test papers. The horse on vege-
table diet has alkaline urine turning red test papers blue, while in the
sucking-colt and the horse fed on flesh or on his own tissues (in star-
vation or abstinence during disease) it is acid, tui-ning blue litmus red.

62

(4) Organic constituents, as when glairy from albumen coagulable by
strong nitric acid and boiling, -when cliarged with microscopic casts of
the uriuiferous tubes, with the eggs or bodies of worms, with sugar,
blood, or bile. (5) In its salts, which may crystalize out spontaneously,
or on boiling, or on the addition of chemical re-agents.

Albuminous urine in the horse is usually glairy, so that it may be
drawn out in threads, but its presence can always be tested as follows:
If the liquid is opaque, it may be first passed through filter paper; if
very dense and already precipitating its salts, it may be diluted with
distilled water ; add to the suspected liquid acetic acid drop by drop
until it reddens blue litmus paper; then boil gently in a test tube;
if a precipitate is thrown down, set the tube aside to cool and then add
strong nitric acid. If the precipitate is not dissolved it is albumen; if
dissolved it was probably urate or hippurate of ammonia. Albumen is
normally present in advanced gestation; abnormally it is seen in dis-
eases in which there occurs destruction of blood globules (anthrax, low
fevers, watery states of the blood, dropsies), in diseases of the heart
and liver which prevent the free escape of blood from the veins and
throw back venous pressure on the kidneys, in inflammation of the
lungs and pleuraB, and even tympany (bloating), doubtless from the
same cause, and in all congestive or inflammatory diseases of the kid
neys, acute or chronic.

Casts of the uriniferous tubes can only be seen by placing the sus-
pected urine under the microscope. They are usually very clastic and
mobile, waving about in the liquid when the cover-glass is touched, and
showing a uniform clear transparency (waxy) or entangled circular
epithelial cells or opaque granules or flattened red blood globules or
clear refrangent oil globules. They may be even densely opaque from
crystals of earthy salts.

Pus cells maybe found in the urine associated with albumen, and
are recognized by clearing up, when treated with acetic acid, so that
each cell shows two or three nuclei.

DIURESIS — POLYURIA — DIABETES INSIPIDUS— EXCESSIVE SECRETION

OF URINE.

This consists in an excessive secretion of a clear, watery urine of a
low specific gravity (1.007) with a correspondingly ardent thirst, a rap-
idly advancing emaciation, and great loss of strength and spirit.

Its causes may be any agent, medicinal, alimentary, or poisonous,
which unduly stimulates the kidneys; the reckless administration of
diuretics, which form such a common constituent of quack horse-powders;
acrid diuretic plants in grass or hay; new oats still imperfectly cured;
an excess of roots or other very watery food ; a full allowance of salt to
animals that have become inordinately fond of it ; but, above all, feeding
on hay, grain, or bran which has not been properly dried and has be-
come musty and permeated by fungi. Thus bay, straw, or oats secured

63

in wet seasons and heating in tlie rick or stack is especially injurious.
Hence this malady, like coma somnoleyitum (sleepy staggers), is wide-
spread in wet seasons, and especially in rainy districts.

Symptoms. — The horse drinks deep at every opportunity and passes
urine on every occasion when stopped, the discharge beiug pale, watery,
of a low density, and inodorous ; in short, it contains a great excess of
water and a deficiency of the solid excretions. So great is the quantity
passed, however, that the small amount of solids in any given specimen
amounts in twenty-four hours to far more than the normal, a fact in
keeping with the rapid wasting of the tissues and extreme emaciation.
The flanks become tucked up, the fat disappears, the bones and muscles
stand out prominently, the skin becomes tense and hidebound, and the
hair erect, scurfy, and deficient in luster. The eye becomes dull and
sunken, the spirits are depressed, the animal is weak and sluggish,
sweats on the slightest exertion, and can endure little. The subject
may survive for months, or he may die early of exhaustion. In the
slighter cases, or when the cause ceases to operate, he may make a
somewhat tardy recovery.

Treatment.— Hhi^ consists in stopping the ingestion of the faulty
drugs, poisons or food, and supplying sound hay and grain free Irom all
taint of heating or mustiness. A liberal supply of boiled flaxseed
in the drinking water at once serves to eliminate the poison and to sheath
and protect the irritated kidneys. Tonics like sulphate or phosphate
of iron (2 drams morning and evening) and powdered gentian or
Peruvian bark (4 drams) help greatly by bracing the system and hasten-
ing repair. To these may be added agents calculated to destroy the fun-
gus and eliminate its poisonous products. In that form which depends
on musty food nothing acts better than large doses of iodide of potas-
sium (2 drams), while in other cases creosote, carbolic acid (1 dram),
or oil of turpeutiue (4 drams) properly diluted, may be resorted to.

SACCHARINE DIABETES — DIABETES MELLITUS — GLYCOSUKIA— INOSU-

RIA.

This is primarily a disease of the nervous system or liver rather than
of the kidneys, yet, as the most prominent symptom is the sweet urine,
it may be treated here. Its causes are varied, but resolve themselves
largely into disorder of the liver or disorder of the brain. One of the
most prominent functions of the liver is the formation of glycogeu, a
principle allied to grape-sugar, and passing into it by further oxidation
in the blood. This is a constant function of the liver, but in health the
resulting sugar is burned up in the circulation and does not appear in
the urine. On the contrary, when the supply of oxygen is defective, as
in certain diseases of the lungs, the whole of the sugar does not undergo
combustion and the excess is excreted by the kidneys. Also in certain
forms of enlarged liver the amount of sugar produced is more than can
be disposed of in the natural way, and it appears in the urine. A tern-

64

porary sweetness of the urine often occurs after a hearty meal on
starchy food, but this is due altogether to the superabundant supply of
the sugar-forming food, lasts for a few hours only, and has no patho-
logical significance. In many cases of fatal glycosuria the liver is
found to be enlarged, or at least congested, and it is found that the dis-
order can be ijroduced experimentally by agencies which produce an
increased circulation through the liver. Thus Bernard produced gly-
cosuria by pricking the oblong medulla at the base of the brain close
to the roots of the pneumogastric nerve, which happens to be also the
nerve center (vaso-motor) which presides over the contractions of the
minute blood-vessels. The pricking and irritation of this center leada
to congestion of the liver and the excessive production of sugar. Irri-
tation carried to this i^oint through the pneumogastric nerve causes
saccharine urine, and, in keeping with this, disease of the pancreas has
been found in this malady, the irritation being conveyed thence to the
brain through the pneumogastric nerve and reflected to the liver through
the vasomotor nerves. The same result follows the reflection of irrita-
tion from other sources, as from difterent ganglia (corpora striata, optic
thalami, pons, cerebellum, cerebrum) of the brain. Similarly it is induced
by interruption of the nervous control along the vaso motor tracts, as
in destruction of the upper or lower cervical sympathetic ganglion, by
cutting the nervous branch connecting these two, in injury to the spiual
marrow in the interval between the brain and the second or fourth dorsal
vertebra, or in disease of the cceliac plexus, which directly presides
over the liver. Certain chemical poisons also cause saccharine urine,
notably woorara, strychnia, morphia, phosphoric acid, alcohol, ether,
chloroform, quiuia, ammonia, and arsenic.

The symptoms are ardent thirst and profuse secretion of a pale urine
of a high density (1.060 and upward), rapid loss of condition, scurfy, un-
thrifty skin, costiveness or irregularity of the bowels, indigestion, and
the presence in the urine of a sweet principle, grape-sugar or inosite, or
both. This may be most promptly detected by touching the tip of the
tongue with a drop. Sugar may be detected simply by adding a tea-
spoonful of liquid yeast to 4 ounces of the urine and keeping it lightly
stopped at a temperature of 70° to 80° F., for twelve hours, when
the sugar will be found to have been changed into alcohol and carbon
dioxide. The loss of density will give indication of the amount of sugar
transformed; thus a density of 1.035 in a urine which was formerly l.OGO
would indicate about 15 grains of sugar to the fluid ounce.

Inosite or muscle-sugar, frequently present in the horse's urine, and
even replacing the glucose, is not fermentable. Its presence may be
indicated by its sweetness and the absence of fermentation, or by Gal-
lois' test. Evaporate the suspected urine at a gentle heat almost to
dryness, then add a drop of a solution of mercuric nitrate and evapo-
rate carefully to dryness, when a yellowish residue is left that is changed
on further cautious heating to a deep rose-color, which disappears on
cooling and re-appears on heating.

65

In advanced diabetes, dropsies in the limbs and nnder the chest and
belly, puffy, swollen eyelids, cataracts, catarrhal inflammation of the
lungs, weak, uncertain gait, and drowsiness may be noted.

Treatment is most satisfactory in cases dependent on some curable
disease of liver, pancreas, lungs, or brain. Thus, in liver disease, a run
at pasture in warm weather, or in winter a warm, sunny, well-aired
stable, with sufficient clothing and laxatives (sulphate of soda, 1 ounce
daily) and alkalies (carbonate of ijotassium, one-fourth ounce) may ben-
efit. To this may be added mild blistering, cupping, or even leeching
over the last ribs. Diseases of the brain or pancreas may be treated
according to their indications. The diet should be mainly albuminous,
such as wheat-bran or middlings, j^ease, beans, vetches, and milk. In-
deed, an exclusive milk dTet is one of the very best remedial agencies.
It may be given as skim milk or butter-milk, and in the last case com-
bines an anti-diabetic remedy in the lactic acid. Under such an exclu-
sive diet recent and mild cases are often entirely restored, though at
the expense of an attack of rheumatism. Codeia, one of the alkaloids
of opium, is strongly recommended by Dr. Tyson. The dose for the
horse would be 3 grains thrice daily. In cases in which there is mani-
fest irritation of the brain bromide of potassium, 4 drams, or ergot, one-
half ounce, may be resorted to. Salicylic acid and salicylate of sodium
have proved useful in certain cases ; also phosphate of sodium. Bitter
tonics (especially nux vomica, one-half dram) are useful iu improving
the digestion and general health.

BLOODY URINE — HEMATURIA.

As seen in the horse bloody urine is usually the direct result of me'
chanical injuries, as sprains and fractures of the loins, lacerations of
the sub-lumbar muscles (psoas), irritation caused by stone in the kid-
ney, ureter, bladder, or urethra. It may, however, occur with acute
congestion of the kidney, with tumors iu its substance, or with papil-
loma or other diseased growth in the bladder. Acrid diuretic plants
present in the food may also lead to the escape of blood from the
kidney. The predisposition to this affection is, however, incomparably
less than in the case of the ox or sheep, the difference being attributed
to the greater plasticity of the horse's blood in connection with the "
larger quantity of fibrine.

The blood may be present in small clots or in more or less intimate
admixture with the urine. Its condition may furnish some indication
as to its source ; thus, if from the kidneys it is more likely to be uni-
formly diffused through the urine, while as furnished by the bladder or
passages clots are more likely to be present. Again, in bleeding from
the kidney, minute cylindrical clots inclosing blood globules and formed
in the uriniferous tubes can be detected under the microscope. Precis-
ion also may be approximated by observing whether there is coexisting
fracture, sprain of the loins, stone or tumor in the bladder or urethra.
11035 5

66

The disease being mainly due to direct injury, treatment will consist
first in removing such cause whenever possible, and then in applying
general and local styptics. Irritants in food must be avoided, sprains
appropriately treated, and stone in bladder or urethra removed. Then
give mucilaginous drinks (slippery elm, linseed tea) freely, and styptics
(tincture of chloride of iron, 3 drams ; acetate of lead, one-half dram ;
tannic acid, one-half dram ; or oil of turpentine, 1 ounce). If the dis-
charge is abundant apply cold water to the loins and keep the animal
perfectly still.

HEMOGLOBINURIA— AZOTURIA—AZOTAEMIA— POISONING BY ALBU-
MINOIDS.

Like diabetes, this is rather a disease of the liver and blood-forming
functions than of the kidney, but as prominent symptoms are loss of
control over the hind limbs and the passage of ropy and dark-colored
urine, the vulgar idea is that it is a disorder of the urinary organs. It
is a complex affection directly connected with a plethora in the blood of
nitrogenized constituents, with extreme nervous and muscular disorder
and the excretion of a dense reddish or brownish urine. It is directly
connected with high feeding, especially on highly nitrogenized food
(oats, beans, pease, vetches, cotton-seed meal), and with a period of idle-
ness in the stall under full rations. The disease is never seen at pas-
ture, rarely under constant daily work, even though the feeding be high,
and the attack is usually precipitated by taking the horse from the
stable and subjecting it to exercise or work. The poisoning is not pres-
ent when taken from the stable, as the horse is likely to be noticeably
lively and spirited, but he will usually succumb under the first hundred
yards or half mile of exercise. It seems as if the aspiratory power of
the chest under the sudden exertion and accelerated breathing speedily
drew from the gorged liver and abdominal veins (portal) the accumu-
lated store of nitrogenous matter in an imperfectly oxidized or elabo-
rated condition, and as if the blood, surcharged with these materials,
was unable to maintain the healthy functions of the nerve centers and
muscles. A peculiar anatomical feature of the horse's liver doubtless
contributes to this, namely, the persistence, throughout life, of several
•considerable veins leading directly from the veins of the stomach and
intestines (portal veins) into the posterior vena cava and heart.

This condition, common to fcEtal mammals, persists through life in
the solipeds only, among our domestic animals. In all others the portal
vein has no communication with the vena cava except through the
capillaries of the liver. With the direct channel the rich, crude blood
coming from the intestines is drawn at once into the general circulation
unchanged by the secretion in the liver and the chemical changes
therein effected. Hence this disease is peculiar to solipeds. It has been
noticed rather more frequently in mares than horses, attributable, per-
haps, to the nervous excitement attendant on heat and to the fact that

67

the unmutilated mare is naturally more excitable than the docile geld-

ing.

St/mptoms. — lu the milder forms this affection may appear as a lame-
ness in one limb, from indefinite cause, succeeding to some sudden ex-
ertion and attended by a dusky-brown color of the membranes of the
eye and nose and some wincing when the last ribs are struck. The
severe forms come on after one or two days of rest on a full ration, when
the animal has been taken out and driven one hundred paces or more.
The tire and life with wliich he had left the stable suddenly give place
to dullness and oppression, as shown in heaving flanks, dihited nostrils,
pinched face, perspiring skin, and trembling body. The muscles of the
loins or haunch become swelled and rigid, the subject moves stiffly or
unsteadily, crouches behind, the limbs being carried semi-flexed, and he
soon drops, unable to support himself. When down, the body and limbs
are moved convulsively, but there is no power of coordination of move-
ment in the muscles. The pulse and breathing are accelerated, the
eyes red with a tinge of brown, and the urine, if passed, is seen to be
highly colored, dark brown, red, or black, but it contains neither blood
clots nor globules. The color is mainly due to hsemoglobin and other
imperfectly elaborated constituents of the blood. ♦

Jt may end fatally in a few hours or days, or a recovery may ensue,
which is usually more speedy and perfect if it has set in at an early
stage. In the late and tardy recoveries a partial paralysis of the hind
limbs may last for months. A frequent sequel of these tardy cases is
an extensive wasting of the muscles leading up from the front of the
stifle (those supplied by the crural nerve), and a complete inability, to
stand.

The preve7ition of this serious affection lies in restricting the diet and
giving daily exercise when the animal is not at work. A horse that
has had one attack should never be left idle for a single day in the stall
or barn-yard. When a horse has been condemned to absolute repose
on good feeding he may have a laxative (one half to 1 pound Glauber
salts), and have graduated exercise, beginning with a short walk and
increasing day by day.

The treatment of the mild cases may consist in a laxative, graduated
daily exercise, and a daily dose of saltpeter (1 ounce). Sudden attacks
will sometimes promptly subside if taken on the instant and the sub-
ject kept still and calmed by a dose of bromide of potassium (4
drams) and sweet spirits of niter (1 ounce). The latter has the advan-
tage of increasing the secretion of the kidneys. In severe cases, as
a rule, it is desirable to begin treatment by a full dose of aloes (4 to G
drams) with the above-named dose of bromide of potassium, and this
latter may be continued at intervals of four or six hours, as may be
requisite to calm the nervous excitement. Fomentations with warm
water over the loins are always useful in calming the excitable condi-
tion of the spinal cord, muscles, liver, and kidneys, and also in favor-

68

in^ secretion from the two latter. On the second day diuretics may be
resorted to, such as saltpeter, one-half ounce, and powdered colchicum,
one-half dram, to be repeated twice daily. A laxative may be re-
peated in three or four days should the bowels seem to demand it, and
as the nervous excitement disappears any remaining muscular weak-
ness or paralysis may be treated by one-half dram doses of nux vomica
twice a day and a stimulating liniment (aqua ammonia and sweet-oil
in equal proportions) rubbed on the torpid muscles.

During the course of the disease friction to the limbs is useful, and
in the advanced paralytic stage the application of electricity along the
line of the affected muscles. When the patient can not stand he must
have a thick, soft bed, and should be turned from side to side at least
every twelve hours. As soon as he can be made to stand he may be
helped up and even supported in a sling.

■ ACUTE -INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS — ACUTE NEPHRITIS.

Inflammations of the kidneys have been differentiated widely, accord-
ing as they were acute or chronic, parenchymatous or tubal, suppurative
or not, with increased or shrunken kidney, etc., but in a work like the
present, utility will be consulted by classing all under acute or chronic
inflammation.

The causes of inflammation of the kidneys are extremely varied. Con-
gestion occurs from the altered and irritant products passed through
these organs during recovery from inflammations of other organs and
during fevers. This may last only during the existence of its cause, or
may persist and become aggravated. Heart disease, throwing the blood
pressure back on the veins and kidneys, is another cause. Disease of
the ureter or bladder, preventing the escape of urine from the kidney
and causing increased fullness and tension in its pelvis and tubes, will
determine inflammation. Decomposition of the detained urine in such
cases, and the production of ammonia and other irritants, must also be
named. The advance of bacteria upward from the bladder to the kid-
ney is another cause. The consumption in hay or other fodder of acrid
or irritant plants, including fungi, the absorption of cantharidine from
a surface blistered by Spanish flies, the reckless administration of diu-
retics, the presence of stones in the kidney, exposure of the surface to
cold and wet, and the infliction of blows or sprains on the loins, may
contribute to its production. Liver disorders which throw on the kid-
neys the work of excreting irritant products, diseases of the lungs and
heart from which clots are carried, to be arrested in the small blood-
vessels of the kidney, and injuries and paralysis of the spinal cord, are
additional causes.

The symptoms are more or less fever, manifest stiffness of the back and
straddling gait with the hind limbs, difiBculty in lying down and rising,
or in walking in a circle, the animal sometimes groaning under the effort,
arching of the loins and tucking up of the flank, looki>ng back at the

69

abdomen as if from colicky pain, and tenderness of the loins to pinch-
lug, especially just beneath the bony processes C inches to one side of
the median line. Urine is passed frequently, a small quantity at a time,
of a high color, and sometimes mixed with blood or even pus. Under
the microscope it shows the microscopic casts referred to under general
symptoms. If treated by acetic acid, boiling, and subsequent addition
of strong nitric acid, the resulting and persistent precipitate indicates
the amount of albumen. The legs tend to swell from the foot up, also
the dependent parts beneath the belly, and chest, and effusions of liquid
may occur within the chest or abdomen. In the male animal the alter-
nate drawing np and relaxation of the testicles in the scrotum are sug-
gestive, and in small horses the oiled hand introduced into the rectum
may reach the kidney and ascertain its sensitiveness.

Treatment demands, first, the removal of any recognized cause. Then,
if the suffering and fever are high, 3 to 4 quarts of blood may be ab-
stracted from the jugular vein 5 in weak subjects or unless in high fever
this should be omitted. Next relieve the kidneys as far as possible by
throwing their work on the bowels and skin. A pint of castor oil is
less likely than either aloes or salts to act on the kidneys. To affect
the skin a warm stall and heavy clothing may be supplemented by
dram doses of Dover's powder. Boiled flaxseed may be added to the
drinking water, and also thrown into the rectum as an injection, and
blankets saturated with hot water should be persistently applied to the
loins. This may be followed by a very thin pulp of the best ground
mustard made with tepid water, rubbed in against the direction of the
hair, and covered up with paper and a blanket. This may be kept on
for an hour, or until the skin thickens and the hair stands erect. It
may then be rubbed or sponged off and the blanket re-api)lied. When
the action of the bowels has been started it may be kept up by a daily
dose of 2 or 3 ounces of Glauber salts.

During recovery a course of bitter tonics (nux vomica 1 scruple,
ground gentian root 4 drams), should be given. The patient should
also be guarded against cold, wet, and any active exertion for some
time after all active symptoms have subsided.

CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OP THE KIDNEYS.

Chronic inflammation of the kidneys is more commonly associated
with albumen and casts in the urine than the acute form, and in some
instances these conditions of the urine may be the onlj^ prominent
symptoms of the disease. Though it may supervene on blows, injuries,
and exposures, it is much more commonly connected with faulty con-
ditions of the system — as indigestion, heart disease, lung or liver dis-
ease, imperfect blood formation or assimilation. In short, it is rather
the attendant on a constitutional infirmity than on a simple local injury.

It may be associated with various forms of diseased kidney, as shrink-
age (atrophy), increase (hypertrophy), softening, red congestion, white

70

enlargement, etc., so that it forms a group of diseases rather than a
disease by itself.

The symptoms may include stiffness, weakness, and increased sensi-
bility of the loins, and modified secretion of urine (increase or sup-
pression), or the flow may be natural. Usually it contains albumen,
the amount furnishing a fair criterion of the gravity of the affection,
and microscopic casts, also most abundant in bad cases. Dropsy,
manifested in swelled legs, is a significant symptom, and if the effusion
takes place along the lower line of the bodj, or in chest or abdomen,
the significance is increased. A scurfy, unthrifty skin, lack-luster hair,
inability to sustain severe or continued exertion, poor or irregular ap-
petite, loss of fat and flesh, softness of the muscles, and pallor of the
eyes and nose are equally suggestive. So are skin eruptions of various
kinds. Any one or more of these symptoms would warrant an examina-
tion of the urine for albumen and casts, the finding of which signifies
renal inflammation.

Treatment of these cases is not alwavs satisfactorv, as the cause is
liable to be maintained in the disorders of important organs elsewhere.
If any such coincident disease of another organ or function can be de-
tected, that should be treated first or simultaneously with this affection
of the kidneys. In all cases the building up of the general health is
important. Hence a course of tonics may be given (phosphate of iron,
2 drams; nux vomica, 20 grains; powdered gentian root, 4 drams,
daily), or GO drops of sulphuric acid or nitro-muriatic acid may be
given daily in the drinking water. If there is any elevated temperature
of the body and tenderness of the loins, fomentations may be applied,
followed by a mustard pulp as for acute inflammation, and even in the
absence of these indications the mustard may be resorted to with ad-
vantage at intervals of a few days. In suppression of urine, fomenta-
tions with warm water or with infusion of digitalis leaves is a safer
resort than diuretics, and cupping over the loins maj- also benefit. To
apply a cup shave the skin and oil it; then take a narrow-mouthed
glass, rarify the air within it by introducing a taper in full flame for a
second, withdraw the taper and instantly apply the mouth of the glass
to the skin and hold, it closely applied till the cooling tends to form a
vacuum in the glass and to draw up the skin, like a sucker.

As in the acute iuflauimation, every attention must be given to secure
warm clothing, a warm stall, and pure air.

TUMORS OF THE KIDNEYS — PARASITES.

Tumors, whether malignant or simple, would give rise to symptoms
resembling some form of inflammation, and are not likely to be recog-
nized during life. To parasites of the kidney belong the echinococciis,
the larval or bladder- worm stage of the small echinococcus tape- worm
of the dog; also the Cysticercus JistiOaris, another bladder-worm of an
tinknown tape- worm; but in these there is the possibility of the pas-

'71

sage with tbe urine of a detached head of the bladder-worm or of some
of its microscopic booklets, which might be found iu the sedimeut of
the urine. So with Stro7i(jylus gigas (giant strongle), the largest of round
worms, which has been found in tbe kidney of the horse, and tbe pres-
ence of wbicli could only be certified by tbe passage of its microscopic
eggs or of the entire worm.

SPASM OF THE NECK OF THE BLADDER.

Tbis affection consists in spasmodic closure of the outlet from tbe
bladder by tonic contraction of the circular muscular fibers. It may be
accompanied by a painful contraction of the muscles on the body of tlie
bladder, or if tbe organ is already unduly distended these will be affected
with temporary paralysis. It is most frequent iu the horse, but by no
means unknown iu the mare.

The causes are usually hard and continuous driving without opportu-
nity for passing urine, cold rain-storms, draughts of cold air when per-
spiring and fatigued, the administration of Si)anish fly or tbe applica-
fion of extensive blisters of tlie same, abuse of diuretics, tbe presence
of acrid diuretic plants in the fodder, and tbe presence of stone iu tbe
bladder. As most mares refuse to urinate while iu harness, tbey should
be unhitched at suitable times for urination. Spasms of tbe bowels
are always attended by spasm of tbe bladder, hence tbe free passage of
water is usually a symptom of relief.

Tbe symj}toms are frequent stretcbing'and straining to urinate, with no
result or a slight dribbling only. These vain efforts are attended by
pain and groaning. Ou resuming bis natural position the animal is
not freed from tbe pain, but moves uneasily, paws, shakes tbe tail,
kicks at the abdomen with his bind feet, looks back to tbe flank, lies
down and rises, arches the back, and attempts to urinate as before. If
the oiled band is introduced into tbe rectum tbe greatly distended blad-
der may be felt beneath, and the patient will often shrink when it is
handled.

It is important to notice that irritation of the urinary organs is often
present in impaction of tbe colon with solid matters, because the im-
pacted intestine under the straining of the patient is forced backward
into the pelvis and presses upon and irritates tbe bladder. In such
cases tbe horse stands with his fore limbs advanced and tbe hind ones
stretched back beyond the natural posture, and makes frequent elibrts
to urinatfe with varying success. Unpracticed observers naturally cou-
cluiie that the secondary urinary trouble is tbe main and only one, and
tbe intestinal impaction and obstruction is too often neglected until it
is irremediable. In cases where the irritation has caused spasm of tbe
neck of the bladder and overdistension of that organ, tbe mistake is
still more easily made, hence it is important iu all cases to examine for
the impacted bowel, forming a bend or loop at tbe entrance of tbe j)elvi8
and usually toward the left side. Tbe impacted intestine feels soft and

72

doughy, aud is easily indented with the knuckles, forming a marked
contrast with the tense, elastic, resilient overdisteuded bladder.

It remains to be noted that similar symptoms may be determined by
a stone, or sebaceous mass, or stricture obstructing the urethra, or in
the new-born by thickened mucus in that duct aud the pressure of
hardened impacted feces in the rectum In obstruction, the Lard im-
pacted body can usually be felt by tracing tbe urethra'along the lower
and posterior surface of the penis and forward to the median line of
the floor of the pelvis to the neck of the bladder. That part of the
urethra between the seat of obstruction and the bladder is usually dis-
tended with urine, and feels enlarged, elastic, and fluctuating.

Treatment may be begun by taking the animal out of harness. This
failing, spread clean litter beneath the belly or turn the patient out on
the dung-heap. Some seek to establish sympathetic action by pouring
water from one vessel into another with dribbling noise. Others soothe
and distract the attention by slow whistling. Friction of the abdomen
with wisps of straw may succeed, or it may be rubbed with ammonia
and oil. These failing, an injection of 2 ounces of laudanum or of a*i
infusion of 1 ounce of tobacco in water may be tried. In the mare the
neck of the bladder is easily dilated by inserting two oiled fingers and
slightly parting them. In the horse the oiled hand introduced into the
rectum may i^ress from before backward on the anterior or blind end of
the bladder. Finally a well-oiled gum elastic catheter may be entered
into the urethra through the papilla at the end of the penis and pushed
on carefully until it has entered the bladder. To effect this the penis
must first be withdrawn from its sheath, and when the advancing end
of the catheter has reached the bend of the urethra beneath the anus
it must be guided forward by pressure with the hand, which guidance
must be continued onward into the bladder, the oiled hand being intro-
duced into the rectum for this purpose. The horse catheter, 3i feet
long and one-third inch in diameter, may be bought of a surgical-instru-
ment maker.

PARALYSIS OF THE BLADDER.

Paralysis of the body of the bladder with spasm of the neck has been
described under the last heading, and may occur in the same way from
overdistension in tetanus, acute rheumatism, paraplegia, and hemi-
jjlegia, in which the animal can not stretch himself to stale, and in cys-
titis, affecting the body of the bladder but not the neck. In all these
cases the urine is suppressed. It also occurs as a result of disease of
the posterior end of the spinal marrow and with broken back, aud is
then associated with jjalsy of the tail, and it may be of the hind limbs.

The symptoms are a constant dribbling of urine when the neck is in-
volved, the liquid running down the inside of the thighs and irritating
the skin. When the neck is unaffected the urine is retained until the
bladder is greatly overdisteuded, when it may be expelled in a gush

73

by the active contraction of the muscular walls of the abflomen ;,• but
this never empties the bladder, and the oiled hand introduced through
the rectum may feel the soft, flabby organ still half full of urine. This
retained urine is liable to decompose and give off ammonia, which dis-
solves the epithelial cells, exposing the raw mucous membrane, and
causing the worst type of cystitis. Suppression and incontinence of
urine are common also to obstruction of the urethra by stone or other-
wise; hence this source of fallacy should be excluded by manual ex-
amination along the whole course of that duct.

Treatment is only applicable in cases in which the determining cause
can be abated. In remediable sprains of the back or disease of the
spinal cord these must have appropriate treatment, and the urine must
be drawn ofi" frequently with a catheter to prevent overdistension and
injury to the bladder. If the paralysis persists after recovery of the
spinal cord, or if it continues after relief of spasm of the neck of the
bladder, apply a pulp of mustard and water over the back part of the
bellv in front of the udder, and cover with a rug until the hair stands
erect. In the male the mustard may be applied between the thighs
from near the anus downward. Daily doses of 2 drams extract of
belladonna, or of 2 grains powdered Spanish fly, may serve to rouse
the lost tone. These fiiiling, a mild current of electricity daily may
STOceed.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER— CYSTITIS— UEOCYSTITIS.

Cystitis may be slight or severe, acute or chronic, partial or general.
It may be caused by abuse of diuretics, especially sucLi as are irritating
(cantharides, turpentine, copaiba, resin, etc.), by (he presence of a stone
or gravel in the bladder, the irritation of a catheter or other foreign
body introduced from without, the septic ferment (bacterium) intro-
duced on a filthy catheter, the overdistension of the bladder by re-
tained urine, the extrication of ammonia from retained decomposing
urine, resulting in destruction of the epithelial cells and irritation of
the raw surface, and a too-concentrated and irritating urine. The
aj)plication of Spanish flies or turpentine over a too-extensive surface,
sudden exposure of a perspiring and tired horse to cold or wet, and the
presence of acrid plants in the fodder may cause cystitis, as they may
nephritis. Finally, inflammation may extend from a diseased vagina
or urethra to the bladder.

The sympto7ns are slight or severe colicky pains ; the animal moves
his hind feet uneasily or even kicks at the abdomen, looks around at
his flank, and may even lie down and rise frequently. More char-
acteristic are frequently repeated efibrts to urinate, resulting in the
discharge of a little clear, or red, or more commonly flocculent urine,
always in jets, and accompanied by signs of pain, which persist after
the discharge, as shown in continued straining, groaning, and perhaps
in movements of the feet and tail. The penis hangs from the sheath,

74

or in the mare the vulva is frequently opened and closed, as after uri-
nation. The animal winces when the abdomen is pressed in the region
of the sheath or udder, and the bladder is found to be sensitive and
tender when pressed with the oiled hand introduced through the rectum
or vagina. In the mare the thickening of the walls of the bladder may-
be felt by introducing one finger through the urethra. The discharged
urine, which may be turbid or even oily, contains an excess of mucus,
with flat shreds of membrane, with scaly epithelial cells, and pus cor-
puscles, each showing two or more nuclei when treated with acetic acid,
but there are no microscopic tubular casts, as in nephritis. If due to
stone in the bladder, that will be found on examination through rectum
or vagina.

Treatment implies, first, the removal of the cause, whether poisons in
food or as medicine, the removal of Spanish flies or other blistering
agents from the skin, or the extraction of stone or gravel. If the urine
has been retained and decomposi'd it must be completely evacuated
through a clean catheter, and the bladder thoroughly washed out with
a solution of 1 dram of borax in a quart of water. This must be re-
peated twice daily until the urine no longer decomposes, because as
long as ammonia is developed in the bladder the protecting layer of
epithelial cells will be dissolved and the surface kept raw and irrita-
ble. The diet must be light (bran mashes, roots, fresh grass), and the
drink impregnated with linseed tea, or solution of slippery-elm or
marsh-mallow. The same agents may be used to inject into the rectum,
or they may even be used atong with borax and opium to inject into
bladder (gum arable, 1 dram; opium, 1 dram; tepid water, 1 pint).
Fomentations over the loins are often of great advantage, and these
may be followed or alternated with the application of mustard, as in
paralysis. Or the mnstard may be applied on the back part of the ab-
domen below, or between the thighs from the anus downward. Finally,
when the acute symptoms have subsided, a daily dose of buchu 1
dram, and nux vomica one-half dram, will serve to restore lost tone.

IRRITABLE BLADDER.

Some horses, and especially mares, show an irritability of the blad-
der and nerve centers presiding over it by frequent urination in small
quantities, though the urine is not manifestly changed in character
and no more than the natural amount is passed in the twenty-four
hours. The disorder appears to have its source quite as frequently in
the generative or nervous system as in the urinary. A troublesome
and dangerous form is seen in mares, which dash off and refuse all con-
trol by the rein if driven with a full bladder, but usually prove docile
if the bladder has been emptied before hitching. In other cases the
excitement connected with getting the tail over the reins is a powerful
determining cause. The condition is marked in many mares during
the period of heat.

75

An oleaginous laxative (castor oil 1 pint) will serve to reuove any
cause of irritation in the digestive organs, and a careful dieting will
avoid continued irritation by acrid vegetable agents. The bladder
should be examined to see that there is no stone or other cause of irri-
tation, and the sheath and penis should be washed with soap-suds, any
sebaceous matter removed from the bilocular cavity at the end of the
penis, and the whole lubricated with sweet oil. Irritable mares should
be induced to urinate before they are harnessed, and those that clutch
the lines under the tail may have the tail set high by cutting the cords
on its lower surface, or it may be prevented getting over the reins by
having a strap carried from its free end to the breeching. Those i)rov-
ing troublesome when in heat may have 4-dram doses of bromide of
potassium, or they may be served by the male or castrated. Sometimes
irritability may be lessened by daily doses of belladonna extract (1
dram), or a better tone may be given to the parts by balsam copaiba
(1 dram).

DISEASED GROWTHS IN THE BLADDER.

These may be of various kinds, malignant or simple. In the horse I
have found villous growths from the mucous membrane especially
troublesome. They may be attached to the mucous membrane by a
narrow neck or by a broad base covering a great part of the organ.
The symptoms are frequent straining, passing of urine and blood with
occasionally gravel. An examination of the bladder with the hand in
the rectum will detect the new growth, which may be distinguished from
a hard resistant stone. In mares, in which the finger can be inserted
into the bladder, the recognition is still more satisfactory. The polypi
attached by narrow necks may be removed by surgical operation, but
for those with broad attachments treatment is eminently unsatisfac-
tory.

DISCHARGE OF URINE BY THE NAVEL — PERSISTENT URACHUS.

This occurs only in the new-born, and consists in the non-closure of
the natural channel (urachus), through which the urine is discharged
into the outer water bag (allautois) in foetal life. At that early stage
of the animal existence the bladder resembles a long tube, which is pro-
longed through the navel string and opens into the outermost of the
two water-bags in which the foetus floats. In this way the urine is i)re-
vented from entering the inner water-bag (amnios), where it would
mingle with the liquids, bathing the skin of the foetus and cause irrita-
tion. At birth this channel closes up, and the urine takes the course
normal to extra-uterine life. Imperfect closure is more frequent in
males than in females, because of the grefit; length and small caliber of
the male urethra and its consequent tendency to obstruction. In the
female there may be a discharge of a few drops only at a time, while in
the male the urine will be expelled in strong jets coincidently with the
contractions of the bladder and walls of the abdomen.

76

The first care is to ascertain if the urethra is pervious by passing a
human catheter. This determined, the open urachus may be firmly
closed by a stout waxed thread, carried with a needle through the tis-
sues back of the opening and tied in front of it so as to inclose as little
skin as possible. If a portion of the navel string remains, the tying of
that may be all sufficient. It is important to tie as early as possible so
as to avoid inflammation of the navel from contact with the urine. In
summer a little carbolic acid water or tar water may be applied to
keep off the flies.

EVERSION OF THE BLADDER.

This can occur only in the female. It consists in the turning of the
organ outside in through the channel of the urethra, so that it appears
as a red, pear shaped mass hanging from the floor of the vulva and pro-
truding externally between its lips. It may be a mass like the fist, or
it may swell up to the size of an infant's head. On examining its upper
surface the orifices of the urethra may be seen, one on each side, a short
distance behind the neck, with the urine ooziug from them drop by

drop.

Tbis displacement usually supervenes on a flaccid condition of the
bladder, the result of paralysis, over distention, or severe compression
during a difficult parturition.

The protruding organ may be washed with a solution of 1 ounce of
laudanum and a teaspoonful of carbolic acid in a quart of water, and
returned by pressing a smooth, rounded object into the fundus and
directing it into the urethra, while careful pressure is made on the sur-
rounding parts with the other hand. If too large and resistant it may
be wound tightly in a strip of bandage about two inches broad so as to
express the great mass of blood, and exudate and diminish the bulk of
the protruded organ so that it can be easily pushed back. This method
has the additional advantage of protecting the organ against bruises
and lacerations in the effort made to return it. After the return strain-
ing may be kept in check by giving laudanum (1 to 2 ounces), and by
applying a truss to press upon the lips of the vulva (see eversion of the
womb.) The patient should be kept in a stall a few inches lower in
front than behind, so that the action of gravity will favor retention.

INFLAMMATION OF THE URETHRA— URETHRITIS— GLEET.

This affection belongs quite as much to the generative organs, yet it
can not be entirely overlooked in a treatise on urinary disorders, it
may be induced by the same causes as cystitis (which see), by the pas-
sage and temporary arrest of small stones, or gravel, by the irritation
caused by foreign bodies introduced from without, by blows on the
penis by sticks, stones, or by the feet of a mare which kicks while being
served, by an infecting inflammation contracted from a mare served in

77

the first few d^s after parturition, or one suffering from leucorrlicea,
by infecting matter introduced on a dirty catheter, or by the extension
of inflammation from an irritated bilocular cavity filled with hardened
sebaceous matter, or from an uncleaused sheath.

The symptoms are swelling, heat, and tenderness of the sheath and
penis, difficulty, pain, and groaning in passing urine, which is liable to
sudden temporary arrests in the course of a micturition, and later a
whitish muco-purulent oozing from the papilla on the end of the penis.
There is a tendency to erection of the penis, and in cases contracted
from a mare the outer surface of that organ will show more or less ex-
tensive sores and ulcers. Stallions sufiering in this way will refuse to
mount, or having mounted will fail to complete the act of coition. If
an entrance is effected infection of the mare is liable to follow.

Treatment in the early stages consists in a dose of physic (aloes, 6
drams), and fomentations of warm water to the sheath and penis. If
there is reason to suspect the presence of infection, inject the urethra
twice daily with borax 1 dram, water 1 quart, using it tepid. Where
the mucopurulent discharge indicates the supervention of the second
stage, a more astringent injection may be employed (nitrate of silver 20
grains, water 1 quart), and the same may be applied to the surface of
the penis and inside the sheath. Balsam of copaiba (1 dram daily)
may also be given with advantage after the purulent discharge has ap-
peared.

Every stallion suffering from urethritis should be withheld from serv-
ice, as should mares with leucorrhoea.

STRICTURE OF THE URETHRA.

This is a permanent narrowing of the urethra at a given point, the
result of previous inflammation, caused by the passage or arrest of a
stone or gravel, by strong astringent injections in the early non-secret-
ing stages of urethritis, or by contraction of the lining membrane occur-
ring during the healing of ulcers in neglected inflammations of that
canal. The trouble is shown by the passage of urine in a fine stream
with straining, pain, and groaning, and by frequent painful erections.
It must be remedied by mechanical dilatation, with catheters just large
enough to pass with gentle force, to be inserted once a day, and to be
used of larger size as the passage will admit them. The catheter should
be kept perfectly clean, and washed in a borax solution and well oiled
before it is introduced.

URINARY CALCULI — STONE — GRAVEL.

These consist in some of the solids of the urine that have been pre-
cipitated from the urine in the form of crystals, which remain apart as
a fine powdery mass or magma, or aggregate into calculi or stones of
varying size. Their composition is therefore determined in ditt'erent
animals by the salts and other constituents found dissolved in the

78

healthy urine, and by the additional constituents which maybe thrown
off in solution in the urine in disease. In this connection it is impor-
tant to obseive the following analysis of the horse's urine in health:

Water 918,5

Urea 13.4

Uric acid and viratcs 0. 1

Hippnric acid 26. 4

Lactic acid and lactates 1.0

Mucus and organic matter 22.0

Sulphates (alkaline) 1.2

Phosphates (lime and soda) 0. 2

Chlorides (sodium) 1.0

Carbonates (potash, magnesia, lime) 16.0

1000. 0

The carbonate of lime, which is present in large amount in the urine of
horses fed on green fodder, is practically insoluble, and therefore forms
in the passages after secretion, and its microscopic rounded crystals
give the urine of such horses a milky whiteness. It is this material
which constitutes the soft, white, pultaceous mass that sometimes fills
the bladder to repletion and requires to be washed out. In hay-fed
horses carbonates are still abundant, while in those mainly grain-fed
they aie replaced by hii)i)urates and phosphates — the products of the
wear of tissues — the carbonates being the result of oxidation of the
vegetable acids in the food. Carbonate of lime, therefore, is a very
common constituent of urinary calculi in herbivora, and in many cases
is the most abundant constituent.

Oxalate of lime, like carbonate of lime, is derived from the burning
up of the carbonaceous matter of the food in the system, one important
factor being the less perfect oxidation of the carbon. Indeed, Fiirsten-
berg and Schmidt have demonstrated on man, horse, ox, and rabbit,
that under the full play of the breathing (oxidizing) forces oxalic, like
other organic acids, is resolved into carbonic acid. In keeping with
this is the observation of Lehmann that in all cases in which man suf-
fered from interference with ihe breathing, oxalate of lime appeared in
the urine. An excess of oxalate of lime in the urine may, however,
claim a different origin. Uric and hippuric acids are found in the urine
ofcarnivora and herbivora, respectively, as the result of the healthy
wear (disassimilatiou) of nitrogenous tissues. But if these products are
fully oxidized they are thrown out in the form of the more soluble urea
rather than as these acids. When uric a'cid out of the body is treated
with peroxide of lead it is resolved into urea, allantoine, and oxalic
acid, and Woehler and Frerrichs found that the administration of uric
acid not only increased the excretion of urea, but also of oxalic acid.
It may therefore be inferred that oxalic acid is not produced from the*
carbonaceous food alone, but also from the disintegration of the nitro-
genous tissues of the body. An important element of its production
is, however, the imperfect performance of the breathing functions, and

79

hence it is liable to result from diseases of the chest (heaves, chronic
bronchitis, etc.). This is above all likely to prove the case if the sub-
ject is fed to excess on highly carbonaceous foods (grass and green food
generally, potatoes, etc.).

Carbonate of magnesia, another almost constant ingredient of the
urinary calculi of the horse, is formed in the same way as the carbonate
of lime, from the excess of carbonaceous food (organic acids), becoming
oxidized into carbon dioxide, which unites with the magnesia derived
from the food.

The phosphates of lime and magnesia are not abundant in urinary
calculi of the horse, the phosphates being only present to excess in the
urine in two conditions; (a) when the ration is excessive and specially
rich in phosphorus (wheat bran, beans, peas, vetches, rape cake, oil
cake, cotton-seed cake); and {b) when through the morbid destructive
changes in the living tissues, and especially of the bones, a great
amount of phosphorus is given off as a waste product. Under these
conditions, however, the phosphates may contribute to the formation of
calculi, and this is, above all, likely if the urine is retained in the blad-
der until it has undergone decomposition and given off ammonia. The
ammonia at once unites with the phosphate of magnesia to form a
double salt, phosphate of ammonia and magnesia, which, being insolu-
ble, is at once precipitated. The precipitation of this salt is, however,
rare in the urine of the horse, though much more frequent in that of
man and sheep.

These are the chief mineral constituents of the urine which form in-
gredients in the horse's calculi, for though iron and manganese are
usually present it is only in minute quantities.

The excess of mineral matters in a specimen of urine unquestionably
contributes to the formation of calculi, just as solution of such matters
out of the body is increasingly disposed to throw them down in the form
of crystals as it becomes more concentrated and approaches nearer to
the condition of saturation. Hence, in considering the causes of calculi
we can not ignore the factor of an excessive ration, rich in mineral mat-
ters and in carbonaceous matters (the source of carbonates and much
of the oxalates), uor cau we overlook the concentration of the urine
that comes from dry food and privation of water, or from the existence
of fever which causes suspension of the secretion of water. In these
cases, at least the usual amount of solids are thrown oft' by the kid-
neys, and as tht. water is diminished there is danger of its approaching
the point of supersaturation, when the dissolved solids must necessa-
rily be thrown down. Hence, calculi are more common in stabled
horses fed on dry grain and hay, in those denied a sufficiency of water
or that have water supplied irregularly, in those subjected to profuse
perspiration (as in summer), and in those suffering from a watery
diarrhea. On the whole, calculi are most commonly found in winter,
because the horses are then on dry feeding, but such dry feeding is

80

even more conducive to them in summer when the condition is aggra-
vated by the abundant loss of water by the skin.

In the same way the extreme hardness of the water in certain dis-
tricts must be looked upon as contributing to the concentration of the
urine and correspondingly to the production of stone. The carbonates,
sulphates, etc., of lime and magnesia taken in the water must be again
thrown out, and just in j)roportion as these add to the solids of the
urine they dispose it to precipitate its least soluble constituents. Thus
the horse is very obnoxious to calculi on certain limestone soils, as over
the calcareous formations of central and western New York, Pennsyl-
vania, and Ohio, in America; of Norfolk, Suffolk, Derbyshire, Shrop-
shire, and Gloucestershire, in England ; of Poitou and Landes, in
France ; and Munich, in Bavaria.

But the saturation of the urine from any or all of these conditions
can only be looked on as an auxiliary cause, and not as in itself an
efQcient one, except on the rarest occasions. For a more direct
and immediate cause we must look to the organic matter which
forms a large proportion of all urinary calculi. This consists of mucus,
albumen, pus, hyaline casts of the uriuiferous tubes, epithelial cells,
blood, etc., mainly agents that belong to the class of colloid or non-
crystalline bodies. A horse may live for months and years with the
urine habitually of a high density, and having the mineral constituents
in excess, without the formation of stone or gravel; and again one with
dilute urine of low specific gravity will have a calculus.

Eainey, Ord, and others furnish the explanation. They not only
show that a colloid body, like mucus, albumen, pus, or blood, deter-
mined the ijrecipitation of the crystalline salts in the solution, but they
determined the precipitation in the form of globules or spheres, capa-
ble of developing by further deposits into calculi. Heat intensifies
this action of the colloids, and a colloid in a state of decomposition is
specially active. The presence, therefore, of developing fungi and
bacteria must be looked upon as active factors in causing calculi.

In looking, therefore, for the immediate causes of calculi we must
consider especially all those conditions which determine the presence
of albumen, blood, and excess of mucus, pus, etc., in the urine. Thus
diseases of distant organs leading to albuminuria, diseases of the kid-
neys and urinary passages causing the escape of blood or tlie formation
of mucus or pus, become direct causes of calculi. Foreign bodies of all
kinds in the bladder or kidney have long been known as determining
causes of calculi, and as forming the central nucleus. This is now ex-
I>lained by the fact that these bodies are liable to carry bacteria into
the passages and thus determine decomposition, and they are further
liable to irritate the mucous membrane and become enveloped in a coat-
ing M mucus, pus, and perhaps blood.

The fact that horses appear to suffer from calculi, especially on the
maguesiau limestones, the same districts in which they suffer from

81

•

goiter, may be similarly explained. The untnown poison wliicli pro-
duces goiter presumably leads to such chaages in the blood and urine
as will furnish the colloid necessary for precipitation of the urinary
Baits in the form of calculi.

Classification of Urinary Calculi. — These have been named according
to the place where they are found, renal (kidney), uretral (ureter), vesical
(bladdev), urethral (urethra), aud 2}reputial (shenth or prepuce). They
have been otherwise named according to their most abundant chemical
constituent, carbonate of lime, oxalate of lime, and 'phosphate of lime cal-
culi. The stones formed of carbonates or phosphates are usually sn^ooth
on the surface, though they may be molded into the shape of the cav-
ity in which they have been formed; thus those in the pelvis of the kid-
ney may have two or three short branch-like prolongations, while those
in the bladder are round, oval, or slightly flattened upon each other.
Calculi containing oxalate of lime on the other hand have a rough-
open, crystalline surface, which has gained for them the name of mul,
berry calculi, from a supposed resemblance to that fruit. These are
usually covered with more or less mucus or blood, ])roducfcd by the irri-
tation of the mucous membrane by their rough surfaces. The color of
calculi varies from white to yellow and deep brown, the shades de-
pending mainly on the amount of the coloring matter of blood, bile, or
urine which they may contain.

Renal Calculi. — These may consist of minute, almost microscopic de-
posits in the uriniferous tubes in the substance of the kidney, but more
commonly they are large masses and lodged in the pelvis. The larger
calculi, sometimes weighing 12 to 24 ounces, are molded in the pelvis
of the kidney into a cylindroid mass, with irregular rounded swellings
at intervals. Some have a deep brown, rough, crystalline surface of
oxalate of lime, while others have a smooth, pearly white aspect from
carbonate of lime. A smaller calculus, which has been called coral-
line, is also cylindroid, with a number of brown, rough, crystalline
oxalate of lime branches aud whitish depressions of carbonate. These
vary in size from 15 grains to nearly 2 ounces. Less frequently are
found masses of very hard, brownish white, rounded, pea-like calculi.
These are smoother, but on the surface crystals of oxalate of lime may
be detected with a lens. Some renal calculi are formed of more dis-
tinct layers, more loosely adherent to each other, and contain an excess
of mucus but no oxalate of Inue. Finally a loose aggregation of small
masses, forming a very friable calculus, is found of all sizes within the
limits of the jjelvis of the kidney. These, too, are in the main car-
bonate of lime (84 to 88 per cent.), and without oxalate.

Symptoms of renal calculi are violent colicky pains appearing sud-
denly, very often in connection with exhausting work or the drawing
of specially heavy loads, aud in certain cases disappearing with equal
suddenness. The nature of the colic becomes more manifest if it is
associated with stiffness of the back aud hind liuibs, frequent passage
11035 6

82

of urine, and above all the passage of gravel witli the urine, especially
at the time of the access of relief The passage of blood and pus in the
urine is equally significant. If the irritation of the kidney goes on to
active inflammation then the symptoms of nephritis are added.

Uretral Calcnli. — These are so-called because they are found in the
passage leading from the kidney to the bladder. They are simply small
renal calculi which have escaped from the i:»elvis of the kidney and
have become arrested in the ureter. They give rise to symptoms almost
identical with those of renal calculi, with this difference, that the colicky
pains, caused by the obstruction of the ureter by the impacted calculus,
are more violent, and if the calculus passes ou into the bladder the
relief is instantaneous and complete. If the ureteris completely blocked
for a length of time the retained urine may give rise to destructive in-
flammation in the kidney, which may end in the entire absorption of
that organ, leaving only a fibrous capsule containing an urinous fluid.
If both the ureters are similarly blocked the animal will die of uroemic
poisoning.

Treatment of Renal and Uretral Calculi. — This is unsatisfactory, as it
is only the small calculi that can i^ass through the ureters and escape
into the bladder. This may be favored by agents which will relax the
walls of the ureters by counteracting their spasm and even lessening
their tone, and by a liberal use of water and waterj- fluids to increase
the urine and the i)ressure upon the calculus from behind. One or
two ounces of laudanum or two drams of extract of belladonna, may
be given and repeated as it may be necessary, the relief of the pain
being a fair criterion of the abating of the spasm. To the same end
use warm fomentations across the loins, and these should be kept up
persistently until relief is obtained. These act not alone by sooth-
ing and relieving the spasm and inflammation, but they also favor the
freer secretion of a more watery urine and thus tend to carry off the
smaller calculi. To further secure this object give cool water freely,
and let the food be only such as contains a large proportion of liquid,
gruels, mashes, turnips, beets, apples, pumpkins, ensilage, succulent
grasses, etc. If the acute stage has passed and the presence of the
calculus is manifested only by the frequent passage of urine with gritty
particles, by stiffness of the loins and hind limbs and by tenderness to
pressure, the most promising resort is a long run at pasture where the
grasses are fresh and succulent. The long-continued secretion of a
■watery urine will sometimes cause the breaking down of a calculus, as
the imbibition of the less dense fluid by the organic sponge-like frame
work of the calculus causes it to swell and thus lessens its cohesion.
The same end is sought by the long continued use of alkalies (carbonate
of potassium), and of acids (muriatic), each acting in a diftereut way to
alter the density and cohesion of the stone. But it is only excep-
tionally that any of these methods is entirely satisfactory. If inflam-
mation of the kidneys develop, treat as advised under that head.

83

Stone in the hladder. — Yesical calculus, — Cystic calculus. — These may be
of any size up to over a pound weight. One variety is rough and
crystalline and has a yellowish white or deep brown color. These con-
tain about 87 per cent, carbonate of lime, the remainder being carbonate
of magnesia, oxalate of lime, and organic matter. The phosphatic cal-
culi are smooth and white and formed of thin concentric layers of great
hardness extending from the nucleus outward. Beside the phosphate
of lime these contain the carbonates of lime and magnesia and organic
matter. In some cases the bladder contains and may be even distended
by a soft pultaceous mass made up of minute round granules of carbon-
ates of lime and magnesia. This, when removed and dried, makes a
firm, white, stony mass. Sometimes this magma is condensed into a
solid mass in the bladder by reason of the binding action of the mucus
and other organic matter, and then forms a conglomerate stone of nearly
uniform consistency and without stratification.

The symptoms of stone in the bladder are more obvious than those of
renal calculus. The rough mulberry calculi especially lead to irritation
of the mucous membrane and frequent passing of urine in small quan-
tities and often mingled with mucus or blood, or containing minute
gritty particles. At times the flow is suddenly arrested, though the
animal continues to strain and the bladder is not quite emptied. In
the smooth phosphatic variety the irritation is much less marked, and
may even be altogether absent. With the pultaceous deposit in the
bladder there is incontinence of urine, which dribbles away continually
and keeps the hair on the inner side of the thighs matted with soft
magma. In all cases alike the calculus may be felt by the examination
of the bladder with the oiled hand in the rectum. The pear-sbaped
outline of the bladder can be felt beneath, and within it the solid oval
body. It is most easily recognized if the organ is half full of liquid, as
then it is not grasped by the contracting walls of the bladder, but may
be made to move from place to place in the liquid. If a pultaceous
mass is present it has a soft, doughy feeling, and when pressed an in-
dentation is left.

In the mare the hard stone may be touched by the finger introduced
through the short urethra.

The treatment of stone in the bladder consists in the removal of the
offending body. In the mare this is easily effected with the lithotomy
forceps. These are slightly warmed and oiled, and carried forward
along the floor of the passage of the vulva for 4 inches, when the ori-
fice of the urethra will be felt exactly in the median line. Through
this the forceps are gradually pushed with gentle oscillating movement
until they enter the bladder and strike against the hard surface of the
stone. The stone is now grasped between the blades, care being taken
to include no loose fold of the mucous membrane, and it is gradually
withdrawn with the same careful oscillating motions as before. Facility
and safety in seizing the stone will be greatly favored by having the

84

bladder half full of liquid, and if necessary one oiled hand may be intro-
duced into the rectum or vagina to assist. The resulting irritation
may be treated by an injection of laudanum, 1 ounce, in a pint of tepid
water.

The removal of the stone in the horse is a much more difiicult pro-
ceeding. It consists in cutting into the urethra just beneath the anus
and introducing the lithotomy forceps from this forward into the blad-
der, as in the mare. It is needful to distend the urethra with tepid
water or to insert a sound or catheter to furnish a guide upon which
the incision may be made, and in case of a large stone it may be need-
ful to enlarge the passage by cutting in a direction upward and out-
ward with a probe-poiuted knife, the back of which is slid along in the
groove of a director until it enters the bladder.

The horse may be operated upon in the standing position, being
simply iiressed against a wall by a pole passed from before backward
along the other side of the body. The tepid water is injected into the
end of the penis until it is felt to fluctuate under the pressure of the
finger, in the median line over the boue just beneath the auus. The
incision is then made into the center of the fluctuating canal, and from
above downward. When a sound or catheter is used as a guide it is
inserted through the penis until it can be felt through the skin at the
point where the incision is to be made beneath the anus. The skin is
then rendered tense by the thumb and fingers of the left hand pressing
on the two sides of the sound, while the right hand, armed with a
scalpel, cuts downward on to the catheter. This vertical incision into
the canal should escape wounding any important blood-vessel. It is in
making the obliquely lateral incision in the subsequent dilatation of the
urethra and neck of the bladder that such danger is to be apprehended.

If the stone is too large to be extracted through the urethra it may
be broken down with the lithotrifce and extracted piecemeal with the
forceps. The lithotrite is an instrument composed of a straight stem
bent for an inch or more to one side at its free end so as to form an obtuse
angle, and having on the same side a sliding bar moving in a groove in
the stem and operated by a screw so that the stone may be seized be-
tween the two blades at its free extremity and crushed again and again
into pieces small enough to extract. Extra care is required to avoid
injury to the urethra in the extraction of the angular fragments, and
the gravel or jiowder that can not be removed in this way must be
washed out as advised below.

When a pultaceous magma of carbonate of lime accumulates in the
bladder it must be washed out by injecting water through a catheter
by means of a force pump or a funnel, shaking it up with the hand intro-
duced through the rectum and allowing the muddy liquid to flow out
through the tube. This is to be repeated until the bladder is empty
and the water comes away clear. A catheter with a double tube is
sometimes used, the injection passing in through the one tube and

85

escaping through the other. But the advantage is more apparent than
real, as the retention of the water until the inagtna has been shaken
up and mixed with it hastens greatly its complete evacuation. To
lyrevent the formation of a new deposit any fault iu feeding (dry grain
and hay with privation of water, excess of beaus, peas, wheat bran, etc.)
and disorders of stomach, liver, and lungs must be corrected. Give
abundance of soft drinking water, encouraging the animal to drink by
a handful of salt daily; let the food be laxative, consisting largely of
roots, apples, pumpkins, ensilage, and give daily in the drinking water
a dram of carbonate of potash or soda. Powdered gentian root (3
drams daily) will also serve to restore the tone of the stomach and
system at large.

Urethral calculus. — Stone in the urethra. — This is less frequent than
in cattle and sheep, owing to the larger size of the urethra in the horse
and the absence of the S-shaped curve and vermiform appendix. The
calculi arrested in the urethra are never formed there, but consist of
cystic calculi which have been small enough to pass through the neck
of the bladder, but too large to pass through the whole length of the
uretlira and escape. Such calculi therefore are primarily formed either
in the bladder or kidney, and have the chemical composition of the
other calculi found iu those organs. They may be arrested at any point
of the urethra, from the neck of the bladder back to the bend of the
tube beneath the anus, and from that point down to the extremity of
the penis. I have found them most frequently in the papilla on the
extreme end of the i)enis, and immediately behind this.

The symptoms are violent straining to urinate, but without any dis-
charge, or with the escape of water in drops only. Examination of the
end of the penis will detect the swelling of the papilla or the urethra
behind it, and the iiresence of a hard mass iu the center. A probe in-
serted into the urethra will strike against the gritty calculus. If the
stone has been arrested higher up its position may be detected as a
small, hard, sensitive knot on the line of the urethra, in the median line
of the lower surface of the penis, or on the floor of the pelvis in the
median line from the neck of the bladder back to the bend of the urethra
beneath the anus. In any case the urethra between the neck of the
bladder and the point of obstruction is likely to be filled with fluid, and
to feel like a distended tube fluctuating on pressure.

Treatment may be begun by an attemi:)t to extract the calculi by
manipulation of the papilla on the end of the peuis. This failing, the
calculus may be seized with a pair of fine-pointed forceps and with-
drawn from the urethra; or, if necessary, a probe pointed knife may
be inserted and the urethra slightly dilated, or even laid open, and the
stone removed. If the stone has been arrested higher up it must be
extracted by a direct incision through the walls of the urethra and
down upon the nodule. If in the free (protractile) portion of the penis,
that organ is to be withdrawn from its sheath until the nodule is ex-

86

posed and can be incised. If behind the scrotum, the incision must be
made in the mediaa line between the thighs and directly over the
nodule, the skin having been rendered tense by the fingers and thumb
of the left hand. If the stone has been arrested in the intra-pelvic
portion of the urethra, the incision must be made beneath the anus and
the calculus extracted with forceps, as in stone in the bladder. The
wound in the urethra may be stitched up and usually heals slowly
but satisfactorily. Healing will be favored by washing two or three
times daily with a solution of a teaspoonful of carbolic acid in a pint
of water.

Pre])utial calculus. — Galciihis in the sheath or bilocular cavity. — These
are concretions in the sheath, though the term has been also applied
to the nodule of sebaceous matter which accumulates in the blind
pouches (bilocular cavity) by the sides of the papilla on the end of the
penis. Within the sheath the concretion may be a soft, cheesy-like
sebaceous matter, or a genuine calculus of carbonate, oxalate, phos-
phate and sulphate of lime, carbonate of magnesia and organic matter.
These are easily removed with the fingers, after which the sheath
should be washed out with castile soap and warm water, and smeared
with sweet-oil.

PLATE IV.

■M' (t

'"■~i^

ik('

b \

f^ >i £

/■/

//

a , Ck)rtical ( or i -a^cidar) poi -tion : h, MecluUar y (or Uihuhtr ) portiarh .
c, Peripheral p(?rtion of the leUter ; d , Interior of the pelvis ; d',d ',
Arm,vofthe.pelvi.s; e, Border of t/ie creM : fjnfundibuhimi gji-eicr.

Geo. Marx. (lel,afterD'Arbo\-al.p.669.

I.OXGITrniNAL SETTIOX THROUGH KIDNt^Y

i^.vi'i-; \-

StriRUu-H ol'tlio Kiiluey. lJiagi';iiiiiii;ilii .
a , Mpdiillafv hiyci-; h, Boiuidary \o/ic : c, Cort.icaf Icn'er; I, E.X'-c/~e.tory tube .'-^.Ope/i-
inff on tJie si///t//uf ofrena/ papi//r/;ijj'trst dra/Lc/i of hif'urcaUon i ^.Second branch
of bifurcation; 5, Third branch of bifiirccUion :6',Strcuffht coUcc/ing tid>e; 7,.///nr~^
tionai tubule ; S.Ascendincf portion of ffenlc'.'i Loop^ 9, Dcscendincf portion ol' Hade's
loop; 10, Loop ofHenle:Jl,Con\'ohdrd tuhidc : I?,Malpiffhi((n rorpus-cle ; 13,fip/ial «/•-
terv; M,Branc/i .supplyinff the glomeruli ; 15 , Afferenf wAsel of the glomeruli ; 16,
Branch going directly to the capdlaries; 17,Straighi (/rteriaie<s- caniing directly
from tlie rcnul r/rten-; JS.Strf/i^/hi arteriole co/iung from the edfercnt vessel of the
gloineridus; J9, Straight (uieriole cotning fro/// the capilla/y ple.e//^-; :iO, Va.seidar
loop of the p}7Xtr/u'el,v; i'l /Tfle/^e/d \e.',sciofthe//lo//i.e/-itl/isgoi//glothe cctpilleu\v
ple.ru.s-; i'?,ty/pilla/-\- plea-u.s of the gto/neruleu- pa/i oft/ie rorticc/l A-uiwla/ice ;
23,fapilla/y ple^rn.s of the pyr/u/iid.s- of Fer-rci/i ; 2'/,Co/-tie</l pleTusoftheh/d/zey,
?5,\'e/iac stellatae ; 26',\eui conii/ig //■(//// t/ie capilia/-ies of the ro/^tev : '^'7, frUe/'
tobiila/- \ cin ; <^6', \7'i/i /•ecei\'ing the \-e/ic/e reet/te ; 2.9, I'e/u/c /•retac .

Xotc : Theshe/dedpartnfthe uri/u>/-y duets /<'fi/-e.sent the pa/l in w/iie/i l/ir
epitheliur/r i.v /'added laid of a g/ri/u/la/- appea/y</tce

. Marx.Ml'li'i' I) ArluAvil . p :i>'J.

;i71

MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY OV \\\\^'S.\':\

PLATE VI.

Kejial GloiiieriiluH .
a,Arterv of the gLomeruhu'}; b, Branch supplying t/ie afTcrcnr
x'essel of the glo/ncrulihs; cAffcrcrU \-csacI of the glomefule :
diAitery qotn</ dircctiy to th/> copiUrtrv plcyus of the cortuxU
substance ; e^, C<xpiUa/y plnriis / f, tyfornerutifs.

Renal Glomerulus williits afferent N-essels andefferenls.

a ,Br-anch of renal artery; b, Afferent vessel oftJte
gl(irncrulus ; c , (Jlonieriilns -, d, Afferent i-esset qo-
iny into corpuscl/?- e ,of Malptg/ii .

MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY OF KIDNEY.

PI , AT !•: V

Phosp/ialir ca/rtf/t/.v, i//tr (trifl /iuc/ca.s.

X 215

('(i/riilii,s o/' o.icilah- ot'iaiu

\

„-^S«

/I'c'/u// ru.s/.s-. So/iir (h/>ri\r'(/ (>/'
rf>i(h(/i(ini . Tun iii-c drc/)f'/-ro/ <!/•<'</
/ro//i l/ir p/-r,s-f/iir o/'ufri/e of'.so(/a .

Sli-dif/iif fofcep.v ii.ycd
i/i /•rnit)\'iii</ rn/cii/i .

I laiiu's.del titter Huiircl IJAi-lxival

CALCriJ AXl) LVSTRUMKX'r FDR F^KMON'AI.

DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS.

By W. H. HARBAUGH, V. S., Richmond, Virginia.

The organs pertaining to the respiratory function may be popularly
classed as follows: The nasal openings, or nostrils; the nasal chambers,
through which the air passes in the head; the sinuses in the head, com-
municating with the nasal chambers; the pharynx, common to the
functions of respiration and alimentation; the larynx, a complicated
structure situated at the top of the windpipe; the trachea, or wind-
pipe: the bronchi (into which the wind-pipe divides), two tubes leading
from the wind-pipe to the right and left lung, respectively; the bron-
chial tubes, which penetrate and convey air to all parts of the lungs ;
the lungs.

The pleura is a thin membrane that envelops the lung and is reflected
against the walls of the thoracic cavity. The diaphragm is a muscular
structure, completely separating the contents of the thoracic cavity
from those of the abdominal cavity. It is essentially a muscle of in-
spiration, and the principal one. Other muscles aid in the mechanism
of respiration, but the diseases or injuries of them have nothing to do
with the class under consideration.

Just within the nasal openings the skin becomes gradually but per-
ceptibly finer, until it is succeeded by the mucous membrane; the line
of demarkation is not always well defined. JS^ear about the junction of
the skin and membrane is a small hole, presenting the appearance of
having been made with a puucli ; this is the opening of the nasal duct,
a canal that conveys the tears from the eyes. Within and above the
nasal openings are the cavities or fissures called the false nostrils; if
the finger is inserted up into them it will be demonstrated that the
superior extremity is blind; just in this situation there is often found
a little tumor, to be described hereafter. The nasal chambers are com-
pletely separated, the right from the left, by a cartilaginous partition.
Each nasal chamber is divided into three continuous compartments
by the two turbinated bones.

The mucous membrane lining the nasal chambers, and in fact the
entire respiratory tract, is much more delicate and more frequently

87

88

diseased than the mucous membrane of any other part of the body.
The sinuses of the head are compartments which communicate with the
nasal chambers and are lined with a continuation of the same mem-
brane that lines the nasal chambers; their presence increases the
volume and modifies the form of the head without increasing- its weight.

The horse, in a normal condition, breathes exclusively through the
nostrils ; uo^air passes through the mouth in respiration. This is one
reason why horses probably are affected oftener with colds than other
animals. The organs of respiration are more liable to disease than the
organs connected with any other function of the animal, and, as many
of the causes can be prevented, it is both important and profitable to
know and study the causes. The respiratory surface iu the lungs of
the horse is estimated to be from 200 to 500 square feet.

The cause of many of the diseases of these organs may be given under
a common head, because even a simple cold, if neglected or badly
treated, may run into the most complicated lung disease and terminate
fatally. In the spring aud fall, when the animals are changing their
coats, there is a marked predisposition to contract disease, and conse-
quently care should be taken at those periods to prevent other exciting
causes.

Badly ventilated stables are a frequent source of disease. It is a great
mistake to think that country stables necessarily have purer air than
city stables. Stables on some farms are so faultily constructed that it
is almost impossible for the foul air to gain an exit. All stables should
have an unlimited supply of jiure air, and be so arranged that strong
draughts can not blow directly on the animals. Hot stables are almost
always illy ventilated, and the hot stable is a cause of disease on account
of the extreme change of temperature a horse is liable to when taken
out, and extreme changes of temperature are to bo avoided as certain
causes of disease. A horse taken from pasture and kept in a hot stable
is almost sure to contract a cold : the stable should be thrown open and
the temperature gradually increased in such cases, when practicable, to
avoid the sudden change.

A cold, close stable is invariably damp, and is to be avoided as much
as the hot, close, and foul stable. Horses changed from a cold to a warm
stable are more liable to contract cold than when changed from a warm
to a cold stable. Pure air is more essential than warmth, and this fact
should be especially remembered when the stable is made close and foul
to gain the warmth. It is more economical to keep the horse warm with
blankets than to prevent the ingress of pure air in order to make the
stable warm.

Stables should be well drained and kept clean. Some farmers allow
dung to accumulate in the stalls until there is hardly sufficient room for
the horses. This is a pernicious practice, as the decomposing organic
matter evolves poisonous gases that are predisposing or exciting causes
of disease. "When a horse is overheated it is not safe to allow him to

89

dry by evaporation ; rubbing him dry and gradually cooling bim out is
the wisest treatment. When a horse is hot — covered with sweat— it is
dangerous to allow him to stand in a draught; it is the best plan to walk
him until his temperature moderates. In such cases a light blanket
thrown over the animal may prevent a cold. Overwork or overexertion
often causes the most fatal cases of congestion of the lungs. Avoid pro-
longed or fast work when the horse is out of condition or unaccustomed
to it. Animals that have been working out in cold rains should be dried
and cooled out, and not left to dry by evaporation. When the tempera-
ture of the weather is at the extreme, either of heat or cold, diseases ot
the organs of respiration are most frequent.

It is not to be supposed that farmers can give their horses the par-
ticular attention given to valuable racing and pleasure horses, but
they can most assuredly give them common-sense care, and this will
often save the life of a valuable or useful animal. ISTeglect on the part
of the owner is as often (perhaps oftener) the cause of disease in the
horse as neglect on the part of the servant. If the owner properly
considers his interests he will study the welfare of his horses so that
he may be able to instruct the servant in details of stable manage-
ment, as it often happens that the fault on the part of the servant is
due to want of knowledge more than to willful neglect.

WOUNDS ABOUT THE NOSTRILS.

Wounds in this neighborhood are common, and are generally caused
by getting snagged on a nail or splinter, or by the bite of another
horse; or by getting "run into," or by running against something.
Occasionally the nostril is so badly torn and lacerated that it is im-
possible to effect a cure without leaving the animal blemished for
life, but in the majority of instances the blemish or scar is due to the
want of conservative treatment on the part of the owner or attendant.
As soon as possible after the accident the parts should be brought
together and held there by stitches. If too much time is allowed to
elapse the swelling of the parts will considerabl}^ interfere. The skin
in this neighborhood is thin and delicate, and therefore it is easy to in-
sert sutures. Never cut away any skin that may be loose and hang-
ing, or else a scar will certainly remain. Bring the parts in direct ap-
position and place the stitches from a quarter to a half inch apart, as
circumstances may demand. It is not necessary to have special sur-
geons' silk and needles for this operation ; good linen thread or ordi-
nary silk thread will answer. The wound afterwards only requires to
be kept clean. For this purpose it should be cleansed and discharges
washed away daily with a soluticji made of carbolic acid 1 part, in
water 40 parts. If the horse is inclined to rub the wound against some
object on account of the irritability, his head should be tied by means
of two halter ropes to prevent him rubbing the wound open. The
head should be so tied about ten days, excej)t when at work or eating.

90

TUMORS WITHIN THE NOSTRILS.

As before mentioned, a small globular tumor is sometimes found
within the false nostril, under that part of the skin that is seen to puflp
or rise and fall when a horse is exerted and breathing hard. These
tumors contain matter of a cheesy consistency, and are simple. If the
tumor is well opened and the matter squeezed out nature will do the
rest to perform a perfect cure. Jfthe opening is made from the out-
side through the skin it should be at the most dependent part, but
much the best way to open the tumor is from the inside. Quiet the
animal, gently insert your finger up in the direction of the tumor, and
you will soon discover that it is much larger inside than it appears
to be on the outside. If necessary put a twitch on the ear of the
horse to quiet him ; run the index finger of your left hand against the
tumor ; uow, with the right hand, carefully insert the knife by run-
ning the back of the blade along the index finger of the left hand until
the tumor is reached 5 with the left index finger guide the point of the
blade quickly and surely into the tumor ; make the opening large ; there
is no danger ; a little blood may flow out for awhile, but it is of no conse-
quence. Squeeze out the matter and keep the part clean.

COLD IN THE HEAD— CATARRH.

Catarrh means a discharge of fluid from the mucous membrane. The
form of catarrh under present consideration is at first a congestion,
followed by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the nasal
chambers — the Schneiderian or pituitarj' membrane, as it is specifically
termed. The inflammation usually extends to the membrane of the
sinuses of the head and often to the membrane of the larynx and
pharynx, causing the complication of sore throat. Quite frequently the
membrane of the eyes is also affected, as evidenced by its congested
condition and the flow of tears down over the cheeks; the nasal duct
(spoken of before) is lined with a continuation of the same membrane,
and hence the inflammation of the membrane of the eyes is only an ex-
tension of the disease over a continuous tract, and not a specific disease
as often supposed. The membrane of the nasal duct being swollen, the
effect of the congestion or inflammation, the tears can not flow freely
through it, therefore they escape from the eyes and flow over the cheeks.

Symptoms. — The membrane at the beginning of the attack is dry, con-
gested and irritable; it is of a much deeper hue than natural, pinkish-
red or red. Soon a watery discharge from the nostrils makes its ap-
pearance ; the eyes may also be more or less aff"ected, and tears flow
over the cheeks. The animal has some fever, which may be easily de-
tected by placing the fiv^ger in the mouth, as the feeling of heat conveyed
to the finger will be greater than natural.

To become somewhat expert in ascertaining the changes of tempera-
ture in the horse, it is only necessary to place the finger often in the

mouths of horses kuown to be healthy. After you have become accus-
tomed to the warmth of the mouth of the healthy animal you will have
no difficulty in detecting a marked increase of the temperature. Some
veterinarians become so expert in this method of examination that they
trust to it in preference to the use of thermometers.

The animal may be dull ; he frequently' emits a sort of sneezing snort,
but does not cough unless the throat is affected; he expels the air
forcibly through his nostrils very often in a manner that may be aptly
called "blowing his nose." A few days after the attack begins the dis.
charge from the nostrils changes from a watery to that of a thick mu-
ciliiginous state, of a yellowish-white color, and may be more or less
profuse. Often the appetite is lost, and the animal becomes debili-
tated.

Treatment. — This disease is not serious, but inasmuch as neglect or
bad treatment may cause it to run into a dangerous complication, it
should receive proper attention. The animal should not be worked for
a few days. A few days of quiet rest, with pure air and good food,
will be of greater benefit than medication administered while the horse
is excited and exposed to draughts and changes of temperature.
Tbe benefit derived from the inhalation of steam can not be overesti-
mated. This is effected by holding the horse's head over a bucketful
of boiling water so that the animal will be compelled to inhale steam
with every inhalation of air. Stirring the hot water with a wisp of hay
causes the steam to aiise in greater abundance. By no means adopt
the pernicious method of steaming — advised by some authors and prac-
ticed by many people — by putting the head in a bag with hot water or
scalded bran. Common sense would be sufficienttocondemn the method,
if those who practice it would only think. With the head so closely
confined in the bag the horse is compelled to inhale over and over the
foul air expelled from the lungs. This is malpractice on a healthy
horse, and much worse when the animal is ill, for then it has a greater
necessity for pure air.

The horse should be made to inhale steam four or five times a day,
about fifteen or twenty minutes each time.

Particular attention should be paid to the diet. Give bran mashes,
scalded oats, linseed gruel, and grass if in season. If the horse evinces
no desire for this soft diet, it is well to allow any kind of food he will
eat, such as hay, oats, corn, etc.

If the animal is constipated, relieve this symptom by injections
(enemas) of warm water into the rectum (last gut) three or four times a
day, but under no circumstances administer purgative medicines.

For simple cases the foregoing is all that is required, but if the ap-
petite is lost, and the animal api)ears debilitated and dull, give 3
ounces of the solution of acetate of ammonia and 2 drams of powdered
chlorate of potassium diluted with a pint of water three times a day as
a drench. Be careful when giving the drench; do not pound the horse

92

on the gullet to mate him swallow ; be patient, and take time, and do
it right.

If the weather be cold, blanket the animal and keep him in a com-
fortable stall. If the throat is sore, treat as advised for that ailment,
to be described hereafter.

When the inflammatory symptoms subside and the appetite is not re-
gained, give 2 ounces each of the tincture of gentian and spirits of nitrous
ether in a pint of water, as a drench, every night and morning for sev-
eral days. If, after ten days or two weeks, the discharge from the nos-
trils continues, give 1 dram of powdered sulphate of iron three times a
day. This may be mixed with bran and oats, if the horse will eat it,
but if he will not eat the food with the iron in it, give the iron as a
drench, dissolved in a pint of water.

It may be objected that rather more space than necessary is devoted
to this simple affection ; but when it is known that there is a tendency
to the extension of the trouble, and that serious complications may en-
sue, the fact should be appreciated that there is every reason why the
common cold should be thoroughly understood and intelligently treated
in order to prevent the more dangerous diseases.

CHRONIC CATARRH — NASAL GLEET.

This is a subacute or chronic inflammation of some part of the mem-
brane affected in common cold, the disease just described. It is mani-
fested by a persistent discharge of a thick, white, or yellowish- white
matter from one or both nostrils. The sinuses of the head are the usual
seat of the disease. The commonest cause is a neglected, or badly
treated cold, and it usually follows those cases where the horse has
suffered exposure, been overworked, or has not received proper food,
and, as a consequence, has become debilitated.

Other but less frequent causes for this affection are : Fractures of
the bones that involve the membrane of the sinuses ; and even blows
on the head over the sinuses, of suflQcient force to rupture blood-vessels
within. The blood thus escaping into the sinus acts as an irritant, and
sets up an inflammation. Diseased teeth often involve a sinus, and
cause a fetid discharge from the nostril. Violent coughing is said to
have forced particles of food into the sinus, which acted as a cause of
the disease. Tumors growing in the sinuses are known to have caused
it. It is also attributed to matter from disease of the turbinated bones.
Absorption of the bones forming the walls of the sinuses has been
caused by the pressure of pus collecting in them, and by tumors filling
up the cavity.

Symptoms. — The long-continued discharge, which varies in quantity
according to the attendant circumstances — the cause of the trouble and
the part affected — will invariably indicate the disease. Great caution
must be exercised when examining these cases, as horses have been
condemned as glandered when really there was nothing more ailing

93

them than nasal gleet. This affection is not contagious, nor is it dan-
gerous, although difficult to cure in some instances. In most cases the
discharge is from one nostril only, which signifies that the sinuses on
that side of the head are affected. The discharge may be intermittent,
that is, quantities may be discharged at times, and again little or none
for a day or so. The glands under and between the bones of the lower
jaw may be enlarged. The peculiar ragged-edged ulcer of glanders is
not to be found on the membrane within the nostrils, but occasionally
sores are to be seen there. If there is any doubt about it, you should
study well the symptoms of glanders to enable you to be at least com-
petent to form a safe opinion.

The eye on the side of the discharging nostril may have a peculiar
appearance and look smaller than its fellow. There may be an enlarge-
ment, having the appearance of a bulging out of the bone over the
part affected, between or below the eyes. The breath may be offensive,
which indicates decomposition of the matter or bones, or, especially,
disease of the teeth. A diseased tooth is further indicated by the
horse holdiug his head to one side when eating, or dropping the food
from the mouth after partly chewing it. When you tap on the bones
between the eyes, below the eyes and above the back teeth of the
upper jaw, a hollow drum-like sound is emitted, but if the sinus is
filled with pus or contains a large tumor the souud emitted will be the
same as if a solid substance were struck; by this means the sinus
affected may be located in some instances. The hair may be rough
over the affected part, or even the bone may be soft to the touch and
the part give somewhat to pressure, or leave an impression where it is
pressed upon with the finger.

Treatment. — The cause of the trouble must be ascertained before
treatment is commenced. In the many cases where the animal is in
poor condition (in fact in all cases), he should have the most nutritive
food and regular exercise. The food, or box containing it, should be
X)laced on the ground, as the dependent position of the head favors the
discharge.

The cases that do not require a surgical operation must, as a rule,
have persistent medical treatment. Mineral tonics are of the most
value. For eight days give the following mixture: Suli)hate of iron, 3
ounces; powdered nux vomica, 1 ounce; mix and make into sixteen
powders. Give one powder mixed with the food twice a day. When
all of the foregoing has been administered the following may be tried
for eight days: Sulphate of copper, 4 ounces; powdered gentian, G oun-
ces; mix and divide into sixteen powders. Give one on the food twice
a day. If the animal will not eat the powder on the food, put the medi-
cine in a pint of water in a bottle, shake well and give as a drench.
After this substitute the following: One dram of iodide of potassium
dissolved in a bucketful of drinking water, one hour before each meal.
Much benefit is often derived from the effect of a blister over the face.

94

The ordinary fly blister plaster of tbe drug store mixed with one third its
weight of lard is efficient. Sulphur burnt iu the stable while the ani-
mal is there to inhale its fumes i^ also a valuatje adjunct. Care should
be taken that the fumes of the burning sulphur are suihciently diluted
with air, so as not to suffocate the horse. Chloride of lime sprinkled
around the stall is good. Also keep a quantity" of the chloride under
the hay in the manger so that the gases will be inhaled as the horse
holds his head over the hay while eating. Keep the nostrils wasbed;
the discharges may be washed away for appearance sake, but squirting
solutions up the nose is worse than useless, as they do not come in con-
tact with the diseased part.

If the nasal gleet is the result of a diseased tooth the tooth must be re-
moved, and the subsequent treatment will be according to indications.
The operation of trephining is the best possible way to remove the
tooth in such cases, as it immediately opens the cavity which can be at-
tended to direct.

In all those cases of nasal gleet where sinuses contain either collec-
tions of pus or tumors, the only relief is by the trephine; and it is a
fact that, no matter how thoroughly described, this is an operation that
will be very seldom attempted by the non-professional, although the
operation is simple and attended in the majority of instances with suc-
cess. It would therefore be a useless waste of time to give the modus
operandi.

An abscess inv^olving the turbinated bones is similar to the collection
of pus in the sinuses, and must be relieved by trephining.

THJCKENINGr OF THE MEMBRA.NE.

This is sometimes denoted by a chronic discharge, a snuffling in the
breathing and a contraction of the nostril. It is a result of common
cold and requires the same treatment as prescribed for nasal gleet, viz,
the sulphate of iron, sulphate of copper, iodide of potassium, etc. The
membranes of both sides may be affected, but one side only is the rule;
and the affected side may be easily detected by holding the hand tightly
over one nostril at a time. When the healthy side is closed in this
manner, the breathing through the affected side will demonstrate a
decreased caliber or an obstruction.

NASAl, POLYPUS.

Tumors with narrow bases (somewhat pear-shaped) are occasionally
found attached to the membrane of the nasal chambers, and are ob-
structions to breathing through the side in which they are located.
They vary much in size; some are so small that their preseuce is not
manifested, while others almost completely fill up the chamber, thereby
causing a serious obstruction to the passage of air. The pedicel of the
tumor is generally attached high up iu the chamber, and usually the

95

tumor can not be seen, but occasionally it increases in size until it can
be observed within the nostril. Sometimes, instead of haugiug down
towards the nasal opening, it falls back into the i)harynx. It causes a
discharge from the nostril, a more or less noisy snuffling sound in breath-
ing, according to its size, a discharge of blood (if it is injured), and
sneezing.

The side that it occupies can be detected in the same way as described
for the detection of the affected side when the breathing is obstructed
by a thickened membrane.

The only relief is removal of the polypus, which, like all other opera-
tions, should be done by an expert when it is possible to secure one.
The operation is performed by grasi)ing the base of the tumor with suit-
able forceps and twisting it round and round until it is torn from its
attachment. The resulting hemorrhage is checked by the use of an
astringent lotion, such as a solution of the tincture of iron, etc.

PIIARYlvrGEAL POLYPUS.

This is exactly the same kind of tumor described as nasal polypus,
the only difference being in the situation. Indeed, the pedicel of the
tumor may be attached to the membrane of the nasal chamber as before
explained, or it may be attached in the fauces (opening of the back part
of the mouth) which is often the case, and by the body of the tumor
falling into the pharynx it gets the name of pharyngeal polypus. In
this situation it may seriously interfere with breathing. Sometimes it
drops into the larynx, causing the most alarming symptoms. The ani-
mal coughs or tries to cough, saliva flows from the mouth, the breath-
ing is performed with the greatest diiSculty and accompanied by a loud
noise; the animal appears as if strangled and often falls exhausted.
When the tumor is coughed out of the larynx the animal regains quickly
and soon appears as if nothing was ailing. These sudden attacks and
quick recoveries should lead to a detection of the trouble. The exami-
nation must be made by holding the animal's mouth open with a balling
iron or speculum and running the hand back into the mouth. If the
tumor is within reach it must be removed with forceps by torsion, and
the hemorrhage controlled as before advised.

BLEEDINa FROM THE NOSE.

This often occurs during the course of certain diseases, viz., influenza,
bronchitis, purpura hemorrhagica, glanders, etc. But it also occurs
independent of other affections; and, as before mentioned, is a symptom
of polypus or tumor in the nose.

Injuries to the head, exertion, violent sneezing — causing a rupture
of a small blood-vessel — also induce it. The bleeding is almost inva-
riably from one nostril only, and is never very serious. The blood
escapes in drops (very seldom in a stream), and is never frothy as when

96

the heinorrliage is from the lungs. (See Bleeding from the lungs.) In
most cases, bathing the head and washing out the nostril with cold
water is all that is necessary. If the cause is known you will be guided
according to circumstances. If the bleeding continues, pour ice-cold
water over the face, between the eyes and down over the nasal cham-
bers. A bag containing ice in small pieces applied to the head is often
efiQcient. If in spite of these measures the hemorrhage continues, try
plugging the nostrils with cotton, tow, or oakum. Tie a string around
the plug before it is pushed up into the nostril, so that it can be safely
withdrawn after four or five hours. If both nostrils are bleeding plug
only one nostril at a time. If the hemorrhage is profuse and persist-
ent give a drench composed of 1 dram of acetate of lead dissolved in a
pint of water; or 1 dram gallic acid dissolved in a pint of water may bo
tried.

INFLAMMATION OF THE PHARYNX.

As already stated, the pharynx is common to the functions of both
respiration and alimentation. From this organ the air passes into the
larynx and thence onward to the lungs. In the posterior part of the
pharynx is the sup erior extremity of the gullet, the canal through
which the food and water pass to the stomach. Inflammation of the
pharynx is a complication of other diseases, viz., influenza, strangles,
etc., and is probably always, more or less, complicated with inflamma-
tion of the larynx. That it may exist as an independent afiection there
is no reason to doubt, but so closely do the symptoms resemble those
of laryngitis, and as the treatment is the same as for the latter disease,
it is unnecessary to give it further consideration in a separate article.

SOKE THROAT — LARYNGITIS.

The larynx is situated in the space between the lower jawbones just
back of the root of the tongue, and is retained in this position by the
windpipe, muscles, and bones to which it is attached. It may be con-
sidered as a box (somewhat depressed on each side), composed princi-
pally of cartilages and small muscles, and lined on the inside with a
continuation of the respiratory mucous membrane. Posteriorly it opens
into and is continuous with the windpipe. It is the organ of the voice,
the vocal cords being situated within it; but in the horse this function
is of little or no consequence. It dilates and contracts to a certain ex-
tent like the nostrils, thus regulating the volume of air passing through
it. The mucous membrane lining it internally is so highly sensitive
that if the smallest particle of food happens to drop into it from the
pharynx the muscles instantly contract and violent coughing ensues,
which is continued until the source of irritation is ejected. This is a
wise provision of nature to prevent foreign substances gaining access
to the lungs. That projection called Adam's apple in the neck of man
is the prominent part of one of the cartilages forming the larynx.

97

Inflammation of the larynx is a serious and sometimes a fatal disease,
and, as before stated, is usually complicated with inflammation of the
pharynx, constituting what is popularly known as "sore throat."

Symptoms. — About the first symptom noticed is the cough, followed
by a difiiculty in swallowing, which may be due to the soreness of the
membrane of the pharynx, over which the food or water must pass, or
to the pain caused by the contraction of the muscles necessary to impel
the food or water onward to the gullet; or this same contraction of the
muscles mity cause a pressure on the larynx and produce the pain. lu
many instances the difiiculty in swallowing is so great that the water,
and in some cases the food, is returned through the nose. The mouth
is hot, and saliva dribbles from it. The glands between the lower jaw
bones and below the ears may be swollen. Pressure on the larynx
induces a violent fit of coughing. The cough is very characteristic; it
is easily seen that the animal is "coughing at his throat." The head
is more or less "poked out," and has the appearance of being stiffly
carried. The membrane in the nose becomes red. A discharge from
the nostrils soon appears. As the disease advances, the breathing may
assume a more or less noisy character; sometimes a harsh rasping snore
is emitted with every respiration, the breathing becomes hurried, and
occasionally the animal seems threatened with suffocation.

Treatment.— In all cases steam the nostrils as advised for cold in the
head. In bad cases cause the steam to be inhaled continuously for
hours, until relief is afl'orded. Have a fresh bucketful of boiling water
ever}' fifteen or twent}' minutes. In each bucketful of water put a table-
spoonful of oil of turpentine, which will be carried along with the steam
to the affected parts and have a beneficial effect. In mild cases steam-
ing the nostrils five, six, or seven times a day will sufiQce.

The animal should be placed in a comfortable, dry stall (a box-stall
preferred), but should have a pure atmosphere to breathe. The body
should be blanketed, and bandages applied to the legs. The diet should
consist of soft food — bran mashes, scalded oats, linseed gruel, and, best
of all, grass, if in season, which should be carried to him as soon as cut,
and a fresh supply offered often. The manger or trough should not be
too high nor too low, but a temporary one should be constructed at
about the height he carries his head. Having to reach too high or too
low may cause so much pa n that the animal would rather forego satis-
fying what little appetite he might have, than inflict pain by craning
his head for food or water. A supply of fresh water should be before
him all the time; he will not drink too much, nor will the cold water
hurt him. Constipation (if present) must be relieved by enemas of
warm water, administered three or four times during the twenty-four
hours.

A liniment composed of 2 ounces of olive oil and 1 ounce each of solu-
tion of ammonia and tincture of cantharides, well shaken together^
should be thoroughly rubbed in about the throat from ear to ear, and
11035 7

98

about 6 inches down over the windpipe and in the space between the
lower jaws. This liniment should be applied once a day for two or
three days.

- When the animal can swallow without much difficulty, give the fol-
lowing preparation : Fluid extract hyoscyamus 1 dram, powdered chlo-
rate potassium 2 drams, simple sirup or molasses 2 ounces. Mix all.
together and drench very carefully. Repeat the dose every six hours.

If the animal is breathing with great difficulty do not attempt to
drench him, but persevere in steaming the nostrils, and dissolve 2
drams of chlorate of potassium in every gallon of water he will drink ;
even if he can not swallow much of it (and even if it is returned through
the nostrils), it will be of some benefit as a gargle to the pharynx.

When the breathing begins to be loud great relief isaftbrded in some
cases by giving a drench composed of 2 drams of fluid extract of jab-
orandi in half a pint of water. If benefit is derived, this drench may
be repeated four or five hours after the first dose is given. It will
cause a free flow of saliva from the mouth within thirty minutes.

In urgent cases, when suffocation seems inevitable, the operation of
tracheotomy must be performed. It must be admitted that this oper-
ation appears to be (to the non-professional) a verj^ formidable one, but
as it is certainly a means of saving life where all other measures have
failed, it is the duty of the writer to describe it. To describe this
operation in words that would make it comprehensible to the general
reader is a much more difficult task than performing the operation, which
in the hands of the expert is one of the simplest, and attended with
less danger (from the operation itself) than any of the special operations
on organs.

The operator should be provided with a tracheotomy tube (to be
purchased from any veterinary instrument maker) and a sharp knife, a
sponge, and a bucket of clean cold water. The place to be selected for
opening the windpipe is that part which is found, upon examination,
to be least covered with muscles. Run your hand down the front part
of the windpipe and you may easily detect the rings of cartilage of
which it is composed ; about 5 or 6 inches below the throat it will be
the most plainly felt. Right here, then, is the place to cut through.
Have an assistant hold the animal's head still ; no necessity of putting
a twitch on the nose. Grasp youj- knife firmly in the right hand, select
the spot to cut, and cut. Make the cut from above to below directly on
the median line on the anterior surface of the windpipe. Do not
attemi^t to dissect your way in, that is too slow, it annoys the horse
and makes him restless, and besides it gives a novice time to become
nervous. Make the cut about 2 inches long in the icindpipe ; this
necessitates cutting three or four rings. One bold, nervy stroke is
usually sufficient,. but if it is necessary to make several other cuts to
finish the operation do not hesitate. Your intention. must be to make
a hole in the windpipe sufficiently large to admit the tracheotomy tube,

99

and you have not accomplished your purpose until you have done so.
It is quickly manifested when the windpipe is severed, the hot air
rushes out, and when air is taken in it is sucked in with a noise. A
slight hemorrhage may result (it never amounts to much), which is
easily controlled by washing the wound with a sponge and cold water;
do not get any of the water in the windpipe. Do not neglect to instruct
your assistant to hold the head down immediately after the operation,
so that the neck will he in a horizontal line. This will prevent the
blood getting into the windpipe and allow it to drop directly on the
ground. If you have the self- adjustable tube, it retains its place in
the wound without further trouble after it is inserted. The other kind
requires to be secured in position by means of two tapes or strings
tied around the neck. After the hemorrhage is somewhat abated
sponge the blood away and see that the tube is thoroughly clean, then
insert it, directing the tube downwards towards the lungs. To insure
the tube being clean, it is best to keep it immersed in a solution of 1
on nc% of carbolic acid in 20 ounces of water for about thirty minutes
previous to inserting it in the windpipe.

The immediate relief this operation affords is wonderful to behold.
The animal, a few minutes before on the verge of death from sufl'oca-
tion, emitting a loud wheezing sound with every breath; with haggard
countenance, body swaying, pawing, gasping, fighting for breath, is
now breathing tranquilly, and ten to one is nosing about the stall in
search of something to eat.

The tube should be removed once a day and cleaned with the carbolic
acid solution (1 to 20), and the discharge washed away from the wound
with a solution of carbolic acid, 1 part to 40 parts water. Several times
a day the hand should be held over the opening in the tube to test the
animal's ability to breathe through the nostrils, and as soon as it is
demonstrated that breathing can be performed in the natural way the
tube should be removed, the wound thoroughly cleansed with the car-
bolic acid solution (1 to 40), and closed by inserting four or five stitches
through the skin and muscle. Do not include the cartilages of the wind-
pipe in the stitches. Apply the carbolic acid solution to the wound
three or four times a day until healed. When the tube is removed to
clean it the lips of the wound may be pressed together to ascertain
whether or not the horse can breathe through the larynx. The use of
the tube should be discontinued as soon as possible.

It is true that tracheotomy tubes are seldom to be found on farms,
and especially when most urgently required. In such instances there
is nothing left to be done but, with a strong needle, pass a wax end or
other strong string through each side of the wound, including the car-
tilage of the wind-pipe, and keep the wound opeu by tying the strings
over the neck. The operation of tracheotomy is not always successful
in saving the animal's life, and the principal reason of this is, that it is
deferred too long and the animal is beyond recovery before it is at-
tempted.

400

During the time the tube is used the other treatment advised must
not be neglected. After a few days the discharge from the nostrils be-
comes thicker and more profuse. This is a good symptom and signi-
fies that the acute stage has passed. At any time during the attack,
if the horse becomes weak, give the following drench every four or five
hours: Spirits of nitrous ether, 2 ounces; rectified spirits, 2 ounces;
water, 1 pint. When the power of swallowing is regained and the pro-
fuse discharge of thick, yellowish-white matter from the nostrils an-
nounces the fact of the convalescing stage, administer the following:
Tincture of theperchlorideof iron, 1 ounce; tiucture of gentian, 2 ounces;
water, 1 pint. This should be given every morning and evening for
about a week or ten days. Good nutritive food must now be given —
hay, oats, and corn. Do not be in a hurry to put the animal back to
work, but give plenty of time for a complete recovery. Gentle and
gradually increasing exercise may be given as soon as the horse is able
to stand it.

If abscesses form in connection with the disease they must be opened
to allow the escape of pus, but do not rashly plunge a knife into swol-
len glands ; wait until you are certain the swelling contains pus. The
formation of pus may be encouraged by the constant application of
poultices for hours at a time. The best poultice for the purpose is
made of linseed meal, with sufficient hot water to make a thick paste.
If the glands remain swollen for some time after the attack, rub well
over them an application of the following : Biniodide of mercury, 1
dram ; lard, 1 ounce ; mix well. This may be applied once every day
until the part is blistered.

Sore throat is also a symptom of other diseases, such as influenza,
strangles, purpura hemorrhagica, etc., which diseases may be consulted
under their proper headings.

After a severe attack of inflammation of the larynx the mucous mem-
brane may be left in a thickened condition, or an ulceration of the part
may ensue, either of which are liable to produce a chronic cough. For
the ulceration it is useless to prescribe, because it can neither be diag-
nosed nor topically treated by the non-professional.

If a chronic cough remains after all the other symptoms have disap-
peared, it is advisable to give 1 dram of iodide of potassium dissolved
in a bucketful of drinking water one hour before feeding, three times a
day, for a month if necessary. Also rub in well the preparation of
iodide of mercury (as advised for the swollen glands) about the throat,
from ear to ear, and in the space between the lower jaw bones. The
application may be repeated every third day until the part is blistered.

SPASM OF THE LARYNX.

This has been described by some authorities. The symptoms given
are : Sudden seizure by a violent fit of coughing ; the horse may reel
and fall;, and after a few minutes recover, and be as well as ever. The

101

treatment recommended is : Give a pint of linseed oil and after it has
operated administers drams of bromide of potassium three times a day,
dissolved in the drinking water, or give as a drench in about a half
pint of water, for a week. Then give a dram of powdered nux vomica
(either on the food or skaken with water as a drench) once a day for
a few weeks.

CROUP AND DIPHTHERIA.

Both of these diseases, it is claimed, aflfecfc the horse. But such
cases must be rare, as veterinarians of extended experience have failed
to recognize a single case in their practice. The symptoms are so much
like those of inflammation of the larynx that it would be imjjossible
for the general reader to discriminate between them.

ROARING.

Horses that are affected with a chronic disease that causes a loud
unnatural noise in breathing are called " roarers." This class does not
include those affected with severe sore throat, as in these cases the
breathing is noisy only during the attack of the acute disease.

Eoaring is caused by an obstruction to the free passage of the air in
some part of the respiratory tract. Nasal polypi, thickening of the
membrane, pharyngeal polypi, deformed bones, paralysis of the wing
of the nostril, etc., are occasional causes. The noisy breathing of horses
after having been idle and put to sudden exertion is not due to any dis-
ease, and is only temporary. Very often a nervous, excitable horse will
make a noise for a short time when started off, generally caused by the
cramped position in which the head and neck are forced, in order to hold
him back.

Many other causes may occasion temporary, intermitting or perma-
nent noisy respiration, but after all other causes are enumerated it will
be found that more than nine out of ten cases of chronic roaring are
caused by paralysis of the muscles of the larynx ; and almost invariably
it is the muscles of the left side of the larynx that are affected.

In chronic roaring the noise is made when the air is drawn into the .
lungs; and only when the disease is far advanced is a sound i)roduced
when the air is expelled, and even then it is not near so loud as during
inspiration.

In a normal condition the muscles dilate the aperture of the larynx
by moving outward the cartilage and vocal cord, allowing a sufficient
volume of air to rush through. But when the muscles are paralyzed,
the cartilage and vocal cord that are normally controlled by the af-
fected muscles remain stationary ; therefore when the air rushes in it
meets this obstruction, and the noise is produced. When the air is ex-
pelled from the lungs its very force pushes the cartilage and vocal cords
out, and consequently noise is not always produced in the expiratory
act.

102

The paralysis of the muscles is due to derangement of the nerve that
supplies them with energy. The muscles of both sides are not supplied
by the same nerve; there is a right and a left nerve, each supplying its
respective side. The reason why the muscles on the left side are the
ones usually paralyzed is owing to the difference in the anatomical
arrangement of the nerves. The left nerve is much longer and more
exposed to interference than the right nerve. This pair of nerves is
given off from its parent trunks (the pneumogastrics) after the latter
enter the chest, and consequently they are called the recurrent laryngeal
nerves, on account of having to recur to the laryux.

In chronic roaring there is no evidence of any disease of the larynx,
other than the wasted condition of the muscles in question. The dis-
ease of the nerve is generally located far from the larynx. Disease of
parts contiguous to the nerve along any part of its course may interfere
with its proper function. It is not really necessary for the nerve itself
to be the seat of disease ; pressure upon it is sufScient; the pressure of
a tumor on the nerve is a common cause. Disease of lymphatic glands
within the chest through which the nerve passes on its way back to the
larynx is the most frequent interruption of nervous supply, and conse-
quently roaring. When roaring becomes confirmed medical treatment
is entirely useless, as it is imjiossible to restore the wasted muscle and
at the same time remove the cause of the interruption of the nervous
supply. Before the disease becomes permanent it may be benefited by
a course of iodide of potassium, when it is caused by disease of the
lymphatic glands. Electricity has been used with indifferent success.
Blistering or firing over the larynx is of course not worthy of trial if
the disease is due to interference with the nerve supply. The adminis-
tration of strychnia (nux vomica) on the ground that it is a nerve tonic,
with the view of stimulating the affected muscles, is treating only the
result of the disease without considering the cause, "and is therefore use-
less. The operation of extirpating the collapsed cartilage and vocal cord
is believed to be the only relief, and as this operation is critical and can
only be performed by the skillful veterinarian, it will not be described
here.

From the foregoing description of the disease it Avill be seen that the
name "roaring," by which the disease is generally known, is only a
symptom and not the disease. Chronic roaring is also in many cases
accompanied by a cough. The best way to test whether a horse is a
"roarer" is to either make him pull a load rapidly up a hill or over a
sandy road or soft ground; or if he is a saddle horse gallop him up a
hill. The object is to make him exert himself. Some horses require a
great deal more exertion than others before the characteristic sound is
emitted. The greater the distance he is forced the more he will appear
exhausted if he is a roarer; in bad cases the animal becomes utterly
exhausted, the breathing is rapid and difficult, the nostrils dilate to the
fullest extent, and the animal appears as if suffocation was iuimineut.

103

An animal that is a roarer should not be used for breeding purposes,
no matter bow valuable the stock. The taint is transmissible in many
instances, and tbere is not the least doubt in tbe minds of those who
know best that the offspring whose sire or dam is a roarer is born with
an hereditary predisposition to the affection.

Grunting. — A common test used by veterinarians when examining
"the wind" of a horse is to see if he is a "grunter." This is a sound
emitted during expiration when the animal is suddenly moved, or start-
led, or struck at. If he grunts he is further tested for roaring. Grunters
are not always roarers, but as it is a common thing for a roarer to grunt
such an animal must be looked upon with suspicion until he is thor-
oughly tried by pulling a load or galloped up a hill. The test should
be a severe one. Horses suffering with pleurisy, pleurodynia, or rheu-
matism, and other affections accompanied with much pain, will grunt
when moved, or when the pain is aggravated, but grunting under these
circumstances does not justify the term of "grunter" being applied to
the horse, as the grunting ceases when the animal recovers from tlie
disease that causes the pain.

High blowing. — This term is applied to a noisy breathing made by
some horses. It is distinctly a nasal sound, and must not be con-
founded with "roaring." The sound is produced by the action of the
nostrils. It is a habit and not an unsoundness. Contrary to roaring,
when the animal is put to severe exertion the sound ceases. An animal
that emits this sound is called a " high-blower." Some horses have,
naturally, very narrow nasal openings, and they may emit sounds
louder than usual in their breathing when exercised.

Whistling is only one of the variations of the sound emitted by a
horse called a " roarer," and therefore needs no further notice, except
to remiuel the reader that a whistling sound may be produced during
an attack of severe sore throat or inflammation of the larynx, which
passes away with the disease that causes it.

Tliiclc iBind. — This is another superfluous term applied to a symptom.
The great majority of horses called " thick-winded " belong either in the
class called " roarers," or are affected with " heaves," and therefore no
separate classification is needed. Mares heavy with foal, horses exces-
sively fat, and those that have not been exercised for so long that the
muscular system has become unfit for work 5 horses with large bellies,
and, especially, when the stomach is loaded with coarse, fibrous, or
bulky food, emit a louder sound than natural in their breathing, and
are called "thick-winded." The treatment in such cases is obvious:
" Kemove the cause and the effect will cease." While it must be ad-
mitted that " thickening of the mucous membrane of the finer bronchial
tubes and air cells may cause the breathing called thick-winded," it
must at the same time be admitted that there is no symptom by which
the condition can be distinguished from what will hereafter be described
as " heaves," by the general reader, at least.

104

THE WINDPIPE.

The windpipe, or trachea, as it is technically called, is the flexible
tube that extends from the larynx which it succeeds at the throat
to above the base of the heart in the chest, where it terminates by
dividing into the right and left bronchi, the tubes going to the right
and left lung respectively. The windpipe is composed of about fifty
incomplete rings of cartilage united by ligaments. A muscular layer
is situated on the superior surface of the rings. Internally the tube
is lined with a continuation of the mucous membrane that lines the
entire respiratory tract, which here has very little sensibility in
contrast to that lining the larynx, which is endowed with exquisite
sensitiveness.

The windpipe is not subject to any special disease, but is more or
less affected during laryngitis (sore throat), influenza, bronchitis, etc.,
and requires no special treatment. The membrane may be left in a
thickened condition after these attacks. One or more of the rings
may be accidentally fractured, or the tube may be distorted or mal-
formed, the result of violent injury. After the operation of trache-
otomy it is not uncommon to find a tumor or malformation as a re-
sult or sequel of the operation. In passing over this section atten-
tion is merely called to these defects, as they require no particular
attention in the way of treatment. However, it may be stated that
any one of the before-mentioned conditions may constitute one of the
causes of noisy respiration described as " roaring."

GUTTURAL POUCHES.

These two sacks are not included in the organs of respiration, but
sometimes pus collects in them to an extent that considerably inter-
feres with respiration. They are in close proximity to the pharynx and
larynx, and when filled with matter the functions of the last-named or-
gans can not be properly performed. They are situated above the
throat, and communicate with the pharynx, as well as with the cavity
of the tympanum of the ear. They are peculiar "to solipeds. They
contain air, except when filled with pus. Their function is unknown.

One or both guttural pouches may contain pus. The symptoms are:
Swelling on the side below the ear and an -intermittent discharge of
matter from one or both nostrils, especially when the head is depressed.

The swelling is soft, and, if pressed upon, matter will escape from
the nose if the head is depressed. As before mentioned, these pouches
communicate with the pharynx, and through this small opening matter
may escape. A recovery is probable if the animal is turned out to
graze, or if he is fed from the ground, as the dependent position of the
head favors the escape of matter from the pouches. In addition to
this, give the tonics recommended for nasal gleet. If this treatment
fails an operation must be performed, which should not be attempted
by any one unacquainted with the anatomy of the part.

105

METHODS OF EXAMINATION FOR DISEASES HAVING THEIR SEAT

WITHIN THE CHEST.

To lay down a set of rules for the guidance of the general reader in
discriminating between the different affections of the organs of respira-
tion situated in the thoracic cavity, is a task hard to accomplish. In
the first place, it is presumed that the reader has no knowledge what-
ever of the anatomical arrangement, and probably but a meager idea
of the physiology of the organs, therefore the use of technical language,
which would make the task a simple one, is out of the question. And,
to one who scarcely understands the signs and laws of health, it is dif-
ficult to convey in comprehensive language, in an article like this, an
adequate idea of the great importance attached to signs or symptoms
of disease. Then, again, the methods used for the detection of symp-
toms not visible are such as require special cultivation of the particu-
lar senses brought into play. It will be the endeavor of the writer,
when describing the symptoms of each particular disease, to do so in
such manner that a serious mistake should not be made; but for the
benefit of those who may desire a more thorough understanding of the
subject a brief review of the various methods employed and an ex-
planation of certain sj-mptoms will be given here.

Pulse. — By the pulse is meant the beating of the arteries, which fol-
lows each contraction of the heart. The artery usually selected in the
horse for " taking the pulse" is the submaxillary where it winds around
the lower jaw-bone. On the inner side of the jaw-bone the artery may
b^ readily felt and pressed against the bone, hence its adaptability for
the purpose of detecting each peculiarity. The number of beats in a
minute, the regularity, the irregularity, the strength or feebleness, and
othei peculiarities are principally due to the action of the heart.

In the healthy horse the average number of beats in a minute is
about forty; but in different horses the number may vary from thirty-
five to forty -five and still be consistent w4th health. The breed and
temperament of an animal has much to do with the number of pulsa-
tions. In a thoroughbred the number of beats in a given time is gen-
erally greater than in a coarse-bred horse. The pulse is less frequent
in a dull plethoric animal than in an excitable one. The state of the
pulse should be taken when the animal is quiet and at rest. Work,
exercise, and excitement increase the number of pulsations. If the
pulse of a horse be taken while standing quietly in the stable it will be
found less frequent than when he is at pasture.

It is not within the scope of a work of this kind to give all the pecu-
liarities of the pulse; only a few of the most important will be noticed.
It should, however, be stated that if the reader would learn something
of the pulse in disease he must first become acquainted with the pulse
in health; he must know the natural peculiarities before he can detect
the deviations caused by disease.

106

By 2k frequent pulse is meani an increased number of beats in a given
time. An infrequent imlse means the reverse. A quklc pulse refers to
the time occupied by the individual pulsation. The beat may strike
the finger either quicMy or sloicly. Hence the pulse may beat forty
quick pulsations or forty sloiv pulsations in a minute.

The pulse is called intermUting when the beat now and then is omitted.
The omission of the beat may be at the end of a given number of pulsa-
tions, when it is termed regularly intermittent, or it may be irregularly
intermittent.

A large pulse means that the volume is larger than usual, and a small
pulse means the opposite. When the artery is easily compressed and
conveys the feeling of emptiness it is called a, feeble pulse. When a feel-
ing of hardness and resistance is conveyed to the finger it is termed a
hard pulse. A double pulse is when the be-at seems to give two rapid
beats at once. Besides other peculiarities the pulse may include the
character of two or more of the foregoing classes.

In fever the pulse is modified, both as regards frequency and other
deviations from the normal standard. When a horse is quietly stand-
ing at rest, if the pulse beats fifty-five or more in a minute, fever is
present.

Temperature. — The temperature of the healthy horse ranges from
ab(mt 99^0 to 101 JO F. The average may be placed at about lOOo F.
The temperature is subject to slight alterations by certain influences.
A high surrounding temperature increases the animal temperature, and
cold the reverse. Exercise increases it. Mares have a higher tempera-
ture than males. Drinking cold water lowers the animal temperature.
It is higher in the young than in the old. The process of digestion in-
creases the temperature.

The most accurate method of taking the temperature is by introduc-
ing a registered clinical thermometer into Che rectum. This instrument
can be purchased from any dealer in surgical instruments. Even the
best made may vary somewhat from being exact, but one sufiiciently
true for the purpose is easily obtained. It should be self-registering.
The thermometer should remain in the gut for about three or four
minutes. Before inserting it you should be sure the mercury is below
the minimum temperature. The end containing the mercury should be
pushed in gently, leaving only sufficient outside to take hold of when
you desire to withdraw it.

In describing the symptoms of "cold in the head" the method of avi-
certaining an increase of temperature by placing the finger in the mouth
is referred to. The method requires considerable practice and a deli-
cacy of touch to become expert, but, when a thermometer is not at
hand, a little practice will enable a person of ordinary intelligence to
detect the existence or absence of fever.

Respiration. — In health, standing still, the horse breathes from twelve
to fifteen times a minute j work or excitement increases the number of
respirations.

107

The character of the breathing is changed by disease. Quick breath-
ing refers to an incpeased number of respirations, which may be due to
disease or to simple exercise. Difficult breatlnng is always associated
with something abnormal, and is often a perfect guide to the trouble.
Stertorous breathing must not be confounded with the difiQcult breath-
ing or noisy respiration of sore throat, roaring, etc. By stertorous
breathing is meant what, in the human being, is called snoring, which
is due to a relaxation of the palate and not to disease of the part. In
the horse it is generally associated with brain disease, when the con-
sequent derangement of the nervous fuuctix)ns causes the relaxation of
the soft palate. Abdominal breathing is when the ril>s are kept as
nearly stationary as possible, and the abdominal muscles assist to a
much greater extent than natural in respiration ; the abdomen is seen
to work like a bellows. In pleurisy, owing to the pain caused by mov-
ing the ribs', this kind of breathing is always present. Thoracic breath-
ing is the opposite of abdominal breathing — that is, the ribs rise and
fall more than usual, while the abdominal muscles remain fixed ; this
is due to abdominal pain, such as peritonitis, etc. Irregular breathing
is exemplified in "heaves," and often during the critical stages of acute
diseases.

Secretions. — In the first stages of inflammatory disease these functions
are noticed with benefit. For instance, in the common cold at the be-
ginning of the attack the membrane within the nostrils is dry and con-
gested, which state gradually gives way to a watery discharge, soon
followed by a thick mucus. In pleurisy the surfaces are at first dry,
which can be easily ascertained by placing the ear against the chest
over the aflected part, when the dry surfaces of the pleurae will be heard
ruljbing against each other, producing a sound likened to that of rub-
bing two pieces of paper one against the other. In diseases of the
respiratory organs the bowels are usually constipated, and the urine
becomes less in quantity and of a higher color. The skin is usually hot
and dry, but there are instances when perspiration is profuse. At the
beginning of the attack there is generally a chill (in most instances
unnoticed by the attendant), caused by the contraction of the blood-
vessels in the skin driving the blood internally.

Cough. — This is usually a violent effort to remove some source of ir-
ritation in the respiratory tract. The dry cough is heard during the
first stages of disease of the respiratory organs. In pleurisy the cough
is a dry one. The cough in pleurisy is noticeable on account of the
apparent effort of the animal to suppress it. The moist cough is heard
when the secretions (following a dry stage) are re-established. Cough
is but a symptom — the effect of a disease. Roaring, heaves, pleurisy,
pneumonia, etc., have a cough peculiar to each affection.

Auscnltatio7i. — This term is applied to the method of detecting dis-
eases of the organs within the chest by listening to the sounds.
Generally' the ear is placed directly against the part, but occasionally

108

an instrument called tbe stethoscope is employed. The former is the
best mode for horses. In order to gain any satisfaction or knowledge
by the practice of this method the reader must first become familiar
with the sounds in a healthy horse, which can only be learned by prac-
tice. Much more practice and knowledge are then required to discrimi-
nate properly between abnormal sounds and their significance.

Percussion. — As applied to the practice of medicine this term refers
to the act of striking on some part of the body to determine the condi-
tion of the internal organs by the sound elicited. If a wall of a cavity is
struck the sound is easily distinguished from that emitted when a solid
substance is knocked on. When percussing the chest, the ribs are
struck with the tips of the fingers and thumb held together, or with
the knuckles. An instrument called the pleximeter is sometimes laid
against the part, to strike on. If the surface is soft over the part to be
percussed, the left hand is pressed against it firmly, and the middle fin-
ger of it struck with the ends of the fingers of the right hand to bring
out the sound. This method of examination also requires much prac-
tice on the healthy as well as the unhealthy animal.

BRONCHITIS.

As previously described, the windpipe terminates by dividing into
the right and left bronchi, running to the right and left lung, respect-
ively. After reaching the lungs these tubes divide into innumerable
branches, gradully decreasing in size, which penetrate all parts of the
lungs, ultimately terminating in the air-cells. Tbe bronchial tubes are
formed much the same as the windpipe, consisting of a base of carti-
laginous rings with a layer of fibrous and muscular tissue, and lined in-
ternally with a continuation of the respiratory mucous membrane.

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes. The mucous
membrane alone may be afiected, or the inflammation may involve the
whole tube. Bronchitis aifecting the larger tubes is less serious than
when the smaller are involved. The disease may be either acute or
chronic. The causes are generally much the same as for other diseases
of the respiratory organs, noticed in the beginning of this article. The
special causes are: The inhalation of irritating gases and smoke, and
fluids or solids gaining access to the parts. Bronchitis is occasionally
associated with influenza and other specific fevers. It also supervenes
on common cold or sore throat.

Synqytoms. — The animal appears dull ; the appetite is partially or
wholly lost; the head hangs; the breathing is very much quickened;
the cough, at first dry, and having somewhat the character of a "bark-
ing cough," is succeeded in a few days by a moist rattling cough ; the
mouth is hot; the visible membranes in the nose are red; the pulse is
frequent, and during the first stage is hard and quick, but as the dis-
ease advances becomes smaller and more frequent. After a few days a
whitish discharge from the nostrils ensues ; sometimes this discharge

109

is tinged with blood, and occasionally it may be of a brownish or rusty
color. By auscultation or placing the ear to the sides of the chest un-
natural sounds can now be heard. The air passing over the inflamed
surface causes a hissing or wheezing sound when the small tubes are
affected, and a hoarse, cooing, or snoring sound when the larger tube?
are involved. After one or two days the dry stage of the disease is
succeeded by a moist state of the membrane. The ear now detects a
different sound, caused by the bursting of the bubbles as the air passes
through the fluid, which is the exudate of inflammation and the aug-
mented mucous secretions of the membrane. The mucus may be secreted
in great abundance, which, by blocking up the tubes, may cause a col-
lapse of a large extent of breathing surface. Usuall}^ the mucus is ex-
pectorated, that is, discharged through the nose. The matter is coughed
up, and when it reaches the larynx much of it may be swallowed, or, as
the case may be, discharged from the nostrils. The horse can not spit
like the human being, nor does the matter coughed up gain access to
the mouth. In serious cases all the symptoms become aggravated.
The breathing is labored, short, quick, but not painful. It is both
thoracic and abdominal. The ribs rise and fall much more than nat-
ural. This fact alone is enough to exclude the idea that the animal may
be affected with pleurisy, because, in pleurisj^ the ribs are as nearly
fixed as in the power of the animal to do so, and the breathing accom-
plished to a great extent bj' aid of the abdominal muscles. The horse
persists in standing throughout the attack. He prefers to stand with
head to a door or window to gain all the fresh air possible, but may
occasionally wander listlessly about the stall if not tied. The bowels
most likely are constipated; the dung is covered with slimy mucus.
This appearance of the dung is usually defined by stablemen to be
"cold on the bowels," or "dung covered with cold." The urine is
decreased in quantity and darker in color than usual. The animal
shows more or less thirst; in some cases the mouth is full of saliva.
The discharge from the nose increases in quantity as the disease ad-
vances and inflammation subsides. This is rather a good symptom, as it
shows one stage has passed. The discharge then gradually decreases,
the cough becomes less rasping but of more frequent occurrence until
it gradually disappears with the return of health.

Bronchitis, affecting the smaller tubes, is one of the most fatal
diseases, while that of the larger tubes is never very serious. It must
be stated, however, that it is an exceedingly difficult matter for a non-
expert to discriminate between the two forms, and further,^it may as
well be said here that the non-expert will have difficulty in discrimi-
nating between bronchitis and j)neumonia. Therefore the writer will
endeavor to point out a course of treatment in each disease that will
positively benefit either affection if the reader happens to be mistaken
in his diagnosis. The critic may say that this plan is not a truly scien-
tific method of treating disease. The only reply necessary to be made

110

is that this series of articles is intended to be of practical value to the
borse-ow^uing public, aud is in no manner intended as a text-book for
experts and those already acquainted with the technical literature on
the subject. Scientific terms which would make the work easy for the
author would only tend to make it valueless to the general reader.
Likewise a different prescription for each form and stage of the affec-
tion would only confuse a person who is unable to appreciate the various
phases of the disease.

Treatment.— Oi first importance is to insure a pure atmosphere to
breathe, and next to make the patient's quarters as comfortable as pos-
sible. A well ventilated box-stall serves best for all purposes. Cover
the body with a blanket, light or heavy as the season of the year de-
mands. Hand rub the legs until they are warm, then apply flannel or
Derby bandages from the hoofs to the knees and hocks. If the legs
can not be made warm with hand rubbing alone, apply the liniment
recommended in the treatment of sore throat. Rub in thoroughly and
then put on the bandages. Also, rub the same liniment well over the
side of the chest, behind the elbow and shoulder-blade, covering the
space beginning immediately behind the elbow and shoulder-blade and
running back about 18 inches, and from the elbow below to within 5 or
6 inches of the ridge of the backbone above. Repeat the application
to the side of the chest about 5 days after the first one is applied.

Compel the animal to inhale steam as advised for cold in the head.
In each bucketful of boiling water put a tablespoouful of oil of turpen-
tine. This medicated vapor coming in direct contact with the inflamed
bronchial tubes is of much greater benefit than can be imagined by one
who has not experienced its good effect. In serious cases the steam
should be inhaled every hour, and in any case the oftener it is done the
greater will be the beneficial results. Three times a day administer
the following drench: Solution of the acetate of ammonia, Bounces;
spiiits of nitrous ether, 2 ounces; bicarbonate of potassium, one-half
ounce; water, 1 pint. Care must be used in drenching. If it greatly
excites the horse it is best not to push it. If you see that it does harm
do not persist in making the animal worse. Be satisfied with dissolv-
ing one-half ounce of bicarbonate of potassium in every bucketful
of water the animal will drink. It is well to keep a bucketful of
cold water before the animal all the time. If the horse is prostrated
and has no appetite give the following drench : Spirits of nitrous ether,

2 ounces; rectified spirits, 3 ounces; water, 1 pint. Repeat the dose
every four or five hours if it appears to benefit. When the horse is
hard to drench, and if you have some one about who is expert in ad-
ministering balls, give the following: Pulverized carbonate of ammonia,

3 drams; linseed meal and molasses sufficient to make the whole into
a stiff mass ; wrap it with a small piece of tissue paper and it is ready
to administer. This ball may be repeated ievery four or five hours.
When giving the ball care should be taken to prevent its breaking in

Ill

the mouth, as in case of such accident it will make the mouth sore,
which may prevent the animal from eating. If the bowels are consti-
pated give enemas of warm water.. Do not give purgative medicines.
Do not Weed the animal. Depressing treatment only helps to bring on
a fatal termination.

If the animal retains an appetite a soft diet is preferable, such as
scalded oats, bran mashes, and grass if in season. If he refuses cooked
food allow in small quantities anything he will eat. Hay, corn, oats,
bread, apples, carrots may all be tried in turn. Some horses will drink
sweet milk when they refuse all other kinds of food, and especially is
this the case if the drinking water is withheld for awhile. One or two
gallons at a time, four or five times a day, will support life. Bear in
mind that when tlie disease is established it will run its course, which
may be from two to three weeks, or even longer. Good nursing and
patience are required.

When the symptoms have abated and nothing remains of the disease
except the cough and a white discharge from the nostrils, all other
medicines should be discontinued and a course of tonic treatment pur-
sued. Give the following mixture: Pulverized sulphate of iron, 3
ounces; powdered gentian, 8 ounces; mix well together and divide into
sixteen powders. Give a powder every night and morning mixed with
bran and oats, if the animal will eat it, or shaken with about a pint of
water and administered as a drench.

If the cough remains for a length of time that leads you to think it
will become chronic, say three or four weeks after the horse is appar-
ently well, apply the liniment to the throat and down over the wind-
pipe and over the breast. Rub it in thoroughly once a day until three
or four applications are made. Also give 1 dram of iodide of potassium
dissolved in a bucketful of drinking water, one hour before each meal
for two or three weeks if necessary. Do not put the animal at work too
soon after recovery. Allow ample time to regain strength. This dis-
ease is prone to become chronic and may run into an incurable case of
thick wind.

It has been stated that it will be a difficult matter for the non-pro-
fessional to discriminate between bronchitis and pneumonia. In fact
the two diseases are often associated, constituting broncho-pneumonia;
therefore, the reader should carefully study the symptoms and treat-
ment of pneumonia.

CHRONIC BRONCHITIS.

This may be due to the same causes as acute bronchitis, or it may
follow the latter disease. An attack of the chronic form is liable to be
converted into acute bronchitis by a very slight cause. This chronic
affection in most instances is associated with thickening of the walls of
the tubes. Its course is slower, it is less severe, and is not accom-
panied with as much fever as the acute form. If the animal is exerted

112

the breathing becomes quickened and he soon shows signs of exhaus-
tion. In many instances the animal keeps up strength and appearances
moderately well, but in other cases the appetite is lost, flesh gradually
disappears, and the horse becomes emaciated and debilitated. It is ac-
companied by a cough, which in some cases is a husk^', smothered, or
muffled excuse for a cough, while in other cases the cough is hard and
clear. A whitish matter is discharged from the nose, which may be
curdled in some instances. If the ear is placed against the chest be-
hind the shoulder blade, the rattle of the air passing through themucus
can be heard within. It is stated that the right side of the heart may
become enlarged to such an extent that it is easily felt beating by plac-
ing the hand against the chest behind the right elbow.

Treatment. — Generally the horse is kept at work when he is affected
with this form of bronchial trouble, as the owner says "he has only a
deep cold. " It is true that some authorities express the opinion that
work does no harm, but they are mistaken. Rest is necessary, if a cure
is desired, as even under the most favorable circumstances, a cure is
difficult to effect. The animal can not stand exertion, and should not
be compelled to undergo it. Besides, there is a great probability of
acute bronchitis supervening at any time.

The animal should have much the same general care and medical
treatment prescribed for the acute form ; if material benefit has not
been derived give the following : Powdered nux vomica, 3 ounces ;
powdered arsenic, 70 grains; powdered sulphate of copper, 3 ounces;
mix together and divide into thirty-four powders. Give a i)owder mixed
with bran and oats every nigbt and morning. An application of
mustard ap])lied to the breast is a beneficial adjunct. If all other treat-
ment fails, try the following combination, recommended by a good au-
thority: Hydrocyanic acid (Scheele's strength), 20 minims; nitrate of
potassium, 3 drams ; bicarbonate of soda, 1 ounce ; water, 1 pint. This
dose should be given every morning and evening for one or two weeks,
if necessary.

The diet should be the most nourishing. Bad food is harmful at
any time, but especially in this disease. Avoid bulky food. Linseed
mashes, scalded oats, grass and green-blade fodder, if in season, is the
best diet.

THE LUNGS.

The lungs are the essential organs of respiration. They consist of
two (right and left) spongy masses, commonly called the " lights,"
situated entirely within the thoracic cavity. On account of the space
taken up by the heart, the left lung is the smaller. Externally, they
are completely covered by the pleura. The structure of the lung con-
sists of a light, soft, but very strong and remarkably elastic tissue,
which can only be torn with difficulty. The lung of the foetus
which has never respired will sink if placed in water, but after the

113

iuii<' has been inflated with air it will float on water so long as healthy.
This fact is made useful iu deciding whether or not an animal was born
dead or died after its birth. Each lung is divided into a certain num-
ber of lobes, which are subdivided into numberless lobules (little lobes).
A little bronchial tube terminates in every one of these small lobules.
The little tube then divides into minute branches which open into the
air-cells (pulmonary vesicles) of the lungs. The air-cells are little sacs
having a diameter varying from one-seventieth to one-two-huudredth
of an inch ; they have but one opening, the communication with the
branches of the little bronchial tubes. Small blood-vessels ramify-
in the walls of the air-cells. The walls of the air-cells are extremely
thin and consist of two layers ; the blood-vessels, being between the
layers, thus expose a surface to the air in two different cells. The
air-cells are the consummation of the intricate structures forming the
respiratory apjiaratus. They are of prime importance, all the rest be-
ing complementary. It is within these cells that is accomplished all that
constitutes the ultimate result of the function of respiration. It is here
the exchange of gases takes place. As before stated, the walls of the
cells arc very thin ; so, also, are the walls of the blood-vessels. Through
these walls escapes from the blood the carbonic-acid gas that has been
absorbed by the blood in its circulation through the different parts of
the body ; and through these walls is absorbed by the blood, from the
air iu the air-cells, the oxygen gas which is the life-giving element of
the atmosphere.

Throughout the substance of the lungs the bronchial tubes terminate
in the air-cells. Blood-vessels are in every part ; likewise lymphatic
vessels and nerves, which require no more than mention iu this paper.

To give a rude idea of the arrangement of the respiratory apparatus
as a whole, we may profitably compare it to a tree, for the want of a
better illustration. Say that all the respiratory tract from the nasal
openings back to the pharynx are the roots in the ground ; the larynx
may be compared to the large part of the trunk just above the earth ;
the windpipe will represent the body or the bole of the tree ; the right
and left bronchi may be considered the first two or largest limbs ;
the bronchial tubes are then comparable to all the rest of the limbs,
branches and twigs, gradually becoming smaller and branching out
more frequently, until the smallest twigs terminate by having a leaf
appended; and to complete the comparison we may as well say the
leaf will do to represent the air-cells. Now, imagine all parts in and
around the limbs, branches, twigs, and leaves filled in with some ma-
terial (say cotton or tow) and the whole covered over with silk or satin
to about the beginning of the branches on each of the first two large
limbs. The cotton or tow represents the lung-tissue and the silk or
satin covering will represent the pleura. It must be admitted that this
is rather a rough way to handle such delicate structures, but if the
reader is possessed of a good imagination he may gain, at least, a com-
11035 8

114

"prehension of the subject that will sufiSce for the purpose of being bet-
ter able to lucate the various diseases and appreciate the mechanism of
the respiratory organs in their relations to each other.

CONGESTION OF THE LUNGS.

Inflammation of the lungs is always preceded by congestion, or, to
make it plainer, congestion may be considered as the first stage of in-
flammation. Congestion is essentially an excess of blootl in the vessels
of the parts affected. Congestion of the lungs in the horse, when it
exists as an independent affection, is generally caused by overexertion
when the animal is not in a fit condition to undergo more than moder-
ate exercise.

The methods practiced by the trainers of running and trotting horses
will give an idea of what is termed " putting a horse in condition" to
stand severe exertion. The animal at first gets walking exercises, then
after some time he is made to go faster and farther each day; the
amount of work is daily increased until the horse is said to be " in condi-
tion." An animal so prepared runs no risk of being afiFected with con-
gestion of the lungs if he is otherwise healthy. On the other hand, if
the horse is kept in the stable for the purpose of laying on fat or for
want of something to do, the muscular system becomes soft, and the
horse is not in condition to stand the severe exertion of going fast or
far, no matter how healthy he may be in other respects. If such a
horse be given a hard ride or drive, he may start off in high spirits,
but soon becomes exhausted, and if he is pushed he will slacken his
pace, show a desire to stop, and may stagger or even fall. Examina-
tion will show the nostrils dilated, the flanks heaving, the countenance
haggard, and every other appearance of sufibcation. How was this
brought about! The heart and muscles were not accustomed to the
sudden and severe strain put upon them; the heart became unable to
perform its work; the blood accumulated in the vessels of the lungs,
which eventually became engorged with the stagnated blood, consti-
tuting congestion of the lungs.

The animal, after having undergone severe exertion, may not exhibit
any alarming symptoms until returned to the stable; then he will be
noticed standing with his head down, legs spread out, the eyes wildly
staring or dull and sunken. The breathing is very rapid and almost
gasping, the body is covered with perspiration in most cases, which,
however, may soon evaporate, leaving the surface of the body and the
legs and ears cold; the breathing is both abdominal and thoracic; the
chest rises and falls and the flanks are powerfully brought into action.
If the pulse can be felt at all it will be found beating very frequently,
one hundred or more to a minute. The heart may be felt tumultuously
thumping if the hand is placed against the chest behind the left elbow,
or it may be scarcely perceptible. The animal may tremble all over the
body. If the ear is placed against the side of the chest a loud murmur
will be heard, and perhaps a fine crackling sound.

115

No intelligent person should fail to recognize a case of congestion of
the lungs when brought on by overexertion, as the history oi the case is
sufficient to point out the ailment. The disease may also arise from
want of sufficient pure air in stables that are badly ventilated. In all
cases of suflbcation the lungs are congested. It is also seen in connec-
tion with other diseases.

Treatment.— If the animal is attacked by the disease while on the road
stop him immediately. Do not attempt to return to the stables. If he
is in the stable make arrangements at once to insure an unlimited sup-
ply of pure air. If the weather is warm, out in the open g,ir is the best
place, but if too cold kt him stand with head to the door. By no means
have him walked, as is sometimes done. Let him stand still j he has all
he can do if he obtains sufficient pure air to sustain life. If he is en-
cumbered with harness or saddle remove it at once and begin rub-
bing the body with cloths or wisps of hay or straw. This stimulates
the circulation in the skin, and thus aids in relieving the lungs of the
extra quantity of blood that is stagnated there. If you have three or
four assistants let them go to work with enthusiasm, rub the body and
legs well, until the skin feels natural; rub the legs until they are warm,
if possible; rub in over the cold part of the legs an application of the
liniment recommended for the same purpose in the treatment of bron-
chitis, but do not apply it to the chest. When the circulation is re-es-
tablished, put bandages on the legs from the hoofs up as far as possible.
Throw a blanket over the body and let the rubbing be done under the
blanket. Diffusible stimulants are tHe medicines indicated. Brandy,
whisky (or even ale or beer if nothing else is at hand), ether, and tinct-
ure of arnica are all useful. Two ounces each of spirits of nitrous ether
and alcohol, given as a drench, diluted with a pint of water, every hour
until relief is afforded, is among the best of remedies. But if it takes too
long to obtain this mixture, give a quarter of a pint of whisky in a pint
of water every hour, or the same quantity of brandy as often, or a quart
of ale every hour, or an ounce of tincture of arnica in a pint of water
every hour until five or six doses have been given. If none of these
remedies are at hand, 3 ounces of oil of turpentine, shaken with a half
pint of milk, may be given. This will have a beneficial effect until more
applicable remedies are obtained. A tablespoonful of aqua ammonia
(hartshorn), diluted with a pint of water and given as a drench every
hour, has undoubtedly been of great service in saving life when noth-
ing else could be obtained in time to be used with benefit. If the fore-
going treatment fails to be followed by a marked improvement after
seven or eight hours' perseverance, the animal may be bled from the
jugular vein. Do not take more than 5 or 6 quarts from the vein, and
do not repeat the bleeding. The blood thus drawn will have a tarry
appearance.

When the alarming symptoms have subsided active measures may
be stopped, but care must be used in the general treatment of the ani-

116

mal for several days, for it must be remembered that congestion may
be followed by pneumonia. The animal should have a comfortable
stall, where he will not be subjected to draughts or sudden changes of
temperature ; he should be blanketed and the legs kept bandaged. The
air should be pure, a plentiful supply of fresh cold water always before
him, and a diet composed principally of bran mashes, scalded oats, and
grass, if in season. When ready for use again he should at first receive
moderate exercise only, which may be daily increased until he may
safely be put at regular work.

APOPLEXY OF THE LUNGS.

This is but another term for congestion of the lungs, and for practi-
cal purposes needs no special description, except to remark that when a
hemorrhage occurs during the congested state of the lungs the blood
escapes from the ruptured vessels and extravasates into the lung tissue.
Such cases are called pulmonary apoplexy, and usually occur during
the course of some specific disease.

PNEUMONIA — LUNG FEVER.

Pneumonia may attack both lungs, but as a general rule one lung
only is affected, and in the great majority of cases it is the right lung.
The air-cells are the parts affected principally, but the minute branches
of the bronchial tubes always, to a greater or less extent, are involved
in the inflammation. Inflaoimation of the lungs occurs in three princi-
pal varieties, but in a work of this kind there is no necessity to dis-
crimiuate, and therefore the disease will be described under a common
head. It already has been mentioned that pneumonia may be compli-
cated with bronchitis, and it will hereafter be pointed out that it is very
commonly complicated with pleurisy. In this article the disease will
be considered mainly as an independent affection, and its complications
will be more fully described under separate heads.

The inflammation usually begins in the lower part of the lung and
extends upwards. The first stage of the disease consists of congestion
or engorgement of the blood-vessels, and if this condition continues the
blood exudes from the vessels into the adjacent lung tissue; if rupture
of small blood vessels occurs there will be extravasations of blood in
the contiguous parts. The fluids thus escaping collect in the air-cells
and in the minute branches of the little bronchial tubes, and, becoming
coagulated there, completely block up the cells and exclude the air.
In this condition the lung is increased in volume and is much heavier,
and will sink in water. The pleura covering the affected parts is al-
ways more or less inflamed. A continuance of the foregoing phenom-
ena is marked by a further escape of the constituents of the blood, and
a change in the membrane of the cells, which become swollen. The
exudate that fills the air-cells and minute bronchial branches undergoes
disintegration, and is converted into a fatty material. The walls of the
cells almost invariably remain unaltered.

It must not be imagined that the foregoing changes take place in

117

a uniform manner. While one portion is only congested another part
may be undergoing disintegration, while still another part may be
involved in the exudative stage.

The usual termination of iineumonia is in resolution, that is, a res-
toration to health. This is gradually brought about by the exuded
material contained in the air-cells and lung tissues becoming degen-
erated into fatty and a mucus-like substance which are removed by
absorption. The blood vessels return to their natural state and the
blood circulates iu them as before. Much material, the result of the
inflammatory process, is also gotten rid of by expectoration, or rather
(in the horse) by discharge from the nostrils. In the cases that do
not terminate so happily the lung may become gangrenous (or mor-
tified), or an abscess may form, or the disease may be merged into
the chronic variety.

Pneumonia may be directly induced by any of the influences named
as general causes for diseases of the organs of respiration, but in
many instances it is due to either willful neglect or ignorance. A
common cold or sore throat may run into a fatal case of pneumonia if
neglected or improperly treated. An animal may be debilitated by a
cold, and when iu this weakened state may be compelled to undergo
exertion beyond his strength ; or he may be kept in bad quarters, such
as a badly ventilated stable, where the foul gases are shut in and the
pure air is shut out; or the stable may be so open that i)art8 of the
body are exposed to draughts of cold air. Either of the foregoing
causes may induce congestion of the lungs in an animal predisposed to
it on account of having already a disease of the respiratory organs.
The congestion is soon followed by the other stages of inflammation,
and a case of pneumonia is established with a tendency to a fatal ter-
mination, as it is altogether likely the animal will be so much reduced
iu constitution as to be unable to fight off a collapse. An animal is
predisposed to pneumonia when debilitated by any constitutional dis-
ease, and especially during convalescence if exposed to any of the ex-
citing causes. Foreign bodies, such as food, accidentally getting in
the lungs by way of the windpipe, as well as the inhalation of irritating
gases and smoke, ofttimes produce fatal attacks of inflammation of the
lung and bronchial tubes. Pneumonia is frequently seen in connection
with other diseases, such as influenza, purpura hemorrhagica, strangles,
glanders, etc. An abnormal state of the blood predisposes to it.
Pneumonia and pleurisy are most common during cold, damp weather,
and especially during the prevalence of the cold north and northeast-
erly winds. Wounds puncturing the thoracic cavity may induce it.

Symptoms. — Pneumonia, when a primary disease, is ushered in by a
chill, more or less prolonged, which in most cases is seen neither by the
owner nor the attendant, but is overlooked. The breathing becomes
accelerated, and the animal hangs its head and has a very dull appear-
ance. The mouth is hot and has a sticky feeling to the touch; the heat
conveyed to the finger iu the mouth demonstrates a fever; if the ther-

118

moraeter is placed in the rectnm the temperature will be found to have
risen to 103° F., or higher. The i)ulse is very frequent, beating from
seventy or eighty to one hundred or more a minute; the character of
the pulse varies very much; it may be hard or feeble, large or small,
intermitting, etc. There is usually a dry cough from the beginning,
which, however, changes in character as the disease advances; for in-
stance it may become moist, or if pleurisy sets in the cough will be
peculiar to the latter affection, that is, cut short in the endeavor to sup-
press it. In some cases the discharge from the nostrils is tinged with
blood, while in other cases it has the appearance of matter. The ap-
petite is lost to a greater or less extent, but the desire for water is
increased, particularly during the onset of the fever. The membrane
within the nostrils is red and at first dry, but sooner or later becomes
moist. The legs are cold. The bowels are more or less constipated,
and what dung is passed is usually covered with a slimy mucus. The
uriue is passed in smaller quantities than usual and is of a darker color.

The animal prefers to have the head where the freshest air can be
obtained. When affected with pnenmonia a horse does not lie down,
but persists in standing from the beginning of the attack. However,
if pneumonia is complicated with pleurisy the horse may appear restless
and lie down for a few moments to gain relief from the pleuritic pains,
but he soon rises. In pneumonia the breathing is very rapid, and some-
times even the most negligent observer will notice that it is difficult, but
when the pneumonia is complicated with pleurisy the ribs are kept as
still as possible and the breathing is abdominal, that is, the abdominal
muscles are now made to do as much of the work as they can perform.
Remember if pleurisy is not present there is no pain. To the ordinary
observer the animal may not appear dangerously ill, as he does not show
the seriousness of the ailment by violence, as in colic, but a careful ob-
server will discover at a glance that the trouble is something more
serious than a cold.

If the reader has practiced auscultation and percussion sufficiently to
discriminate the sounds, or absence of sounds, of the diseased lung from
the sounds of the normal lung, he may still further satisfy himself in
diagnosing the ailment. When the lung is healthy, if the chest is
knocked on, a more or less resonant sound is emitted, according to the
part struck ; but when the air cells are filled with the exudate of in-
tlamraation, and the surrounding lung tissue contains the exudate and
extravasated blood, the air is excluded, and the part of the lung thus
affected is solidified ; now, if the chest is struck over this solidified part,
a dull sound is obtained. Therefore, percussion not only shows that
the lung is affected with pneumonia, but it points to the spot affected.
Moreover, if pleurisy exists in conjunction with pneumonia, and the
walls of the chest are knocked on with a view of gaining information
from the sounds elicited, when that part immediately over the affected
pleura is struck, the animal flinches, as the blowsj even if they are but
moderate, cause severe pain.

119

By auscultation, listening to the sounds within the cbest, we gain
much ittformation. When the ear is placed against the chest of a
healthy horse the resjjiratory murmur is heard more or less distinctly,
according to the part of the chest that is beneath the ear. In the very
first stag-e of pneumonia this murmur is louder au'd hoarser; and, also,
there is heard a fine crackling sound something similar to that produced
when salt is thrown in a fire. After the affected part becomes solid
there is an absence of sound over that particular part. After absorp-
tian begins, you will again hear sounds, which gradually change until
the natural sound is heard announcing the return of health.

When a fatal termination is approaching all the symptoms become in-
tensified. The breathing becomes still more rapid and difficult; the
flanks heave; the poor animal stares wildly about as if imploring aid to
drive off the terrible feeling of suffocation ; the body is bathed with the
sweat of death; he staggers, but quickly recovers his balance ; he may
now, for the first time during the attack, lie down ; he does so, how.
ever, in the hope of relief, which he fails to find, and with difficulty
straggles to his feet; he pants; he heaves ; the nostrils flap; he stag-
gers and sways from side to side and backwards and forwards, but still
tries to retain the standing position, even by propping himself against
the stall. Ic is no use, as tifter a fearful and agonizing fight for breath,
he goes down ; still instinct with the desire to live he makes a few in-
effectual efforts to breathe, which only result in a horrible wheezing,,
gasping noise ; the limbs stretch out and become rigid, and — he rises no
more. A bystander breaks the silence with the remark, " He died
hard." Such is the usual death scene when caused by pneumonia. It
amounts to a veritable struggle against suflbcation. Death ensues usu-
ally in from teu to twenty days after the beginning of the attack. On
the other hand when the disease is terminating favorably the signs are
obvious. When the fever abates the animal gradually improves in
appetite; he takes more notice of things around him; his spirits im-
prove ; he has a general appearance of returning health, and he lies
down and rests easy. In the great majority of cases pneumonia, if
properly treated, is by no means a fatal disease.

Treatment. — The general outline of the treatment is much the same
as advised for bronchitis. The comfort and surroundings of the patient
must be attended to first. The quarters should be the best that can be
provided. Pure air is essential. Avoid placing the animal in a stall
where he may be exposed to draughts of cold air and sudden changes
of temperature. Some authorities state that such exposure is not
harmful after pneumonia has set in, but nevertheless the reader is ad-
vised to iiursue the conservative course and not to experiment. When
making the stable comfortably warm do not prevent the access of pure
air. It is much better for the animal if the air is cold and pure than if
it is warm and foul. It is better to make the animal comfortable with
warm clothing than to make the stable warm by shutting off the ven-
tilation. The animal should have an unlimited supply of fresh cold

120

drinking water from the start. I^lanket the body. Eub the legs until
they are warm and then put bandages on them from the hoofs up as
far as they are cold. If warmth can not be re-established in the legs
by hand-rubbing alone, apply the liniment as recommended in the treat-
ment of bronchitis.

The bandages should be removed once or twice every day, the legs
well rubbed, and the bandages re-applied. Hub well over the affected
side an application of the liniment mentioned in the treatment of sore
throat. The application may be repeated in four or five days. Do not
use mustard ; no doubt about its acting, and acting quickly, too, but
experience teaches that it is not so good as something less irritating
and more prolonged in its beneficial effects. Much harm is often done
by clipping off hair and rubbing in powerful escharotic blistering com-
pounds. They do positive injury and retard recovery, and should not
be allowed. Much benefit may be derived from hot applications to the
sides of the chest if the facilities are at hand to app]3" them. If the
weather be not too cold, and if the animal is in a comfortable stable, the
following method may be tried : Have a tub of hot water handy to the
stable door ; soak a woolen blanket in the water, then quickly wring as
much water as possible out of it and wrap it around the chest. See
that it fits closely to the skin ; do not allow it to sag down so that air
may get between it and the skin. Now wrap a dry blanket over the
wet hot one. The hot blanket should be renewed every half hour, and
while it is off being wetted and wrung, the dry one should remain over
the wet part of the chest to prevent reaction. The hot applications
should be kept up for three or four hours, and when stopped, the skin
should be quickly rubbed as dry as possible, an application of liniment
rabbed over the wet part, and a dry blanket snugly fitted over the
animal ; and especial care should be taken to cover with it the wet part
of the skin. If the hot applications appear to benefit, they may be
tried on three or four consecutive days. Unless every facility and cir-
cumstance favors the application of heat in the foregoing manner do
not attempt it. If the weather is very cold, or any of the details are
omitted, more harm than good may result. In the majority of cases,
warm clothing to the body, bandages to the legs, and the liniment ap-
plied to legs and chest will suffice.

It is iiossible that cases occur that may be slightly benefited by bleed-
ing, but the non-expert is certainly unable to discriminate in such in-
stances, and therefore blood-letting should never be practiced. Indeed,
many veterinary practitioners of great experience wholly condemn the
practice of bleeding in pneumonia, as positively hurtful. When pneu-
monia follows another disease the system is always more or less debili-
tated, and requires the careful use of stinuilants from the beginning;
to still further weaken the animal by tapping him (if the expression
may be used), and letting escape in a stream the very source of his
remaining strength, is one of the most effectual methods of retarding
recovery, even if it does not hasten a fatal termination.

121

Another and oftentimes a fatal mistake made by the non-professional
is the indiscriminate and reckless use of aconite. This drug is one of
the most active poisons, and should not be handled by any one who
does not thoroughly understand its action and uses. It is only less
active than j^russic acid in its poisonous effects. It is a common opinion,
often expressed by non- professionals, that aconite is a stimulant; noth-
ing could be more erroneous. In fact, it is just Ihe reverse; it is one
of the most powerful sedatives used in the practice of medicine. In
fatal doses it kills by paralyzing the very muscles used in breathing; it
weakens the action of the heart, and should not be used in any but
strong or sthenic types of inflammation, and then only by the expert.
After an extensive experience in the treatment of pneumonia in various
sections, from the cold northern regions of Canada to the temperate
climate of Virginia and North Carolina, the writer has discarded aconite
entirely from the list of medicines he uses in the treatment of this affec-
tion. Do not give purgative medicines. If constipation exists, over-
come it by an allowance of laxative diet, such as scalded oats, bran and
linseed mashes, and grass if in season.

A careful observer will notice that the dung passed by the animal is
coated with mucus ; this is an indication that (he bowels are in an irri-
table condition ; in fact they are affected to a small extent by the dis-
ease. Now, if a purgative dose is administered the irritable state is
aggravated ; they become inordinately active and a diarrhea or super-
purgation is established that proves a most difficult matter to check.
It must be remembered that the animal is already weakened by an ex-
haustive disease, and the "running oi3f at the bowels" not only still
further weakens the animal, but may cause the bowels to become in-
flamed, and thus insure a fatal termination. It is a common practice
among non-professionals to give aloes and oil to a horse with pneu-
monia, and, considering this fact, it is no wonder that it proves such a
fatal disease in their hands. If the costiveness is not relieved by the
laxative diet, give an enema of about a quart of warm water three or
four times a day.

A diet consisting principally of bran mashes, scalded oats, grass or
blade fodder, when in season, is preferable if the animal retains an
appetite ; but if no desire is evinced for food of this particular descrip-
tion, then the animal must be allowed to eat anything that will be
taken spontaneously. Hay tea, made by pouring boiling water over
good hay in a large bucket, and allowing it to stand until cool, then
straining off the liquid, will sometimes create a desire for food. The
animal may be allowed to drink as much of it as he desires. Corn on
the cob is often eaten when everything else is refused. Bread may be
tried, also apples or carrots. If the animal can be persuaded to drink
milk it may be supported by it for days. Three or four gallons of sweet
milk may be given during the day, in which may be stirred three or
four fresh eggs to each gallon of milk. Some horses will drink milk,
while others will refuse to touch it. It should be borne in mind that

122

all food must be taken by the liorse as lie desires it. No food should
be forced down him. If the animal will not eat, you will only have to
wait until a desire is shown for food. All kinds may be offered, first
one thing and then another, but food should not be allowed to remain
long in trough or manger ; the very fact of it constantly being before
him will cause him to loathe it. When the animal has no appetite for
anything, the stomach is not in a proper state to digest food, and if it
is poured or drenched into him it will only cause indigestion and aggra-
vate the case. It is a good practice to do nothing when there is noth-
ing to be done that will benefit. This refers to medicine as well as
food. Nothing is well done that is over done. The following drench
should be administered every six hours : Solution of the acetate of
ammonia, 3 ounces ; spirits of nitrous ether, 1 ounce ; bicarbonate of
potassium, 3 drams ; water, 1 pint. Care should be used in drenching;
no recklessness such as filling the mouth with medicines, then holding
the hand tightly over the nostrils and pounding on the throat and
wiudi)ipe, kicking the horse in the belly or ribs, or other like conduct,
should be practiced. If the animal coughs or attempts to cough while
the head is up, let the head down immediately. Better to lose the
medicine than to cause it to get into the lungs.

There are many valuable medicines used for the different stages and
different types of pneumonia, but in the opinion of the writer it is use-
less to refer to them here, as this work is intended for the use of those
who are not sufficiently acquainted with the disease to recognize its
various types and stages; therefore they would only confuse. If you
can administer a ball or capsule, or have any one at hand who is capable
of doing it, a dram of sulphate of quinine in a capsule, or made into a
ball, with sufficient linseed meal and molasses, given every three hours
during the height of the fever, will do good in many cases. The ball of
carbonate of ammonia, as advised in the treatment of bronchitis, may
be tried if the animal is hard to drench.

If the horse becomes very much debilitated, stimulants of a more pro-
nounced character are required. The following drench is useful : liectl-
fied spirits, 3 ounces; spirits of nitrous ether, 2 ounces; water, 1 pint.
This may be repeated every four or five hours if it seems to benefit. Or
6 ounces of good whisky, diluted with a pint of water, may be given as
often, instead of the foregoing.

There are cases where sedatives are undoubtedly beneficial, but a
knowledge both of disease and medicine is required to discriminate in
such cases; therefore the only rational course to pursue in a work of
this kind is to map out a line of treatment that will do good in all cases
and harm in none, and at the same time be within the understanding of
those who have not made a special study of disease.

During the period of convalescence good nutritive food should be al-
lowed in a moderate quantity. Tonic medicines should be substituted
for those used during the fever. The same medicines advised for the

123

convalescing period of bronchitis are equally efficient in this case.
Likewise, the same general instructions apply here.

Death may occur during the first stage of the disease, owing to the
severity of the fever, or it may occur during the period when the lungs
are solidified by the exudate of the inflammation filling up the air cells
and bronchial tubes, or it may take place later, when the exudate fails
to liquify and undergo absorption, and is then due t© suppuration, the
formation of an abscess, or gangrene or mortification. As a matter of
course pneumonia is most often fatal when both lungs are involved in
the inflammation.

In concluding, it may be well to remind you that if pneumonia is
properly treated the great majority of cases will terminate in a complete
restoration to health. In all cases much will depend on the good judg-
ment of the person directing the treatment of the case. If it is seen
that any one thing is doing harm, then that particular thing should be
omitted. For instance, if drenching the animal is attended with harm,
that is, if it unnecessarily excites him, or if he obstinately refuses to
swallow the medicine, then do not further annoy him by persistently
trying to do what you are able to see only makes matters worse. Omit
the drenching, aud dissolve 3 drams of bicarbonate of potassium in every
bucketful of water he will drink of his own free will. Give the quinine
in capsules or balls, and also the carbonate of ammonia balls. A ball-
ing iron (or mouth speculum) may be obtained from any veterinary in-
strument dealer. A little practice with it will enable you to become
somewhat expert in giving medicines in the latter form. Do not give
quinine and ammonia together; let at least an hour intervene between
the administration of the two different medicines.

PLEURISY.

The thoracic cavity is divided into two lateral compartments, each
containing one lung, besides other organs. Each lung has its separate
pleural membrane or covering. The anatomical arrangement of the
Ijleura is simple to the anatomist, but a detailed description of it would
be beyond the comprehension of the average reader. Suffice it to say
that the pleura is the thin, glistening membrane that covers the lung,
and also completely covers the internal walls of the chest. It is very
thin, and to the ordinary observer appears to be part of the lung, which,
in fact, it is for all practical purposes. The smooth, shiny surface of
the lung, as well as the smooth, shiny surface so familiar on the rib, is
the pleura. In health this surface is always moist. A fluid (called
serum) is thrown off (secreted) by the pleura, which causes the surface
to be constantly moist. This is to prevent the effects of friction between
the lungs and the walls of the chest and other contiguous parts which
come in contact. It must be remembered the lungs are constantly di-
lating each time a breath is taken in, and contracting each time a
breath of air is expelled. It may be readily seen that if it were not for
the moistened state of the surface of the pleura the continual dilation

124

and contraction and the consequent riiboing of the parts against each
other would cause a serious friction. This, then, is the office of the
l^leura— to secrete or moisten its surface with a fluid to prevent the ill
effects of friction.

Inflammation of this membrane is called pleurisy. Being so closely-
united with the lung, it can not always escape participation in the dis-
ease when the latter is inflamed. Pleurisy may be due to the same
predisposing and exciting causes as mentioned in the beginning of this
work as general causes for diseases of the organs of respiration, such
as exposure to sudden changes of temperature, couflnement in damp
stables, etc. It may be caused by wounds that penetrate the chest, for
it must be remembered that such wounds must necessarily pierce the
pleura. A fractured rib may involve the pleura. The inflammation
following such wounds may be circumscribed, that is, coufiued to a
small area surrounding the wound, or it may spread from the wound
and involve a large portion of the pleura. The pleura may be involved
secondarily when the heart or its meuibrane is the primary seat of the
disease. It may occur in conjunction with bronchitis, influenza, and
other diseases. It is commonly seen in connection with rheumatism.
Diseased growths that interfere with the pleura may induce pleurisy,
but it is most frequently met with in connection with pneumonia, for
the reason given heretofore. Pleurisy will be described here as an
independent afi'ection, although it should be remembered that it is very
often associated with the foregoing diseases.

When the animal is affected with pleurisy an ordinary observer should
have no difficulty in detecting the disease, provided the diagnostic
symptoms are studied beforehand. The very first stage is a congested
state of the blood vessels in the parts affected; the surface of the mem-
brane becomes dry and roughened (this fact will be again referred to
when the symptoms are described). This dry condition is followed, after
a certain period, by an effusion of fluid, that is, more fluid than usual is
thrown off" by the membrane when in a diseased condition. This fluid
accumulates in the space between the lungs and the walls of the chest,
constituting hydro-thorax, or dropsy of the chest. This fluid may
undergo certain changes; in it float coagulated masses called fibrin.
The surface of the lung may adhere to the internal surface of the ribs.
The quantity of exuded fluid varies to a great extent. In some cases
the chest contains an enormous amount, and when it is not absorbed
pus may be generated to a greater or less extent.

Symptoms. — When the disease exists as an independent affection it is
ushered in by a chill, but this is usually overlooked. About the first
thing noticed is the disinclination of the animal to move or turn round.
When made to do so he grunts or groans with pain. He stands stiff;
the ribs are fixed, that is, the ribs move very little in the act of breath-
ing, but the abdomen works more than natural; both the fore feet and
elbows may be turned out; during the onset of the attack the animal
may be restless, and act as if he had a slight colic; he may even lie

125

down, but does not remain long down, for when he finds no relief he soou
gets uj). After eflusiou begins these signs of restlessness disappear.
If the observer looks for it, a furrow will be found running along the
lower part of the chest from behind the elbow back to the flank ; this is
due to the endeavor of the animal to keep the ribs fixed in as near as
possible an immovable position. Every movement of the chest causes
excruciating paiu, therefore the cough is peculiar; it is short and sup-
pressed, and comes as near being no cough as the animal can make it
in his desire to suppress it. The breathing is hurried, the mouth is hot,
the temperature being elevated from 102"^ or 103° to 105° F. The usual
symptoms that accompany fever are present, such as costiveness, scanty,
dark-colored urine, etc. The pulse is frequent, i:)erhai)s seventy or more
a minute, and is hard and wiry. The legs and ears are cold.

Percussion is of valuable service in this affection. The ribs may be
struck with the knuckles. By striking different parts you will come to
a spot of greater or less extent where the blows cause much pain to be
evinced. The animal may grunt or groan every time it is struck.
Another method of detecting the affected part is to press the fingers
between the ribs, each space in succession, beginning behind the elbow,
until you arrive at a place where the pressure causes more flinching
than at any other part. Auscultation is also useful. In the first
stage, when the surfaces are dry and rough, if the ear is placed against
different, parts of the chest you will eventually come to the affected
part, which will be readily manifested by a friction sound very much
like that produced by rubbing two pieces of coarse paper together.
The sound appears immediately under the ear, and is distinct. No such
friction sound occurs when the membrane is healthy, as the natural
moisture, heretofore mentioned, prevents the friction. In many cases
this friction is so pronounced that it may be felt by placing the hand
over the affected part. When the dry stage is succeeded by the exu-
dation of fluid, this friction sound disappears. After the effusion into
the cavity takes place there sometimes is heard a tinkling or metallic
sound, due to dropping of the exudate from above into the collected
fluid in the bottom of the cavity, as the collected fluid more or less
separates the lung from the chest walls.

Within two or three days the urgent symptoms are abated, owing to
the exudation of the fluid and the subsidence of the paiu. The fluid
may now undergo absorption, and the case terminate favorably within
a week or ten days.

If the quantity of the effusion is large, its own volume retaras the '
process of absorption to a great extent, and consequently convales-
cence is delayed. In some cases the symptoms manifest a serious state.
The pulse becomes more frequent, the breathing more hurried and
labored, the flanks work like bellows, the nostrils flap, the eyes stare
wildly, the countenance expresses much anxiety, and general signs of
dissolution are plain. After a time swellings appear under the chest
and abdomen and down the legs. These swellings are due to trans-

126

fusion of the fluid from within the chest into the surrounding tissues.
The accumulation iu the chest is called hydro-thorax or dropsy of the
chest. When this fluid coutaius pus the case usually proves fatal. The
condition of pus within the cavity is called empyiema.

Pleurisy may affect only a small area of one side, or it may alfect
both sides. It is oftener confined to the right side.

Treatment. — This varies very little from the treatment of bronchitis
and pneumonia, but as frequently stated heretofore, pleurisy is so lia-
ble to be complicated with either of the diseases named, the variation
iu the treatment may be considered as merely adjunct treatment of the
pleuritic complication.

The instructions in regard to the general management of bronchitis
and pneumonia must be adhered to in the treatment of pleurisy. Com-
fortable quarters, pure air, warm clothing to the body and bandages to
the legs, a plentiful supply of pure cold water, the laxative food, etc.,
in this case are equally necessary and efficacious. The hot applica-
tions applied to the chest as directed in the teeatment of pneumonia
are very beneficial in pleuri-sy, and should be kept up while the symp-
toms show the animal to be in pain.

During the first few days, wh«u pain is mamfes,ted by restlessness,
do not apply the liniment to the sides of the chest, as it will not only
irritate the animal and increase the restlessness but will heighten the
fever as well. After four or fiTe days, when the symptoms show that
the acute stage has somewhat subsided, the liniment may be well
rubbed over the affected part with benefit, as it will greatly promote
the absorption of the effusion. The application may be repeated on al-
ternate days until several applications have been made. From the be-
giuning the following drench should be given every six hours : Solu-
tion of the acetate of ammonia, 3 ounces ; spirits of nitrous ether, 1
ounce; bicarbonate of potassium, 3 drams; water, 1 pint.

If the patient becomes debilitated the stimulants as prescribed ibr
pneumonia should be used according to the same directions. The same
attention should be given to the diet. If the animal will partake of
the bran mashes, scalded oats, and grass, it is the best, but if he re-
fuses the laxative diet then he should be tried with different kinds of
food, and allowed whichever kind he desires.

In the beginning of the attack, if the pain is severe, causing the ani-
mal to lie down or paw, the following drench should be given: Tinct-
ure of opium, 2 ounces; raw linseed oil, 12 ounces. If the pain con-
tinues, the tincture of opium may be repeated within four or five hours.

If the case is not i^rogressing favorably in ten or twelve days after
the beginning of the attack, convalescence is delayed by the fluid iu the
chest failiug to be absorbed. The animal becomes dull and weak, and
evinces little or no desire for food. The breathing becomes still more
rapid and difiicult. An effort must now be made to excite the absorp-
tion of the effusion. An application of the liniment should be rubbed
over the lower part of both sides and the bottom of the chest. The

127

following drench should be given three times a day, for seven or eight
days if it is necessary and appears to benefit: Tincture of the per-
chloride of iron, 1 ounce; tincture of gentian, 2 ounces; water, 1 pint.
Also give 1 dram of iodide of potassium dissolved in the drinking-water
an hour before feeding, every night and morning for a week or two.

Hydro-thorax is sometimes difficult to overcome by means of the use
of medicines alone, when an operation called paracentesis tlioracis is
performed. In plain language this means tapping the chest to allow an
escape for the accumulated fluid. The operation is performed with
a combined instrument called the trocar and canula. The punctnre is
made in the lower part of the chest, in the space between the eighth
and ninth ribs. Wounding of the intercostal artery is avoided by in-
serting the instrument as near as possible to the anterior edge of the
rib. If the operation is of benefit it is only so when performed before
the strength is lowered beyond recovery. The operation merely re-
ceives a passing notice here, as it is not presumed that the non-profes-
sional will attempt it, although it is attended with little danger or diffi-
culty in the hands of the expert.

We have described bronchitis, pneumonia, and pleurisy mainly as
they occur as independent diseases, and have treated them in a way
that an intelligent person can not possibly do harm. While it is true
much more might have been said in regard to the different stages and
types of the affections, and also in regard to the treatment of each stage
and each particular type, the plan adopted is considered the wisest on
account of simplifying as much as possible a subject of which the reader
is supposed to know very little, if anything.

A few words will now be devoted to these affections as they occur,
when two or more exist at the same time and in the same animal.

PLEURO-PNEUMONIA.

The disease is so called when the animal is affected with pleurisy and
pneumonia combined, which is most frequently the case. At the be-
ginning of the attack only one of the affections may be present, but the
other soon follows. It has already been stated that the pleura is closely
adherent to the lung. The pleura on this account is frequently more or
less affected by the spreading of the inflammation from the lung tissue.
There is a combination of the symptoms of both diseases, but to the or-
dinary observer the symptoms of pleurisy are the most obvious. The
course of treatment to be pursued differs in no manner from that given
for the affections when they occur independently. The symptoms will
be your guide as to the advisability of giving oil and laudanum for the
pain if the pleurisy is very severe. Do not resort to it unless it is nec-
essary to allay the pain.

BRONCHO-PLEURO-PNEUMONIA.

This is the term or terms applied when bronchitis, pleurisy, and pneu-
monia all exist at once. This is by no means a common occurrence.

128

However, it is impossible for one who is not an expert to diagnose the
state with certainty. The apparent sj^mptoms are the same as when
the animal is aifected with pleuro pneumonia.

BRONCHO-PNEUMONIA.

This is also a common complication. Either one or the other may be
first in operation. When bronchitis affects the smaller bronchial tubes
the inflammation readily extends to the air-cells and thence to the lung
tissue, constituting pneumonia. Or the bronchial tube may be second-
arily involved by the extension of the inflammation from the air-cells.
Nothing in regard to the treatment of this condition requires to be said
here, as it has been fully described when speaking of bronchitis and
pneumonia as separate diseases. A brief review of some of the unfa-
vorable results of pleurisy and pneumonia will not be out of place here;

SUPPURATION AND ABSCESS IN THE LUNG.

There are instances, and especially when the surroundings of the pa-
tient have been bad, when the inflammation terminates in an abscess
in the lung. Sometimes, when the inflammation has been extreme,
suppuration in a large portion of the lung takes place. Impure air, the
result of improper ventilation, is the most frequent cause of this termi-
nation. The symptoms of suppuration in the lung are an exceedingly
offensive smell of the breath, and the discharge of the matter from the
nostrils.

MORTIFICATION.

Gangrene or mortification means a death of the part affected. Oc-
casionallj', owing to the intensity of the inflammation or bad treatment,
pneumonia and pleuro-pneumonia terminate in mortification, which is
soon followed by the death of the animal.

ABSCESS IN THE SPACES BETWEEN THE RIBS.

Abscess of the intercostal spaces has been recorded as a result of
pleurisy. Following the attack of i)leurisy an enlargement appears on
some part of the chest, which may burst of its own accord. When it
makes its appearance it is advisable to apply poultices of linseed meal
and hot water, or bathe it continuously for hours at a time with water
as hot as can be comfortably borne. This treatment will hasten the
formation of matter. When it is soft in the center it should be lanced
and the matter allowed to escape. The course of tonic treatment and
nutritive food advised in the treatment of pleurisy should be kept up.

HEMOPTYSIS — BLEEDING FROM THE LUNGS.

Bleeding from the lungs may occur during the course of congestion
of the lungs, bronchitis, j^neumonia, influenza, purpura hemorrhagica,
or glanders. An accident or exertion may cause a rupture of a vessel.
Plethora predisposes to it. Following the rupture of a Vessel the blood
may escape into the lung tissue and cause a serious attack of pneu-
monia^ or it maj fill up the bronchial tubes and prove fatal by sufifocat-

129

ing the auimal. When the hemorrhage is from the lungs it is accom-
panied by coughing ; the blood is frothy and comes from both nostrils.
Whereas when the bleeding is merely from a rupture of a vessel in
some part of the head (heretofore described as bleeding from the nose)
the blood is most likely to issue from one nostril only, and the discharge
is not accompanied by coughing. The ear may be placed against the
windpipe along its course, and if the blood is from the lungs a gurg-
ling or rattling sound will be heard. When it occurs in connection with
another disease it seldom requires special treatment. When caused by
accident or overexertion the animal should be kept quiet. If the cougli
is frequent or paroxysmal a dose composed of 2 ounces of tincture of
opium in 8 ounces of raw linseed oil may be given to allay the irrita-
bility, which may stop the hemorrhage by checking the cough. If the
hemorrhage is profuse and continues for several hours 1 dram of the
acetate of lead dissolved in a pint of water may be given as a drench,
or 1 ounce of the tincture of the perchloride of iron, diluted with a
pint of water, may be given instead of the lead. It is rare that the
hemorrhage is so profuse as to require internal remedies. But hem-
orrhage into the lung may occur and cause death by suffocation without
the least manifestation of it by the discharge of blood from the nose.

CONSUMPTION.

Pulmonary consumption, " the same as phthisis or consumption in
man," has been described by European authors as affecting the horse. It
is mentioned here merely to give the writer an opportunity to say that
he never saw a case of it, and never conversed with a veterinarian on
the subject who has met with a case in the horse. This fact does not
prove that the horse is exempt from the disease, but it at least proves
that it must be rare indeed.

DROPSY OF THE LUNG.

This condition has been noticed as a result of heart disease, and as it
is said, almost invariably to terminate fatally, no further notice of it
is necessary here.

HEAVES — BROKEN WIND— ASTHMA.

Much confusion exists in the popular mind in regard to the nature of
broken wind. Many horsemen apply the term to all ailments where
the breathing is difncult or noisy. Scientific veterinarians are well ac-
quainted with the phenomena and locality of the affection, but there is
a great diversity of opinion as regards the exact cause. Asthma is
generally thought to be due to spasm of the small circular muscles that
surround the bronchial tubes. The continued existence of this affec-
tion of the muscles leads to a paralysis of them, and is considered one
of the primary stages of broken wind.

Some eminent veterinarians maintain that the exciting cause of broken
wind is due to a lesion of the pneumogastric nerve. That there is good
foundation for this opinion there can be no doubt. The pneumogastric
11035 9

130

nerves send branches to tlie bronchial tubes, lungs, heart, stomach, etc.
All the orgaus just mentioned may sooner or later become involved in
connection with broken wind. It may be said that broken wind is always
associated with disorder of the function of digestion. It is claimed that
coarse or indigestible food irritates the branches of the pneumogastric
nerves which supply the walls of the stomach, and this irritation is re-
flected or extended to the branches of the same nerve which supply
the lungs, when the lesions constituting broken wind follow.

In itself broken wind is not a fatal disease, but death is generally
caused by an affection closely connected with it. After death, if the
organs are examined, the lesions found depend much upon the length
of time broken wind has affected the animal. In recent cases very few
changes are noticeable, but in animals that have been broken-winded
for a long time the changes are well marked. The lungs are paler than
natural, and of much less weight in proportion to the volume, as evi-
denced by floating them in water. The walls of the small bronchial
tubes and the membrane of the larger tubes are thickened. The right
side of the heart is enlarged and its cavities dilated. The stomach is
enlarged and its walls stretched. And in many old cases the intestinal
walls undergo the same changes. The important change found in the
lungs is a condition technically called pulmonary emphysema. This
is of two varieties: First, what is termed vesicular emphysema, which
consists of an enlargement of the capacity of the air-cells (air vesicles)
by dilation of their walls ; the walls after a time degenerate, and finally
give way, and thus form a communication with other air-cells. The
second form is called interlobular emphysema, and follows the first.
In this variety the air finds its way into the lung tissue between the
air-cells, or, as its name indicates, in the tissue between the small
lobules.

Symjifoms. — Almost every experienced horseman is able to detect
"heaves." The peculiar movement of the flanks and abdomen point
out the ailment at once. But in recent eases the affected animal does
not always exhibit the characteristic breathing unless exerted to a cer-
tain extent. The cough which accompanies this disease is peculiar to
it. It is difdcult to describe, but the sound is short, and something like
a grunt.

When air is inspired, that is, taken in, it appears to be done in the
same manner as in health; it may possibly be done a little quicker than
natural, but not enough to attract any notice. It is when the act of
expiration (or expelling the air from the lungs) is performed that the
great change in the breathing is perceptible. It must now be remem-
bered that the lungs have lost much of their power of contracting on
account of the degeneration of the walls of the air-cells, and also on
account of the paralysis of muscular tissue before mentioned. The air
passes into them freely, but the power to expel it is lost to a great
extent by the lungs: therefore the abdominal muscles are brought into
play. These muscles, especially in the region of the flank, are seen to

131

contract, then pause for a moment, then complete the act of contracting,
thus making a double bellows-like movement at each expiration, a sort
of jerky motion with every breath. When the animal is exerted a
wheezing noise accomiianies the breathing. This noise may be heard
to a less extent when the animal is at rest if the ear be applied to the
chest.

As before remarked, indigestion is always present in these cases.
The animal has a depraved appetite, as shown by a desire to eat dirt
and soiled bedding, which he often devours in preference to the clean
food in the trough or manger. The stomach is liable to be overloaded
with indigestible food. The abdomen may assume that form called
"pot-bellied." The animal frequently passes wind, which is of a very
offensive odor. Attacks of colic may occur, which in some cases are
fatal. When first put to work dung is passed frequently ; the bowels
are often loose. The animal can not stand much work, as the muscular
system is soft. Eound chested horses are said to be predisposed to the
disease, and it is certain that in cases of long standing the chest usually
becomes rounder than natural.

Certain "smart" individuals become very expert in managing a horse
affected with " heaves" in suppressing the symptoms for a short time.
They take advantage of the fact that the breathing is much easier when
the stomach and intestines are empty. They also resort to the use of
medicines that have a depressing effect. When the veterinarian is ex-
amining a horse for soundness, and he suspects that the animal has
been " fixed," he usually gives the horse as much water as he will drink
and then has him ridden or driven rapidly up a hill or on a heavy road.
This will bring out the characteristic breathing of " heaves." All
broken- winded horses have the cough peculia,r to the affection, but it is
not regular. A considerable time may elapse before it is heard and
then it may come on in i)aroxysms, especially when first brought out of
the stable into the cold air, or when excited by work, or after a drink of
cold water. The cough is usually the first symptom of the disease.

Treatment. — When the disease is established there is no cure for it.
Proper attention paid to the diet will relieve the distressing symptoms
to a certain extent, but they will undoubtedly reappear in their inten-
sity the first time the animal overloads the stomach or is allowed food
of bad quality. Putting aside all theories in regard to the primary
cause of the affection, it is generally admitted that it is closely allied to
derangement of the digestive organs, most j)articularly the stomach.
This being the fact, it is but reasonable to infer that if the animal is
allowed nothing but food of the best quality the predisposition to
"heaves" is lessened. Clover hay and bulky food generally, which, as
a rule, contains but little nutriment, have much to do with the cause of
the disease, and therefore should be entirely omitted when the animal
is affected, as well as before. A high authority asserts that the disease
is unknown where clover hay is never used. The diet should be con-
fined to food of the best quality and in the tsmallest quantity. The had

132

effect of moldy or dusty liay, fodder, or food of any kind can not bo
overestimated. A small quantity of the best bay once a day is suffi-
cient. The animal should invariably be watered before feeding; never
directly after a meal. It is a good plan to slightly dampen the food to
allay the dust. The animal should not be worked immediately after a
meal. Exertion, when the stomach Is full, invariably aggravates the
symptoms. Turning on pasture gives relief. Carrots, potatoes, or
turnips chopped and mixed with oats or corn are a good diet.

Many different medicines have been tried, but not one lias yet been
discovered that gives even partial satisfaction in the treatment of
broken wind. Arsenic, however, is about the only remedy that retains
any reputation of being efficacious in palliating the symptoms. It is
best administered in the form of the solution of arsenic in hydrochloric
acid (Liq. Acidi. Ars.), which should be obtained from the drug store,
as it is then of a standard preparation. Each ounce of the solution con-
tains a little over 4^ grains of arsenic. A tablespoonful mixed with
bran and oats three times a day for about two weeks, then about twice
a day for about two weeks longer, then once a day for several weeks, is
a good way to give this remedy. If the bowels do not act regularly, a
pint of raw linseed oil may be given once or twice a month. It must,
however, be borne in mind that all medical treatment is of secondary
consideration; careful attention paid to the diet is of greatest impor-
tance. Broken-winded animals should not bo used for breeding pur-
poses. A predisposition to the disease is likely to be inherited.

CHRONIC COUGH.

A chronic cough may succeed the acute diseases of the respiratory
organs, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, laryngitis, etc. It accompanies
chronic roaring, chronic bronchitis, broken wind. It may succeed in-
fluenza. As previously stated, cough is but a symptom and not a dis-
ease in itself. Chronic cough is occasionally associated with diseases
other than those of the organs of respiration. It may be a symptom of
chronic indigestion or of worms. In such cases it is caused by a reflex
nervous irritation. The proper treatment in all cases of chronic cough
is to ascertain the nature of the disease of which it is a symptom, and
then cure the disease if possible, and the cough will cease.

The treatment of the affections will be found under their appropriate
heads, to which the reader is referred.

PLEURODYNIA.

This is a form of rheumatism that affects the intercostal muscles,
that is, the muscles between the ribs. The apparent symptoms are very
similar to those of pleurisy. The animal is stiff and not inclined to
turn around ; the ribs are kept in a fixed state as much as possible. If
the head is pulled round suddenly, or the affected side struck with the
hand, or if the spaces between the ribs are pressed with the fingers the
animal will flinch and perhaps emit a grunt or groan expressive of

133

much pain. It is distingaished from pleurisy by the absence of fever,
cough, the friction-sound, the effusiou into the chest, aud by the exist-
ence of rheumatism in other parts. The treatment for this affection is
the same as for rheumatism affecting other parts.

WOUNDS PENETRATING THE WALLS OF THE CHEST.

According to the theory of some teachers of physiology, when an
opening is made in the wall of the chest, suflicient for the admission of
air, a collapse of the lung should occur. But in practice this is not al-
ways found to bo the case! The writer has attended several such cases,
and one in particular was not seen until about twelve hours after the
wound was inflicted. It is true the breathing was considerably altered,
but no bad effect followed the admission of air into the thoracic cav-
ity. The wound was closed and treated according to the method of
treating wounds generally, and a speedy and perfect recovery was made.
The wound may not i)enetrate the i)leura ; in such cases no great harm
is done, but if the pleura is penetrated pleurisy may follow, and even
pneumonia if the wound involves the lung.

The condition called pneumo-thorax means air in the chest. This
may be due to a wound in the wall of the chest, or it may be due to a
broken rib, the sharp edge of which wounds the lung sufficiently to allow
air to escape into the space between the lung and ribs, which is natu-
rally a vacuum. Air gaining access to the thoracic cavity through
a wound may have a peculiar effect. The wound may be so made that
when the walls of the chest are dilating a little air is sucked in, but
during the contraction of the wall the contained air presses against the
torn part in such a manner as to entirely close the wound ; thus a small
quantity of air gams access with each inspiration, while none is allowed
to escape until the lung is pressed into a very small compass and forced
into the anterior part of the chest. The same thing may occur from a
broken rib inflicting a wound in the lung. In this form the air gains
access from the lung, and there may not even bo an opening in the
walls of the chest. Decomposition of the fluid in hydro-thorax, with
consequent generation of gases, is said to have caused the same con-
dition. In such cases the air is generally absorbed, and a siiontaneous
cure is the result. But when the symptoms are urgent it is recom-
mended that the air be removed by a trocar and canula or by an
aspirator.

The treatment of wounds that penetrate the thoracic cavity should,
for the foregoing reason, be prompt. It should be quickly ascertained
whether or not a foreign body remains in the wound, then it should be
thoroughly cleaned with a solution of carbolic acid one part in water
forty parts. The wound should then be closed immediately. If it is an
incised wound it should be closed with sutures ; if torn or lacerated, a
bandage around the chest over the dressing is the best plan. At all
events, air must be prevented from getting into the chest, as soon and
as effectually as possible. The after treatment of the wound should

134

principally coTisist in keeping the parts clean with the solution of car-
bolic acid, and applying fresh dressing as often as required to keep the
wound in a healthy condition. Care should be takeu that the discharges
from the wound have an outlet in the most dependent part. (See
wounds.) If the wound causes much pain it should be allayed with a
dose of tincture of opium in raw linseed oil, as advised in the treat-
ment of pleurisy. If pleurisy supervenes, it should be treated as ad-
vised under that head.

THUMPS — SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM.

" Thumps " is generally thought to be, by the inexperienced, a pal-
pitation of the heart. While it is true that palpitation of the heart is
sometimes called ''thumps," it must not be confounded with the affec-
tion under consideration.

In the beginning of this article on the diseases of the organs of res-
piration the diaphragm was briefly referred to as the principal and es-
sential muscle of respiration. Spasmodic or irregular contractions of
it in man are manifested by what is familiarly known as hiccoughs.
Thumps in the horse is identical with hiccoughs in man, although the
peculiar noise is not made in the throat of the horse in all cases.

There should be no difficulty in distinguishing this affection from pal-
pitation of the heart. The jerky motion affects the whole body, and is
not confined to the region of the heart. If one hand is placed on the
body at about the middle of the last rib, while the other hand is placed
over the heart behind the left elbow it will be easily demonstrated that
there is no connection between the thumping or jerking of the dia-
phragm and the beating of the heart. If the ear is placed against the
body it will be discovered that the sound is made posterior to the region
of the heart. In fact, when the animal is affected with spasms of the
diaphragm the beating of the heart is usually much weaker and less
preceptible than natural. Thumps is produced by the same causes
which produce congestion of the lungs, and is often seen in connection
with the latter disease. If not relieved, death usually results from con-
gestion of the lungs, as the breathing is interfered with by the inordi-
nate action of this the principal muscle of inspiration so much that
proper aeration of the blood can not take place. The treatment should
be precisely the same as prescribed for congestion of the lungs.

RUPTURE OF THE DIAPHRAGM.

Post mortem examinations reveal a great many instances of rupture
of the diaphragm. It is the general opinion among veterinarians that
this takes place after death, and is due to the generation of gases in
the decomposing carcass, which distend the intestines so that the dia-
phragm is ruptured by the great pressure against it. Of course it is
possible for it to happen before death and by strangulating the knuckle
of intestine that may be in therui)ture cause death; but there are no
symptoms by which it may be diagnosed.

X

0

o

DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS.

By Dr. JAMES LAW, F. R. C. V. S.,
Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., in Cornell University.

CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE TESTICLES — ORCHITIS.

In the prime of life, in vigorous health, and on stimulating food stall-
ions are subject to congestion of the testicles, which become swollen,
hot, and tender, but without any active inflammation. A reduction of
the grain in the feed, the administration of 1 or 2 ounces of Glauber
salts daily in the food, and the bathing of the affected organs daily
with tepid water or alum water will usually restore them to a healthy
condition.

When the factors producing congestion are extraordinarily potent,
when there has been frequent copulation and heavy grain feeding,
when the weather is warm and the animal has had little exercise, and
when the j^roximity of other horses or mares excite the generative in-
stinct without gratification, this congestion may grow to actual inflam-
mation. Among the other causes of orchitis are blows and penetrating
wounds implicating the testicles, abrasions of the scrotum by a chain
or rope passing inside the thigh, contusions and frictions on the gland
under rapid paces or heavy draught, compression of the blood-vessels of
the spermatic cord by the inguinal ring under the same circumstances,
and finally, sympathetic disturbance in cases of disease of the kidneys,
bladder, or urethra. Stimulants of the generative functions, like rue,
savin, tansy, cantharides, and damiana may also be accessory causes of
congestion and inflammation. Finally, certain specific diseases like
mal du Go'it, glanders, and tuberculosis, localized in the testicles, will
cause inflammation. Apart from actual wounds of the parts the symp-
toms of orchitis are swelling, heat, and tenderness of the testicles,
straddling with the hind legs alike in standing and walking, stiffness
and dragging of the hind limbs or of the limb on the affected side,
arching of the loins, abdominal pain, manifested by glancing back at
the flank, with more or less fever, elevated body temperature, acceler.
ated pulse and breathing, inappetence, and dullness. In bad cases the
scanty urine may be reddish and the swelling may extend to the skin
and envelopes of the testicle, which may become thickened and doughy,
pitting on pressure. The swelling may be so much greater in the con-

135

136

voluted excretory duct along the upper border of the testicle as to sug-
gest the presence of a second stone. Even in the more violent attacks
the intense suffering abates somewhat on the second or third day. If
it lasts longer it is likely to give rise to the formation of matter (ab-
scess). In exceptional cases the testicle is struck with gangrene or
death. Improvement may go on slowly to complete recovery, or the
malady may subside into a subacute and chronic form with induration.
Matter (abscess) may be recognized by the presence of a soft spot,
where pressure with two fingers will detect fluctuation from one to
the other. When there is liquid exudation into the scrotum, or sack,
fluctuation may also be felt, but the liquid can be made out to be
around the testicle and can be pressed up into the abdomen through
the inguinal canal. When abscess occurs in the cord the matter may
escape into the scrotal sack and cavity of the abdomen and pyemia

may follow.

Treatment consists in perfect rest and quietude, the administration of
a purgative (1 pound to 1^ pounds Glauber's salts), and the local appli-
cation of an astringent lotion (acetate of lead 2 drams, extract of bella-
donna 2 drams, and water 1 quart) upon soft rags or cotton wool, kept
in contact with the part by a suspensory bandage. This bandage, of
great value for support, may be made nearly triangular and tied to a
girth around the loins and to the upper part of the same surcingle by
two bands carried backward and upward between the thighs. In severe
cases' scarifications one-fourth inch deep serve to relieve vascular ten-
sion. When abscess is threatened its formation may be favored by
warm fomentations or poultices, and on the occurrence of fluctuation
the knife may be employed to give free escape to the pus. The result-
ing cavity may be injected daily with a weak carbolic acid lotion, or
satol may be introduced. The same agents may be used on a gland
threatened with gangrene, but its prompt removal by castration is to
be preferred, antiseptics being applied freely to the resulting cavity.

SAECOCELE.

This is an enlarged and indurated condition of the gland resulting
from chronic inflammation, though it is often associated with a specific
deposit like glanders. In this condition the natural structure of the
gland has given place to embryonal tissue (small, round cells, with a
few fibrous bundles), and its restoration to health is very improbable.
Apart from active inflammation, it may increase very slowly. The dis-
eased testicle is enlarged, firm, non-elastic, and comparatively insensi-
ble. The skin of the scrotum is tense, and it may be oederaatous (pit-
ting on pressure), as are the deeper envelopes and spermatic cord. If
liquid is present in the sack the symptoms are masked somewhat.
As it increases it causes awkward, straddling, dragging movement of
the hind limbs, or lameness on the affected side. The spermatic cord
often increases at the same time with the testicle, and the inguinal

137

ring being thereby stretched and enlarged, a portion of intestine may
escape into the sack, complicating the disease with hernia.

The only rational and effective treatment is castration, and even this
may not succeed when the disease is speciiic (glanders, tuberculosis).

HYDROCELE — DROPSY OF THE SCROTUM.

This may be merely an accompaniment of dropsj^ of the abdomen, the
cavity of which is continuous with that of the scrotum in horses. It
may be the result, however, of local disease in the testicle, spermatic
cord, or walls of the sack.

The symptoms are enlargement of the scrotum, and fluctuation under
the fingers, the testicle being recognized as floating in water. By press-
ure the liquid is forced, in a slow stream, and with a perceptible thrill,
into the abdomen. Sometimes the cord, or the scrotum, are thickened
and pit on pressure.

Treatment may be the same as for ascites, yet when the effusion has
resulted from inflammation of the testicle or cord, astringent applications
(chalk and vinegar) may be applied to these. Then if the liquid is not
re absorbed under diuretics and tonics, it may be drawn off through the
nozzle of a hypodermic syringe, which has been first passed through
carbolic acid. In geldings it is best to dissect out the sacks.

VARICOCELE.

This is an enlargement of the venous network of the spermatic cord,
and gives rise to general thickening of the cord from the Testicle up to
the ring. The same astringent dressings may be tried as in hydrocele,
and this failing castration may be resorted to.

ABNORMAL NUMBER OF TESTICLES.

Sometimes one or both testicles are wanting 5 in most such cases,
however, they are merely partially developed, and retained in the in-
guinal canal, or the abdomen (cryptorchid). In rare cases there may
be a third testicle, the animal becoming to this extent a double monster.
Teeth, hair, and other indications of a second foetus have likewise been
found in the testicle, or scrotum.

DEGENERATION OF THE TESTICLES.

The testicles may become the seat of fibrous, calcareous, fatty, carti-
laginous, or cystic degeneration, for all of which the appropriate treat-
ment is castration. They also become the seat of cancer, glanders, or
tuberculosis, and castration is requisite, though with less hope of ar-
resting the disease. Finally they may become infested with cystic
tape-Tvorms, or the armed round worm (solcrostomum cquinumj.

138

WARTS ON THE PENIS.

These are best removed by seizing them between the thumb and fore-
finger and twisting them off. Or they may be cut off Avith scissors and
the roots cauterized with nitrate of silver,

DEGENERATION OF PENIS — PAPILLOMA, EPITHELIOMA.

The penis of the horse is subject to great cauliflower-lilie growths on
its free end, which extend back into the substance of the organ, obstruct
the passage of urine, and cause very fetid discharges. The only resort
is to cut them off, together with whatever portion of the penis has be-
come diseased and indurated. The operation, which should be per-
formed by a veterinary surgeon, consists in cutting through the organ
from its upper to its lower aspect, twisting or t3ing the two dorsal
arteries and leaving the urethra longer by half an inch to 1 inch than
the adjacent structures.

EXTRAVASATION OF BLOOD IN THE PENIS.

As the result of kicks, blows, or of forcible striking of the yard on
the tliighs of the mare which it has failed to enter, the penis may be-
come the seat of effusion of blood from one or more ruptured blood-
vessels. This gives rise to a more or less extensive swelling on one or
more sides, followed by some heat and inflammation, and on recovery a
serious curving of the organ. The treatment in the early stages may
be the application of lotions, of alum, or other astringents, to limit the
amount of effusion and favor absorption. The penis should be sus-
pended in a sling.

PARALYSIS OF THE PENIS.

This results from blows and other injuries, and also in some cases
from too frequent and exhausting service. Tiie yard hangs from the
sheath, flaccid, pendulous, and often cold. The i^assage of urine occurs
with lessened force, and especially without the final jets. In cases of
local injury the inflammation should first be subdued by astringent and
emollient lotions, and in all cases the syst^ should be invigorated by
nourishing diet, while 30-grain doses of nux vomica are given twice a
day. Finally, a weak current of electricity sent through the penis from
just beneath the anus to the free portion of the yard, continued for ten
or fifteen minutes and repeated daily, may prove successfal.

SELF-ABUSE — MASTURBATION.

Some stallions acquire this vicious habit, stimulating the sexual in-
stinct to the discharge of semen, by rubbing the penis against the belly
or between the fore limbs. The only remedy is a mechanical one, the
fixing of a net under the penis in such fashion as will prevent the ex-
tension of the penis, or so jyvick the organ as to compel the animal to
desist through pain.

139

MAL DU COIT — DOUEINE.

This is propagated, like syphilis, by the act of copulation and affects
stallions and mares. It has been long known in Northern Africa, Arabia,
and Continental Europe. It was imported into Illinois in 1882 in a
Percheron horse.

From one to ten days after copulation, or in stallions it may be after
some weeks, there is irritation, swelling, and a livid redness of the ex-
ternal organs of generation, sometimes followed by the eruption of small
blisters one-fifth of au inch across, on the penis, the vulva, clitoris, and
vagina, and the subsequent rupture of these vesicles and the forma-
tion of ulcers or small open sores. Vesicles have not been noticed in
this disease in the dry climate of Illinois. In the mare there is frequent
contraction of the vulva, urination, and the discharge of a watery and
later a thick viscid liquid of a whitish, yellowish, or reddish color, which
collects on and soils the tail. The swelling of the vulva increases and
decreases alternately, affecting one part more than another and giving
a distorted appearance to the opening. The affection of the skin leads
to the appearance of circular white spots, vrhich may remain distinct or
coalesce into extensive patches which persist for months. This with
the soiled tail, red, swollen, puckered, and distorted vulva, and an in-
creasing weakness and paralysis of the hind limbs, serve to characterize
the affection. The mare rarely breeds, but will take the male and thus
propagate the disease. The disease "winds up with great emaciation
and stupidity, and death in four months to two years. In horses which
serve few mares there may be only swelling of the sheath for a year,
but -with frequent copulation the progress is more rapid. The penis
maybe enlarged, shrunken, or distorted; the testicles are unusually
pendant and may be enlarged or wasted and flabby; the skin, as in the
mare, shows white spots and patches. Later the penis becomes par-
tially paralyzed and hangs out of the sheath ; swelling of the adjacent
lymphatic glands (in the groin) and even of distant ones, and of the
skin, appear, and the hind limbs become weak and unsteady. luisome
instances the glands under the jaw swell, and a discharge flows from
the nose as in glanders. In other cases the itching of the skin leads to
gnawing and extensive sores. Weakness, emaciation, and stupidity
increase until death, in fatal cases, yet the sexual desire does not seem
to fail. A stallion without sense to eat except when food was put in
his mouth, would still neigh and seek to follow mares. In mild cases
an apparent recovery may ensue, and through such animals the disease
is propagated to new localities to be roused into activity and extension
under the stimulus of service. The diseased nerve centers are the seat
of cryptogamic growths. (Thannhoffer).

Treatment of the malady has proved eminently unsatisfactory It be-
longs to the purely contagious diseases, and should be stamped out by
the remorseless slaughter or castration of every horse or mare that has
had sexual congress with a diseased animal. A urovisiau for Govern-

140

ment indemr-ity for the animals so destroyed or castrated, and a severe
penalty for putting any such animal to breeding, would serve as effectual
accessory resorts.

CASTRATION OF STALLIONS.

This is usually done at one year old, but may be accomplished at a
few weeks old, at the expense of an imperfect development of the fore
parts. The simplicity and safety of the operation are greatest in the
young. The delay till two, three, or four years old will secure a better
development and carriage of the fore parts. The essential part of
castration is the safe removal or destruction of the testicle and the
arrest or prevention of bleeding from the spermatic artery found in
the anterior part of the cord. Into the many methods of accomplish-
ing this, limited space forbids us to enter here, so that the method most
commonly adopted, castration by clamps, will alone be noticed. The
animal having been thrown on his left side, and the right hind foot
drawn up on the shoulder, the exposed scrotum, penis, and sheath are
washed with soap and water, any concretion of sebum being carefully
removed from the bilocular cavity in the end of the penis. The left
spermatic cord, just above the testicle, is now seized in the left hand,
so as to render the skin tense over the stone, and the right hand, armed
with the knife, makes an incision from before backward, about three-
fourths of an inch from and parallel to the median line between the
thighs, deep enough to expose the testicle and long enough to allow
that organ to start out through the skin. At the moment of making
this incision the left hand must grasp the cord very firmly, otherwise
the sudden retraction of the testicle by the cremaster muscle may draw
it out of the hand and upwards through the canal and even into the
abdomen. In a few seconds, when the struggle and retraction have
ceased, the knife is inserted through the cord, between its anterior and
posterior portions and the latter, the one which the muscle retracts, is
cut completely through. The testicle will now hang limp and there is
no longer any tendency to retraction. It should be pulled down until
it will no longer hang loose below the wound and the clamps applied
around the still attached portion of the cord, close up to the skin. The
clamps, which may be made of any tough wood, are grooved along the
center of the surfaces opposed to each other, thereby fulfilling two im-
portant indications, (a) enabling the clamps to hold more securely and
(b) providing for the application of an antiseptic to the cord. For this
purpose a dram of sulphate of copper may be mixed with an ounce of
lard and pressed into the groove in the face of each clamp. In apply-
ing the clamp over the cord it should be drawn so close with pincers as
to press out all blood from the compressed cord and destroy its vitality,
and the cord applied upon the compressing clamps should be so hard-
twined that it will not stretch Later and slacken the hold. When the
clamp has been fixed the testicle is cut off one-half to 1 inch below it,

141

and the clamp may be left tbus for twenty-four hours ; then, by cutting
the cord around one end of the clamp, the latter may be opened and the
stump liberated, without any danger of bleeding. Should the stump
hang out of the wound it should be pushed inside with the finger and
left there. The wound should begin to discharge white matter on the
second day in hot weather, or the third in cold, and from that time a
good recovery may be expected.

CONDITIONS FAVORABLE TO SUCCESSFUL CASTRATION.

The young horse suffers less from castration than the old, and very
rarely perishes. Good health in the subject is all important. Castra-
tion should never be attempted during the prevalence of strangles, in-
fluenza, catarrhal fever, contagious pleurisy, bronchitis, pneumonia,
purpura haemorrhagica, or other specific disease, nor on subjects that
have been kept in close, illy ventilated, filthy buildings, where the
system is liable to have been charged with putrid bacteria or other
products. AVarm weather is to be preferred to cold, but the fly time
should be avoided or the flies kept at a distance by the application of
a watery solution of tar, carbolic aciil, or camphor to the wound.

CASTRATION OF CRYPTORCHTDS (RIDGLINGS).

This is the removal of a testicle or testicles that have failed to de-
scend into the scrotum, but have been detained in the inguinal canal
or inside the abdomen. The mauipulatiooi requires an accurate an-
atomical knowledge of the parts, and special skill, experience, and
manual dexterity, and can not be made clear to the unprofessional mind
in a short notice. It consists, however, in the discovery and removal
of the missing gland by exploring through the natural channel (the
inguinal canal), or, in case it is absent, through the inguinal ring or
through an artificial opening made in front and above that channel be-
tween the abdominal muscles and the strong fascia on the inner side
of the thigh (Poupart's ligament). Whatever method is used, the skin,
hands, and instruments should be rendered aseptic with a solution of
raurcuric chloride 1 part; water 2,000 parts (a carbolic acid lotion
for the instruments), and the spermatic cord is best torn through by the
ecraseur. In many such cases, too, it is desirable to sew up the external
wound and keep the animal still, to favor healing of the wound by
adhesion.

PAIN AFTER CASTRATION.

Some horses are pained and very restless for some hours after castra-
tion, and this may extend to cramps of the bowels and violent colic.
This is best kept in check by carefully rubbing the i^atient dry when he
rises from the operation, and then leading him in hand for some time.
If the i^ain still persists a dose of laudanum (1 ounce for an adult) may
be given.

142

BLEEDING AFTER CASTRATION.

Bleeding from the wouud iu the scrotum and from the little artery
in the posterior portion of the spermatic cord always occurs, and in
warm weather may appear to be quite free. It scarcely ever lasts,
however, over fifteen minutes, and is easily checked by dashing cold
water against the part.

Bleeding from the spermatic artery in the anterior part of the cord
may be dangerous wheu due precaution has not been taken to prevent
it. In such case the stump of the cord should be sought for and the
artery twisted with artery forceps or tied with a silk thread. If the
stump can not be found, pledgets of tow wet with tincture of muriate
of iron may be stuffed into the canal to favor the formation of clot and
the closure of the artery.

STRANGULATED SPERMATIC CORD.

If in castration the cord is left too long, so as to hang out of the
wound, the skin wound in contracting grasps and strangles it, pre-
venting the free return of blood and causing a steadily advancing
swelling. In addition the cord becomes adherent to the lips of the
wound in the skin, whence it derives an increased supply of blood,
and is thereby stimulated to more rapid swelling. The subject walks
stiffly, with straddling gait, loses appetite, and has a rapid pulse and
high fever. Examination of the wound discloses the partial closure of
the skin wound, and the protrusion from its lips of the end of the cord,
red, tense, and varying in size from a hazel-nut upward. If there is
no material swelling and little protrusion the wound may be enlarged
with the knife and the end of the cord broken loose from any connec-
tion with the skin, and pushed up inside. If the swelling is larger the
mass constitutes a tumor, and must be removed. (See below.)

SWELLING OF THE SHEATH, PENIS, AND ABDOMEN.

This occurs in certain unhealthy states of the system, in unhealthy
seasons, as the" result of operating without cleansing the sheath and
penis, or of keeping the subject in a filthy, impure building, as the
result of infecting the wound by hands or instruments bearing septic
bacteria, or as the result of i)remature closure of the w^ound, and im-
prisonment of matter.

Pure air and cleanliness of groin and wound are to be secured.
Antiseptics, like the mercuric chloride lotion (1 part to 2,000) are to be
applied to the i)arts; the wound, if closed, is to be opened anew, any
accumulated matter or blood washed out, and the antiseptic liquid
freely applied. The most tense or dependent parts of the swelling in
sheath or penis, or beneath the belly, should be pricked at intervals
of 3 or 4 inches, and to a depth of half an inch, and antiseptics freely
used to the surface. Fomentations with warm water may also be used

143

to favor oozing from the iucisions and to encourage tlie formation of
white matter iu the original wounds, which must not be allowed to close
again at once. A free, cream-like discharge implies a healthy action in
the sore, and is the precursor of recovery.

PHYMOSIS AND PARAPHYMOSIS.

In cases of swelling, as above, the penis may be imprisoned within
the sheath (phymosis) or protruded and swollen so that it can not be
retracted into it (paraphymosis). In these cases the treatment indi-
cated above, and especially the scarifications, will prove a useful pre-
liminary resort. The use of astringent lotions is always desirable, and
in case of the protruded penis the application of an elastic or simple
linen bandage, so as to press out the blood and accumulated fluid, will
enable the operator to return it.

TUMORS ON THE SPERMATIC CORD.

These are due to rough handling or dragging upon the cord in castra-
tion, to strangulation of unduly long cords in the external wound, to
adhesion of the end of the cord to the skin, to inflammation of the cord
succeeding exposure to cold or wet, or to the presence of septic or
irritant matters. These tumors give rise to a stiff, straddling gait, and
may be felt as hard masses in the groin connected above with the cord.
They may continue to grow slowly for many years until they reach a
weight of 15 or 20 pounds, and contract adhesions to all surrounding
parts. If disconnected from the skin and inguinal canal they may be
removed in the same manner as the testicle, while if larger and firmly
adherent to the skin and surrounding parts generally they must be care-
fully dissected from the parts, the arteries being tied as they are reached
and the cord finally torn through with an ecraseur. When the cord
has become swollen and indurated up into the abdomen such removal is
impossible, though a partial destruction of the mass may still be at-
tempted by passing white hot pointed irons upward toward the inguinal
ring in the center of the thickened and indurated cord.

CASTRATION BY THE COVERED OPERATION.

This is only required in case of hernia or protrusion of bowels or
omentum into the sack of the scrotum, and consists in the return of
the hernia and the application of the caustic clamps over the cord and
inner walls of the inguinal canal, so that the walls of the latter become
adherent above the clamps, the canal is obliterated, and further pro-
trusion is hindered. For the full description of this and of the opera-
tion for hernia in geldings, see article on hernia.

CASTRATION OP THE MARE.

Castration is a much more dangerous operation in the mare than in the
females of other domesticated quadrupeds, and should never be resorted

144

to except in animals that become nnraanngeable on the recurrence of
heat, and that will not breed or that are utterly unsuited to breeding.
Formerly the operation was extensivelj' practiced in Europe, the incision
being made through the flank, and a large proportion of the subjects
perishing. By operating through the \agina the risk can be largely
obviated, as the danger of unhealthy inflammation in the wound is
greatly lessened. The animal should be fixed in a trevis, with each foot
fixed to a post and a sling placed under the body, or, better, it may be
thrown and put under chloroform. The manual operation demands
special professional knowledge and skill, but it consists essentially in
making an opening through thereof of the vagina just above the neck
of the womb, then following with the hand each horn of the womb
until the ovary on that side is reached and grasped between the lips of
forceps and twisted off. It might be torn off by an ecraseur especially
constructed for the purpose. The straining that follows the operation
may be checked by ounce doses of laudanum, and any risk of protru-
sion of the bowels may be obviated by applying the truss advised to
l^reveut eversiou of the womb. To further prevent the i^ressure of
the abdominal contents against the vaginal wound the mare should
be tied short and high for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, after which
I have found it best to remove the truss and allow the privilege of
lying down. Another important i^oint is to give bran mashes and
other laxative diet only, and in moderate quantity, for a fortnight, and
to unload the rectum by copious injections of w^arm water in case it
should threaten to become impacted.

STERILITY.

sterility may be in the male or in the female. If due to the stallion,
then all the mares put to him remain barren; if due to the mare, she
alone fails to conceive.

In the stallion sterility may be due to the following causes : {a) Im-
perfect development of the testicles, as in cases in which they are re-
tained within the abdomen: (b) inflammation of the testicles, resulting
in induration ; (c) fatty degeneration of the testicles, in stallions lib-
erally fed on starchy food and not sufticiently exercised; {d) fatty
degeneration of the excretory ducts of the testicles {vasa deferent ia) '^
(e) inflammation or ulceration of these ducts; (/) inflammation or ulcer-
ation of the mucous membrane covering the penis; (g) injuries to the
penis from blows (often causing paralysis) ; {h) warty growths on the
end of the penis; (i) tumors of other kinds (largely pigmentary) af-
fecting the testicles or penis; (j) nervous diseases which abolish the
sexual appetite, or that control over the muscles which is essential to
the act of coition; {k) azoturia with resulting weakness or paralysis
of the muscles of the loins or the front of the thigh (above the stifle);
(Z) ossification (anchylosis) of the joints of the back or loins, which
renders the animal unable to rear or mount; (m) spavins, ringbones,

145

or other painful affections of the hind limbs, the pain of which in
mouutiug causes the animal to suddenly stop short in the act. In the
first three of these only {a, b, and c) is there real sterility in the sense
of the non-development or imperfect development of the male vivifying
element (spermatozoa). In the other examples the secretion may be
perfect in kind and amount, but as copulation is prevented it can not
reach and impregnate the ovum.

In the mare barrenness is eqnally due to a variety of causes. In a
number of breeding studs the i^roportion of sterile mares has varied
from 20 to 40 per cent. It may be due to : (a) Imperfect development
of the ovary and non-maturation of ova; (b) cystic or other tumors of
the ovary ; (c) fatty degeneration of the ovary in very obese, pampered
mares; {d) fatty degeneration of the excretory tubes of the ovaries
(fallopian tubes); (e) catarrh of the womb, with muc6-purulent dis-
charge; (/) irritable condition of the womb, with profuse secretion,
straining, and ejection of the semen; {g) nervous irritability, leading
to the same expulsion of the male element; (h) high condition (plethora)
with profuse secretion and excitement; (i) low condition with imperfect
maturation of the ova and lack of sexual desire; (j) poor feeding, over-
work, and chronic debilitating diseases, as leading to the condition just
named ; (7;) closure of the neck of the womb, temporarily by spasm, or
permanently by inflammation and induration; (l) closure of the entrance
to the vagina through imperforate hymen, a rare though not unknown
condition in the mare; (/») acquired indisposition to breed, seen in old,
hard worked mares, which are first put to the stallion when aged ; {n)
change of climate has repeatedly been followed by barrenness ; (o) hy-
bridity, which in male and female alike, usually entails sterility.

The treatment of the majoritj^ of these conditions will be found dealt
with in other parts of this work, so that it is only necessary here to
name them as causes. Some, however, must be specialh^ referred to in
this place. Stallions with undescended testicles are beyond the reach
of medicine, and should be castrated and devoted to other uses. In-
durated testicles may sometimes be remedied in the early stages by
smearing with a weak iodine ointment daily for a length of time, and
at the same time invigorating the system by liberal feeding and judi-
cious work. Fatty degeneration is best met by an albuminoid diet
(wheat bran, cotton-seed meal, rape cake) and constant, well regulated
work. Saccharine, starchy and fatty food (potatoes, wheat, corn, etc.)
are to be specially avoided. In the mare one diseased and irritable
ovary should be removed, to do away with the resulting excitability of
the remainder of the generative organs. An irritable womb, with fre-
quent straining and the ejection of a profuse secretion, may sometimes
be corrected by a restricted diet and full but well regulated work.
Even fatigue will act beneficially in some such cases, hence the practice
of the Arab riding his mare to exhaustion just before service. The
perspiration in such a case, like the action of a purgative or the abstrac-
11035 10

146

tion of blood just before service, benefits, by rendering the blood-ves-
sels less full, by lessening secretion in tlie womb and elsewhere, and
thus counteracting the tendency to the ejection and loss of semen. If
these means are ineffectual a full dose of camphor (2 drams) or of sal-
acin may at times assist. Low condition and anremia demands just the
opposite kind of treatment — rich, nourishing, albuminoid food, bitter
tonics (geutian), sunshine, gentle exercise, liberal grooming, and sup-
porting treatment generally are here in order. Spasmodic closure of
the neck of the womb is common and is easily remedied in the mare by
dilatation with the fingers.

The hand, smeared with belladonna ointment and with the fingers
drawn into the form of a cone, is introduced through the vagina until
the projecting, rounded neck of the womb is felt at its anterior end.
This is opened by the careful insertion of one finger at a time until the
fingers have been passed through the constricted neck into the open
cavity of the womb. The introduction is made with a gentle, rotary mo-
tion, and all precipitate violence is avoided, as abrasion, laceration, or
other cause of irritation is likely to interfere with the retention of the
semen and with impregnation. If the neck of the womb is rigid and
unyielding from the induration which follows inflammation — a rare con-
dition in the mare, though common in the cow — more force will be req-
uisite, and it may even be needful to incise the neck to the depth of
one-sixth of an inch in four or more opposite directions, i)rior to forc-
ible dilatation. The incision may be made with a probe-pointed knife,
and should be done by a professional man if possible. The subsequent
dilatation may be best effected by the slow expansion of sponge or sea-
weed tents inserted into the narrow canal. In such cases it is best to
let the wounds of the neck heal before putting to horse. An imperfo-
rate hymen may be freely incised in a crucial manner until the passage
will admit the human hand. An ordinary knife may be used for this
purpose, and after the operation the stallion may be admitted at once
or only after the wounds have healed.

INDICATIONS OF PREGNANCY.

As the mere fact of service by the stallion does not insure pregnancy,
it is important that the result should be determined, to save the mare
from unnecessary and dangerous work or medication when actually in
foal and to obviate wasteful and needless i>recautions when she is not.

The cessation and non-recurrence of the symptoms of heat (horsing) is
a most significant though not infallible sign of conception. If the
sexual excitement speedily subsides and the mare persistently refuses
the stallion for a month, she is probably pregnant. In very exceptional
cases a mare will accept a second or third service after weeks or months,
though pregnant, and some mares will refuse the horse persistently,
though conception has not taken place, and this in spite of warm
weather, good condition of the mare, and liberal feeding. The recur-

147

rence of heat in tlie iiregnant mare is most likely to take place in hot
weather. If heat merely persists an undue length of time after service,
or if it re-appears shortly after, in warm weather and in a compara-
tively idle mare, on good feeding, it is less significant, while the per-
sistent absence of heat under such conditions may be usually accepted
as iiroof of conception.

An unwonted gentleness and docility on the part of a previously irrita-
ble or vicious mare, and supervening on service, is an excellent indica-
tion of pregnancy, the generative instinct which caused the excitement
having been satisfied.

An increase of fot, with softness and flabbiness of muscle, a loss of
energy, indisposition for active w^ork, a manifestation of laziness, in-
deed, and of fatigue early and easily induced, when preceded by service,
will usually imi^ly conception.

Enlargement of the abdomen, especially in its lower third, with slight
falling in beneath the loins and hollowness of the back are significant
symptoms, though they may be entirely absent. Swelling and firmness
of the [udder, with the smoothing out of its wrinkles, is a suggestive
sign, even though it appears only at intervals during gestation.

A steady increase in weight (H pounds daily) about tbe fourth or
fifth month is a useful indication of pregnancy. So is a swollen and red
or bluish-red appearance of the vaginal mucous membrane.

From the seventh or eighth mouth onward the foal may be felt by the
hand (palm or knuckles) pressed into the abdomen in front of the left
stifle. The sudden push displaces the foal toward the opposite side of
the womb, and as it floats back its hard body is felt to strike against
the hand. If the pressure is maintained the movements of the live foal
are felt, and especially in the morning and after a drink of cold water,
or during feeding. A drink of cold water will often stimulate the fa?tu8
to movements that may be seen by the eye, but an excess of iced water
may prove injurious, even to the causing of abortion. Cold water
dashed on the belly has a similar effect on the foetus and equally en-
dangers abortion.

Examination of the uterus with the oiled hand introduced into the
rectum is still more satisfactory, and if cautiously conducted no more
dangerous. The rectum must be first emptied and then the hand car-
ried forward until it reaches the front edge of tbe pelvic bones below,
and pressed downward to ascertain the size and outline of the womb.
In the unimpregnated state the vagina and womb can be felt as a sin-
gle rounded tube, dividing in front to two smaller tubes (the horns of
the womb). In the pregnant mare not only the body of the womb is
enlarged, but still more so one of the horns (right or left), and on com-
pression the latter is found to contain a hard, nodular body, floating in
a liquid, which in the latter half of gestation may be stimulated by gen-
tle pressure to manifest spontaneous movements. By this method the
presence oi the foetus may be determined as early as the third month.

14S

If tlie complete nataral outline of the virgin -n-omb can n^t be made
out, carefal examination should always be made on the right and left
side for the enlarged horn and its living contents. Should there still
be difficnlty the mare should be placed on au inclined plane, with her
hind parts lowest, and two assistants, standing on opposite sides of the
body, should raise the lower i^art of the abdomen by a sheet passed
beneath it. Finally the ear or stethoscope applied on the wall of the
abdomen in front of the stifle may detect the beating of the fcrtal heart
(one hundred and twenty-five per minute) and a blowing souud ithe
uterine sough), much less rapid and corresponding to the number of
the pulse of the dam. It is heard most satisfactorily after the sixth or
eighth month and in the absence of active rumbling of the bowels of
the dam.

DrEATIO>' OF rEEGNA>'CY.

Glares usually go about eleven months with young, though first preg-
nancies often last a year. Foals have lived when born at the three
hundredth day, so with others carried till the four hundredth day.
"With the longer pregnancies there is a greater probabiliiy of male off-
spring.

HYGIEXE OF THE PEEGX'A>'T 3IAEE.

The pregnant mare should not be exposed to teasing by a young and
ardent stallion, nor should she be overworked or fatigued, particularly
under the saddle or on uneven ground. Yet exercise is beneficial to
both mother and offspring, and in the absence of moderate work the
breeding mare should be kept in a lot where she can take exercise at
will.

The food should be liberal, but not fattening, oats, bran, sound hay,
and other foods rich in the principles which form flesh and bone being
especially indicated. All aliments that tend to indigestion are to be
especially avoided. Thus rank, aqueous, rapidly grown grass and other
green food, partially ripe rye grass, millet, Hungarian grass, vetches,
pease, beans, or maize are objectionable, as is over-ripe fibrous, innu-
tritions hay, or that which has been injured and rendered musty by
wet, or that which is infested with smut or ergot. Food that tends to cos-
tiveness should be avoided. Water given often, and at a temperature
considerably above freezing, -will avoid the dangers of indigestions and
abortions which result from taking too much ice-cold water at one time.
Very cold or frozen food is objectionable in the same sense. Severe
surgical operations and medicines that act violently on the womb, bow-
els, or kidneys are to be avoided as being liable to cause abortion. Con-
stipation should be corrected, if possible, by bran mashes, carrots, or
beets, seconded by excercise, and if a medicinal laxative is required it
should be olive oil or other equally bland agent.

The stall of the pregnant mare should not be too narrow so as to
cramp her ^vhen lying down, or to entail violent efforts in getting up.

149

and it should not slope too mucU from the front backward, as this
throws the weight of the uterus back on the pelvis and endangers pro-
trusions and even abortion. Violent mental impressions are to be
avoided, for though the majority of mares are not afi'ected thereby, yet a
certain number are so jirofoundly impressed that peculiarities and dis-
tortions are entailed on the offspring. Hence, there is wisdom shown in
ba-nishing iiarti-colored or objectionably tinted animals, and those that
show deformities or faulty conformation. Hence, too, the importance
of preventing prolonged acute suffering by the pregnant mare, as cer-
tain troubles of the eyes, feet, and joints in the foals have been clearly
traced to the concentration of the mother's mind on corresponding
injured organs in herself. Sire and dam alike tend to reproduce their
l^ersoual defects which predispose to disease, but the dam is far more
likely to perpetuate the evil in her progeny which was carried while
she was personally enduring severe suff'ering caused by such defects.
Hence, an active bone spavin or ring-bone, causing lameness, is more ob-
jectionable than that in which the inflammation and lameness have both
passed, and an active ophthalmia is more to be feared than even an old
cataract. For this reason all active diseases in the breeding mare
should be soothed and abated at as early a moment as possible.

EXTKA-UTERINE GESTATIOI^.

It is rare in the domestic animals to find the fcetus developed else-
where than in the womb. The exceptional forms are those in which
the sperm of the male, making its way turough the womb and Fallopian
tubes, impregnates the ovum prior to its escape, and in which the now
vitalized and growing ovum, by reason of its gradually increasing size,
becomes imprisoned and fails to escape into the womb. The arrest of
the ovum may be in the substance of the ovary itself (ovarian preg-
nancy), in the Fallopian tube (tubal pregnancy), or when by its contin-
uous enlargement it has ruptured its envelopes so that it escapes into
the cavity of the abdomen, it may become attached to any part of the
serous membrane and draw its nourishment directly from that (abdom-
inal pregnancy). In all such cases there is an increase and enlarge-
ment of the capillary blood-vessels at the point to which the embryo
has attached itself so as to furnish the needful nutriment for the grow-
ing offspring.

All appreciable symptoms are absent, unless from the death of
the fcetus, or its interference with normal functior^s, general disorder
and indications of parturition supervene. If these occur later than the
natural time for parturition they are the more significant. There may
be general malaise, loss of appetite, elevated temperature, accelerated
pulse, with or without distinct labor pains. Examination with the
oiled hand in the rectum will reveal t^^he womb of the natural uuim-
preguated size and shape and with both uorns of one size. Further
exploration may detect an elastic mass aparc from the womb and in the

150

interior of which may be felt the characteristic solid body of thefcetas.
If the latter is s*^ill alive and can be stimulated to move the evidence
is even more perfect. The foetus may die aud be carried for years, its
soft structures becoming absorbed so as to leave only the bones, or by
pressure it may form a fistulous opening through the abdominal walls,
or less frequently through the vagina or rectum. In the latter cases the
best course is to favor the expulsion of the foal and to wash out the re-
sulting cavity with a solution of carbolic acid 1 i)art to water 50 parts.
This may be repeated daily. Where there is no spontaneous opening
it is injudicous to interfere, as the danger from the retention of the
foetus is less than that from septic fermentations in the enormous foetal
sack when that has been opened to the air.

MOLES— ANIDIAN MONSTERS.

These are evidently products of conception, in which the impregnated
ovum has failed to develop naturally, and presents only a chaotic mass
of skin, hair, bones, muscles, etc., attached to the inner surface of the
womb by an umbilical cord, which is itself often shriveled aud wasted.
They are usually a'ccompanied by a well-developed foetus, so that the
mole may be looked upon as a twin which has undergone arrest and
vitiation of development. They are expelled by the ordinary process
of parturition, and usually, at the same time, with the normally devel-
oped offspring.

CYSTIC DISEASE OF THE WALLS OF THE "WO^IB— VESICULAR MOLE.

This condition appears to be due to hypertrophy (enlargement) of
the villi on the inner surface of the womb, which become greatly in-
creased in number and hollowed out internally into a series of cysts or
pouches containing liquid. Unlike the true mole, therefore, they appear
to be disease of the maternal structure of the womb rather than of the
product of conception. Eodet, in a case of this kind, which had pro-
duced active labor pains, quieted the disorder with anodynes aud secured
a recovery. Where this is not available attempts may be made to re-
move the mass with the ecraseur or otherwise, following this up with
antiseptic injections, as advised under the last heading.

DROPSY OF THE WOMB.

This appears as a result of some disease of the walls of the womb,
but has been frequently observed after sexual congress, and has, there-
fore, been confounded with pregnancy. The symptoms are those of
pregnanc3^, but without any movements of the foetus and without the
detection of any solid body in the womb when examined with the oiled
hand in the rectum. At the end of four or eight months there are
signs of parturition or of frequent straining to pass urine, and after a
time the liquid is discharged clear and watery, or muddy, thick, aud
fetid. The hand introduced into the womb can detect neither foetus

151

nor foetal membrane. If the neck of the womb closes the liquid may
accumulate a second time, oi: even a third, if no means are taken to
correct the tendency. The best resort is to remove any diseased product
that may be found attached to the walls of the womb, and to inject it
daily with a warm solution of carbolic acid 2 drams, chloride of zinc
oue-half dram, water, 1 quart. A course of bitter tonics, gentian 2
drams, sulphate of iron 2 drams, daily, should be given, and a nutri-
tious, easily digested and slightly laxative diet allowed.

DEOPSY OF THE AMNIOS.

This differs from simple dropsy of the womb in that the fluid collects
in the inner of the two water bags (that in which the foal floats) and
not in the otherwise void cavity of the womb. This affection can oc-
cur only in the pregnant animal, while dropsy of the womb occurs in
the unimpregnated. The blood of the pregnant mare contains an ex-
cess of water and a smaller proportion of albumen and red globules, and
when this is still further aggravated by poor feeding, and other unhy-
gienic conditions, there is developed the tendency to liquid transuda-
tion from the vessels and dropsy. As the watery condition of the blood
increases with advancing pregnancy, so dropsy of the amnios is a dis-
ease of the last four or five months of gestation. The abdomen is large
and pendulous, and the swelling fluctuates under pressure, though the
solid body of the fa3tus can still be felt to strike against the hand
pressed into the swelling. If the hand is introduced into the vagina
the womb is found to be tense and round, with the projecting rounded
neck effaced, while the hand in the rectum will detect the rounded
swollen mass of the womb so firm and tense that the body of the fostus
can not be felt within it. The mare moves weakly and unsteadily on its
limbs, having difficulty in supporting the great weight, and in bad
cases there may be loss of appetite, stocking (dropsy) of the hind limbs,
difficult breathing, and colicky pains. The tension may lea d to abortion ,
or a slow, laborious parturition may occur at the usual time.

Treatment consists in relieving the tension and accumulation by
puncturing the foetal membrane with a cannula and trochar introduced
through the neck of the womb and the withdrawal of the trochar so as
to leave the canula in situ. Or the membranes may be punctured with
the finger and the excess of liquid allowed to escape. This may bring
on abortion, or the wound may close and gestation continue to the full
terra. A course of tonics (gentian root 2 drams, sulphate of iron 2
drams, daily) will do much to fortify the system and counteract further
excessive efl'usion.

DROPSY OF THE LIMBS, PERINEUM, AND ABDOMEN.

The disposition to dropsy often shows itself in the hind and even in
in the fore limbs, around and beneath the vulva (perinneum) and be-
neath the abdomen and chest. The affected parts are swollen and pit

152

on pressure, but are not especially tender, and subside more or less
perfectly under exercise, band rubbiug, and bandages. In obstinate
cases rubbing witb tbe following liniment may be resorted to : Com-
pound tincture of iodine, 2 ounces ; tannic acid, one-balf dram; water,
10 ounces. It does not last over a day or two after parturition.

CRAMPS OF THE HIND LIMBS.

The pressure of the distended womb on the nerves and blood-vessels
of the pelvis, besides conducing to dropsy, occasionally causes cramps
of the hind limbs. The limb is raised without flexing the joints, the
front of the hoof being directed toward the ground, or the spasms oc-
curring intermittently the foot is kicked violently against the ground
several times in rapid succession. The muscles are felt to be firm and
rigid. The cramps may be promptly relieved by active rubbing, or by
walking the animal about, and it does not reappear after parturition.

CONSTIPATION.

This may result from compression by the gravid womb, and is best
corrected by a graduated allowance of boiled flaxseed.

PARALYSIS.

The pressure on the nerves of the pelvis is liable to cause paralysis
of the hind limbs, or in the mare of the nerve of sight. These are ob-
stinate until after parturition, when they recover spontaneously, or
under a course of nux vomica and (locally) stimulating liniments.

PROLONGED RETENTION OF THE FCETUS (FOAL).

In the mare, though far less frequently than in the cow, parturition
may not be completed at term, and the foal may continue to be carried
in the womb' for a number of months, to the serious, or even fatal in-
jury of the mare. Hamon records one case in which the mare died
after carrying the fffitus for seventeen months, and Caillier a similar re-
sult after it had been carried twenty-two mouths. In these cases the
foetus retained its natural form, but in one reported by Gohier, the
bones only were left in the womb amid a mass of apparently purulent
matter.

The cause may be any efiective obstruction to the act of parturition,
such as lack of contractile power in the womb, unduly strong (inflam-
matory) adhesions between the womb and the foetal membranes, wrong
presentation of the foetus, contracted pelvis (from fracture, or disease
of the bones), or disease and induration of the neck of the womb."

The mere prolongation of gestation does not necessarily entail the
death of the foal, hence the latter has been born alive at the four hun-
dredth day. Even when the foal has perished, putrefaction does not
set in unless the membranes (water bags) have been ruptured, and sep-

153

tic bacteria have beeu adiuitteLl to the interior of the womb. In the
latter case a fetid decomposition advances rapidly, and the mare usu-
ally perishes from poisoning with the putrid matters absorbed.

At the natural period of parturition preparations are apparently made
for that act. The vulva swells and discharges much mucus, the udder
enlarges, the belly becomes more pendant, and the animal strains more
or less. No progress is made, however; there is not even opening of
the neck of the womb, and after a time the symptoms subside. The
mare usually refuses the male, yet there are exceptions to this rule. If
the neck of the womb has beeu opened and putrefying changes have
set in in its contents, the mare loses appetite and condition, pines, dis-
charges an offensive matter from the generative passages, and dies of
inflammation of the womb and putrid infection. In other cases there is
a slow wearing out of the strength and the mare finally dies of exhaus-
tion.

The treatment is such as will facilitate the expulsion of the foetus and
its membranes, and the subsequent washing out of the womb with dis-
infectants. So long as the mouth of the womb is closed, time should be
allowed for its natural dilatation, but if this does not come about after a
day or two of straining the opening may be smeared with extract of bella-
donna, and the oiled hand, with the fingers and thumb drawn into the
form of a cone, may be inserted by slow oscillating movements into the
interior of the womb. The water bags may now be ruptured, any mal-
piesentation rectified (see "Difficult Parturition"), and delivery effected.
After removal of the membranes wash out the womb first with tepid
water, and then with a solution of 2 ounces of borax in half a gallon of
water.

This injection may have to be repeated if a discharge sets in. The
same course may be pursued even after prolonged retention. If the
soft parts of the foetus have been absorbed and the bones only left these
must be carefully sought for and removed, and subsequent daily injec-
tions will be required for some time. In such cases, too, a course of iron
tonics (sulphate of iron, 2 drams daily), will be highly beneficial in re-
storing health and vigor.

ABORTION.

Abortion is, strictly speaking, the expulsion of the impregnated ovum
at any period from the date of impregnation until the foal can survive
out of the womb. If the foal is advanced enough to live it is premature
parturition, and in the mare this may occur as early as the tenth month
(three hundredth day).

The mare may abort by reason of almost any cause that very pro-
foundly disturbs the system. Hence very violent inflammations of im-
portant internal organs (bowels, kidneys, bladder, lungs,) may induce
abortion. Profuse diarrhea, whether occurring from the reckless use
of purgatives, the consumption of irritants in the food, or a simple in-
digestion is an effective cause. No less so is acute indigestion with

154

evoliitiou of gas iu the intestines (bloating). The presence of stone in
tlje liidneys, ureters, bladder, or urethra may induce so much sympa-
tlietic disorder in tbe womb as to induce abortion. In exceptional cases
wbercin mares come in lieat during gestation service by tbe stallion
may cause abortion. Blows or pressure on the abdomen, rapid driving
or riding of the pregnant mare, especially if she is soft and out of con-
dition from idleness; the brutal use of tbe spur or whip, and the jolting
and straining of travel by rail or boat are prolific causes. Bleeding the
liregnant mare, a painful surgical operation, and the throwing and con-
straint resorted to for an operation are other causes. Traveling on
heavy, muddy roads, slips and falls on ice, and jumping must be added.
The stimulation of the abdominal organs by a full drink of iced water
may precipitate a miscarriage, as may exposure to a cold rain-storm or
a very cold night after a warm day. Irritant poisons that act on the
urinary or generative organs, such as Spanish flies, rue, savin, tansy,
cotton-root bark, ergot of rye or other grasses, the smut of maize and
other grain, and various fungi in musty fodder are additional causes.
Frosted food, indigestible food, and above all green succulent vegetables
in a frozen state have iiroved effective factors, and filthy, stagnant water
is dangerous. Low condition in the dam and plethora have in opposite
ways caused abortion, and hot relaxing stables and lack of exercise
strongly conduce to it. The exhaustion of the sire by too frequent serv-
ice, entailing debility of the oflspring and disease of the fojtus or of
its envelopes, must be recognized as a further cause.

The symptoms vary mainly according as the abortion is early or late
in pregnancy. In the first month or two of ijregnancy the mare may
miscarry without observable symptoms, and the fact only appears by
her coming in heat. If more closely observed a small clot of blood may
be found behind her, in which a carefnl search reveals the rudiments
of the foal. If the occurrence is somewhat later iu gestation there will
be some general disturbance, inappetence, neighing, and straining, and
the small body of the foetus is expelled, enveloped in its membranes.
Abortions during the later stages of pregnancy are attended with
greater constitutional disturbance, and the process resembles normal
parturition, with the aggravation that more effort and straining is req-
uisite to force the foetus through the comparatively undilatable mouth
of the womb. There is the swelling of the vulva, with mucus or even
bloody discharge ; the abdomen droops, the flanks fall iu, the udder fills,
the mare looks at her flanks, paws with the fore feet and kicks with
the hind, switches the tail, moves around uneasily, lies down and rises,
strains, and, as iu natural foaling, expels first mucus and blood, then
the waters, and finally the fcetus. This may occupy an hour or two, or
it may be prolonged for a day or more, the symptoms subsiding for a
time, only to reappear with renewed energy. If there is malpresenta-
tion of the foetus it will hinder progress until rectified, as iu diincult

155

parturition. Abortion may also be followed by fhe same accideuts, as
flooding, retention of the i^laceuta, and leucorrboea.

The most important object in an impending abortion is to recognize
it at as early a stage as possible, so that it may, if possible, be cut short
and prevented. Any general indefinable illness in a pregnant mare
shonld lead to a close examination of the vulva as regards swelling,
vascularity of its mucous membrane, and profuse mucous secretion, and
above all any streak or staining of blood; also the condition of the nd-
der, if that is congested and swollen. Any such indication, with colicky
pains, straining, however little, and active movement of the fcetus or
entire absence of movement, are suggestive symptoms and should be
duly counteracted.

The changes in the vulva and udder, with a soiled and bloody condi-
tion of the tail, may suggest an abortion already accomplished, and the
examination with the hand in the vagina may detect the mouth of the
womb soft and dilatable, and the interior of the organ slightly filled with
a bloody liquid.

Treatment should be preventive if possible, and would embrace the
avoidance of all causes mentioned, and particularly of such as may seem
to be particularly operative in the particular case. Where abortions
have already occurred in a stud, the especial cause, in the matter of food,
water, exposure to injuries, overwork, lack of exercise, etc., may often
be identified and removed. A most important point is to avoid all
causes of constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, bloating, violent purga-
tives, diuretics or other potent medicines, i^ainful operations, and slip-
l)ery roads, unless well frosted.

"When abortion is imminent the mare should bo placed alone in a
roomy, dark, quiet stall, and have the straining checked by some sedative.
Laudanum is usually at hand and may be given in doses of 1 or 2 ounces,
according to size, and repeated after two or three hours, and even daily
if necessary. Chloroform or choral hydrate, 3 drams, may be substituted
if more convenient. These should be given in a pint or quart of water,
to avoid burning the mouth and throat. Or viburnum pruuifolium,!
ounce, may be given and repeated if necessary to prevent straining.

When all measures fail and miscarriage proceeds, all that can be done
is to assist in the removal of the foetus and its membranes, as in ordinary
parturition. As in the case of retention of the fcetus, it maj' be neces-
sary after delivery to emjjloy antiseptic injections into the womb to
counteract putrid fermentation. This, however, is less requisite in the
mare than in the cow, in which the prevalent contagious abortion must
be counteracted by the persistent local use of antiseptics. After abor-
tion a careful hygiene is demanded, especially in the matter of pure air
and easily digestible food. The mare should not be served again for a
month or longer, and in no case until after all discharge from the vulva
has ceased.

156

SYMPTOMS OF PARTURITION.

As the period of partiuitiou approaches the swelling of the udder
bespeaks the couiiug event, the engorgement in exceptional cases ex-
tending forward on the lower surface of the abdomen and even into the
hind limbs. For about a week a serous fluid oozes from the teat and
concretes as a yellow, wax-like mass around its orifice. About twenty-
four hours before the birth this gives place to a whitish, milky liquid,
which falls upon and mats the hairs on the inner sides of the legs.
Another symptom is enlargement of the vulva, with redness of its lin-
ing membrane, and the escape of glairy mucus. The belly droops, the
flanks fall in, and the loins may even become depressed. Finally .the
mare becomes uneasy, stops feeding, looks anxious, whisks her tail, and
may lie down and rise again. In many mares this is not repeated, but
the mare remains down; violent contractions of the abdominal muscles
ensue; after two or three pains the water-bags appear and burst, fol-
lowed by the fore feet of the foa^ with the nose between the knees, and
by a few more throes the foetus is expelled. In other cases the act is
accomplished standing. The whole act may not occupy more than five
or ten minutes. This, together with the disposition of the mare to avoid
observation, renders the act one that is rarely seen by the attendants.

The navel-string, which connects the foal to the membranes, is rupt-
ured when the foetus falls to the ground, or when the mare rises, if
she has been down, and the membranes are expelled a few minutes
later.

NATURAL PRESENTATION.

When there is a single foal the common and desirable presentation
is with the fore feet first, the nose between the knees, and with the
front of the hoofs and knees and the forehead directed upward toward
the anus, tail, and croup (Plate IX, fig. 1). In this way the natural
curvature of the body of the foetus corresponds to the curve of the
womb and genital passages, and particularly of the bony i)elvis, and
the foal passes with much greater ease than if it were placed with its
back downward toward the udder. When there is a twin birth the
second foal usually comes with its hind feet first, and the backs of the
legs, the points of the hocks, and the tail and croup are turned upward
toward the anus and tail of the mare (Plate IX, fig. 2). In this way,
even with a posterior presentation, the curvature of the body of the
foal still corresponds to that of the passages, and its expulsion may
be quite as easy as in anterior presentation. Any presentation aside
from these two may be said to be abnormal and will be considered
under "Difficult Parturition."

DLPFICULT PARTURITION.

With natural presentation this is a rare occurrence. The great
length of the fore limbs and face entail, in the anterior presentation,
the formation of a long cone, which dilates and glides through the

157

passages with comparative ease. Even with the hind feet first a simi-
lar conical form is jiresented, and the process is rendered easy and
quick. Difficulty and danger arise mainly from the act being brought
on prematurely before the passages are sufficiently dilated, from nar-
rowiug of the pelvic bones or other mechanical obstruction in the
passages, from monstrous distortions or duplications in the fcetus, or
from the turning back of one of the members so that the elougated
conical or wedge-shaped outline is done away with. But prompt as is
the normal parturition in the mare, difficult and delayed parturitions
are surrounded by special dangers and require unusual i^recautions and
skill. From the proclivity of the mare to unhealthy inflammations of
the peritoneum and other abdominal organs, i)enetratiug wounds of the
womb or vagina are liable to prove fatal. The contractions of the
womb and abdominal walls are so powerful as to exhaust and benumb
the arm of the assistant, and to endanger penetrating wounds of the
genital organs. By reason of the looser connection of the fcetal mem-
branes with the womb, as compared with those of ruminants, the violent
throes early detach these membranes throughout their whole extent,
and the foal, being thus separated from the mother and thrown on its
own resources, dies at an early stage of any protracted parturition.
The foal rarely survives four hours after the onset of parturient throes.
From the great length of the limbs and neck of the foal it is ex-
tremely difficult to secure and bring u]) limb or head which has been
turned back when it should have been presented. When assistance
must be rendered the operator should don a thick woolen undershirt
with the sleeves cut out at the shoulders. This protects the body and
leaves the whole arm free for manipulation. Before inserting the arm
it should be smeared with lard. This protects the skin against septic
infection, and favors the introduction of the hand and arm. The hand
should be inserted with the thumb and fingers drawn together like a
cone. Whether standing or lying the mare should be turned with head
down hill and hind parts raised as much as possible. The contents of
the abdomen gravitating forward leave much more room for manipula-
tion. Whatever part of the foal is presented (head, foot) should be se-
cured with a cord and running noose before it is pushed back to search
for the other missing parts. Even if a missing part is reached no at-
tempt should be made to bring it up during a labor i)ain. Pinching
the back will sometimes check the pains and allow the operator to se-
cure and bring uj) the missing member. In intractable cases a large
dose of chloral hydrate (1 ounce in a quart of water) or the inhalation
of chloroform and air (equal proportions) to insensibility may secure a
respite, during which the missing members may be replaced. If the
tcaters have been discharged and the mucus dried up, the genital pas-
sages and body of the foetus should be lubricated with lard or oil before
any attempt at extraction is made. When the missing member has
been brought up into i^ositiou, and presentation has been rendered nat-

158

ural, traction on tlie fee tus must be made only during a labor pain. If
a mare is inclined to kick, it may be necessary to apply Lobbies to pro-
tect the operator.

PREMATURE LABOR PAINS.

These may be brought on by any violent exertion, use under the
saddle, or in heavy draught, or in rapid paces, or in travel by rail or
sea, blows, kicks, crushiug by other animals in a doorway or gate.
Excessive action of purgative or diuretic agents, or of agents that ir-
ritate the bowels or kidneys, like arsenic, Paris green, all caustic salts
and acids, and acrid and narcotico- acrid vegetables, is equally in-
jurious. Finally, the ingestion of agents that stimulate the action of
the gravid womb (ergot of rye or of other grasses, smut, various fuugi of
fodders, rue, savin, cotton-root, etc.) may bring on labor pains pre-
maturely.

Besides the knowledge that parturition is not yet due, there will be
less enlargement, redness and swelling of the vulva, less mucous dis-
charge, less filling of the udder, and less appearances of wax and proba-
bly none of milk from the ends of the teats. The oiled hand introduced
into the vulva will cot enter with the ease usual at full term, and the
neck of the womb will be felt not only closed, but with its projecting
papilla?, through which it is perforated, not yet flattened down and
effaced, as at full term. The symptoms are indeed those of threatened
abortion, but at such an advanced stage of gestation as is compatible
with the survival of the offspring.

The treatment con&vAts in the separation of the mare from all other
animals in a quiet, dark, secluded place, and the free use of anti-spas-
modics and anodynes. Opium in dram doses every two hours, or
laudanum in ounce doses at similar intervals, will often suffice. When
the more urgent symptoms have subsided these doses may be repeated
thrice a day till all excitement passes off or until the passages have
become relaxed and prepared for parturition. Viburnum prunifolium,
in ounce doses, may be added if necessary. Should parturition become
inevitable, it may be favored and any necessary assistance furnished.

DIFFICULT PARTURITION FROM NARROW PELVIS.

A disproportion between the foetus got by a large stallion and the
pelvis of a small dam is a serious obstacle to parturition, sometimes
seen in the mare. This is not the rule, however, as the foal up to
birth usually accommodates itself to the size of the dam, as illustrated
in the successful crossing of Percheron stallions on mustang mares.
If the disproportion is too great the only resort is emhryotomy.

FRACTURED HIP-BONES.

More commonly the obstruction comes from distortion and narrow-
ing of the pelvis as the result of fractures. (Plates XIV, Fig. 2.)
Fractures at any point of the lateral wall or floor of the pelvis are re-

159

paired with the formation of an extensive bony deposit bulging into the
passage of the pelvis. The displacement of the ends of the broken bone
is another cause of constriction and between the two conditions the
passage of the fcetus may be rendered impossible without emhryotomy.
Fracture of the sacrum (the continuation of the back-bone forming the
croup) leads to the depression of the posterior part of that bone in the
roof of the i)elvis and the narrowing of the passage from above down-
ward by a bony ridge iiresenting its sharp edge forward.

In all cases in which there has been injury to the bones of the pelvis
the obvious precautioa is to withhold the mare from breeding and to
use her for work only.

If a mare with a pelvis thus narrowed has got in foal inadvertently,
abortion may be induced in the early months of gestation by slowly
introducing the oiled finger through the neck of the womb and follow-
ing this by the other fingers until the whole hand has been introduced.
Then tiie water-bags may be broken, and with the escape of tbe liquid
the womb will contract on the solid foetus and labor pains will ensue.
The foetus being small it will pass easily.

TUMOES IN THE VAGINA AND PELVIS.

Tumors of various kinds may form in the vagina or elsewhere within
the pelvis, and when large enough will obstruct or prevent the passage
of the foetus. Gray mares, which are so subject to black pigment tumors
{melanosis) on the tail, anus, and vulva, are the most likely to suffer
from this. Still more rarely the wall of the vagina becomes relaxed,
and being i^ressed by a mass of intestines will protrude through the lips
of the vulva as a hernial sac, containing a part of the bowels. Where
a tumor is small it may only retard and not absolutely prevent parturi-
tion. A hernial i)rotrusiou of the wall of the vagina may be pressed
back and emptied so tbat the body of the fcetus engaging in the passage
may find no further obstacle. When a tumor is too large to allow de-
livery tbe only resort is to remove it, but before proceeding it must be
clearly" made out that the obstruction is a mass of diseased tissue, and
not a sac containing intestines. If the tumor hangs by a neck it can
usually be most safely removed by the ecraseur, the chain being passed
around the pedicel and gradually tightened until that is torn through.

HERNIA OF THE WOMB.

The rupture of the musculo-fibrous floor of the belly and the escape
of the gravid womb into a sac formed by the peritoneum and skin hang-
ing towards the ground, is described by all veterinary obstetricians,
yet it is very rarely seen in the mare. The form of the foetus can be
felt through the walls of the sac, so that it is easy to recognize the condi-
tion. Its cause is usually external violence, though it may start from
an umbilical hernia. When the period of parturition arrives, the first
eftbrt should be to return the fcetus within the proper abdominal cavity,

160

and this can sometimes be accomplished with the aid of a stout blanket
gradually tightened around the belly. This failing, the mare may be
placed on her side or back and gravitation brought to the aid of manip-
ulation in securing the return. Even after the hernia has been reduced
the relaxed state of the womb and abdominal walls may serve to hinder
I)arturition, in which case the oiled hand must be introduced through
the vagina, the foetus brought into position, and traction coincident
with the labor pains employed to secure delivery.

TWISTING or THE NECK OF THE WOMB.

This condition is very uncommon in the mare, though occasionally
seen in the cow, owing to the greater laxity of the broad ligaments of
the womb in that animal. It consists in a revolution of the womb on
its own axis, so that its right or left side will be turned upward (quarter
revolution), or the lower surface may be turned upward and the upper
surface downward (half revolution). The effect is to throw the narrow
neck of the womb into a series of spiral folds, turning in the direction
in which the womb has revolved, closing the neck and rendering dis-
tention and dilatation impossible.

The period and pains of parturition arrive, but in spite of continued
efforts no progress is made, neither water-bags nor liquids appearing.
The oiled hand introduced into the closed neck of the womb will readily
detect the spiral direction of the folds on its inner surface.

The method of relief which I have successfully adopted in the cow may
be equally happy in the mare. The dam is placed (with her head up-
hill) on her right side if the upper folds of the spiral turn toward the
right, and on her left side if they turn toward the left ; and the oiled
hand is introduced through the neck of the womb and a limb or other
part of the body of the foetus is seized and pressed against the wall of
the womb, while two or three assistants turn the animal over her back
toward the other side. The object is to keep the womb stationary while
the animal is rolling. If success attends the effort, the constriction
around the arm is suddenly relaxed, the spiral folds are effaced, and
the water-bags and foetus press forward into the passage. If the first
attempt does not succeed it may be repeated again and again until suc-
cess crowns the effort. Among my occasional causes of failure have
been the prior death and decomposition of the foetus, with the extrica-
tion of gas and overdistention of the womb, and the supervention of
inflammation and inflammatory exudation around the neck of the womb,
which hinders untwisting. The first of these conditions occurs early in
the horse from the detachment of the foetal membranes from the wall
of the womb, and as the mare is more subject to fatal peritonitis than
the cow, it may be concluded that both these sources of failure are
more probable in the equine subject.

When the case is intractable, though the hand may be easily in-
troduced, the instrument shown in Plate VIII, Fig. 7, may be used.

161

Each hole at the small end of the instrument has passed through it a
stout cord with a ruuniog noose, to be passed around two feet or other
portion of the foBtus which it may be possible to reach. The cords are
then drawn tight and fixed around the handle of the instrument, then
by using the cross-handle as a lever the foetus and womb may be rotated
in a direction opposite to that causing the obstruction. During this
process the hand must be introduced to feel when the twist has been
undone. This method may be supplemented, if necessary, by rolling
the mare as described above.

EFFUSION OF BLOOD IN THE VAGINAL WALLS.

This is common as a result of difficult parturition, but it may occur
from local injury before that act, and may seriously interfere with it.
This condition is easily recognized by the soft, doughy swelling so char-
acteristic of blood clots, and by the dark red color of the mucous mem-
brane. I have laid open such swellings with the knife as late as ten
days before parturition, evacuated the clots, and dressed the wound
daily with an astringent lotion (sulphate of zince 1 dram, carbolic acid
1 dram, water 1 quart). A similar resort might be had, if necessary,
during i^arturition.

CALCULUS (stone) AND TUMOR IN THE BLADDER.

The pressure upon the bladder containing a stone or a tumor may
prove so painful that the mare will voluntarily suppress the labor pains.
Examination of the bladder with the finger introduced through the
urethra will detect the offending agent. A stone should be extracted
with forceps (see "Lithotomy"). The large papillary tumors which I
have met with in the mare's bladder have been invariably delicate in
texture and could be removed piecemeal by forceps. Fortunately,
mares affected in this way rarely breed.

IMrACTION OF THE RECTUM WITH FyECES.

In some animals, with more or less paralysis or wealiness of the tail
and rectum, the rectum may become so impacted with solid faeces that
the mare is unable to discharge them, and the accumulation both by
reason of the mechanical obstruction and the pain caused by pressure
upon it will impel the animal to cut short all labor pains. The rounded
swelling surrounding the anus will at once suggest the condition, when
the obstruction may be removed by the well-oiled or soaped hand.

spasm of the neck OF THE WOMB.

This occurs in the mare of specially excitable temperament, or under
particular causes of irritation, local or general. Labor pains, though
continuing for some time, produce no dilatation of the neck of the
womb, which will be found firmly closed so as to admit but one or two
fingers, and this, although the projection at the mouth of the womb
11035 11

162

may Lave been entirely effaced, so that a simple round opening is left
with rigid margins.

The simplest treatment consists in smearing this part with solid ex-
tract of belladonna, and after an interval inserting the hand with fin-
gers and thumb drawn into the form of a cone, rupturing the mem-
branes and bringing the fcetus into jiosition for extraction, as advised
under "Prolonged Eetention of the Foetus." Another mode is to in-
sert through the neck of the womb an ovoid caoutchouc bag, empty,
and furnished with an elastic tube 12 feet long. Carry the free end
end of this tube upward to a height of 8, 10, or 12 feet, insert a tiller
into it, and proceed to distend the bag with tepid or warm water.

FIBROUS BANDS CONSTRICTING OR CROSSING THE NECK OF THE WOMB.

These occurring as the result of disease have been several times ob-
served m the mare. They may exist in the cavity of the abdomen and
compress and obstruct the neck of the womb, or they may extend from
side to side of the vagina across and just behind the neck of the womb.
In the latter position they may be felt and quickly remedied by cut-
ting them across. In the abdomen they can only be reached by incis-
ion, and two alternatives are presented : (1) To perforna embryotomy
and extract the foetus piecemeal ; and (2) to make an incision into
the abdomen and extract by the CiBsarian operation, or simply to cut
the constricting band and attempt delivery by the usual channel.

FIBROUS CONSTRICTION OF VAGINA OR VULVA.

This is probably always the result of direct mechanical injury aud
the formation of rigid cicatrices which fail to dilate with the remainder
of the passages at the approach of parturition. The presentation of
the foetus in the natural way and the occurrence of successive and
active labor pains without any favorable result will direct attention
to the rigid and unyielding cicatrices which may be incised at one,
two, or more points to a depth of half an inch or more, after which the
natural expulsiv.e efforts will usually prove effective. The resulting
wounds may be washed frequently with a solution of one part of car-
bolic acid to 50 parts of water, or of 1 part of mercuric chloride to
to 500 iiarts water.

FCETUS ADHERENT TO THE WALLS OF THE WOMB.

In inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the cavity of the
womb and implicating the fcetal membranes, the resulting embryonic
tissue sometimes establishes a medium of direct continuity between
the womb and foetal membranes; the blood vessels of the one communi-
cate freely with those of the other and the fibers of the one are pro-
longed into the other. This causes retention of the membranes after
birth, and a special risk of bleeding from the womb, and of sep-
tic poisoning. In exceptional cases the adhesion is more extensive

163

and binds a portion of the body of the foal firmly to the womb. In
such cases it has^repeatedly been found impossible to extract the foal
until such adhesions were broken down. If they can be reached with
the hand and recognized they may be torn through with the fingers or
with a blunt hook, after which delivery may be attempted with hope of
success.

EXCESSIVE SIZE OF THE FCETUS.

It would seem that a small mare may usually be safely bred to a
large stallion, yet this is not always the case, and when the small size is
an individual rather than a racial characteristic or the result of extreme
youth, the rule can not be expected to hold. There is always great
danger in breeding the young, small, and undeveloped female, and the
dwarfed representative of a larger breed, as the offspring tend to par-
take of the large race characteristics and to show them even prior to
birth. When impregnation has occurred in the very young or in the
dwarfed female, there are two alternatives — to induce abortion, or to
wait until there are attempts at parturition and to extract by embry-
otomy if impracticable otherwise.

CONSTRICTION OF A MEMBER BY THE NAVEL STRING.

In man and animals alike the winding of the umbilical cord round a
member of the foetus sometimes leads to the amputation of the latter.
It is also known to get wound around the neck or a limb at birth, but
in the mare this does not seriously impede parturition, as the loosely
attached membranes are easily separated from the womb and no stran-
gulation or retarding occurs. The foal may, however, die from the
cessation of the placental circulation unless it is speedily delivered.

WATER IN THE HEAD (HYDROCEPHALUS) OF THE FOAL.

This consists in the excessive accumulation of liquid in the ventricles
of the brain so that the cranial cavity is enlarged and constitutes a
great projecting rounded mass occupying the space from the eyes
upward. (See Plate XIV, Fig. 3.) With an anterior presentation (fore
feet and nose) this presents an insuperable obstacle to progress, as the
diseased cranium is too large to enter the pelvis at the same time with
the fore-arms. With a posterior presentation (hind feet) all goes well
until the body and shoulders have passed out, when progress is sud-
denly arrested by the great bulk of the head. In the first case, the
oiled hand introduced along the face detects the enormous size of the
head, which may be diminished by puncturing it with a knife or trochar
and cannula in the median line, evacuating the water and pressing in
the thin bony walls. With a posterior presentation, the same course
must be followed; the hand passed along the neck will detect the cranial
swelling, Avhich may be punctured with a knife or trochar. Oftentimes
with an anterior presentation the great size of the head leads to its

164

displacement backward and thus the fore limbs alone engage in the
passages. Here the first object is to seek and bring up the missing
head, and then puncture it as above suggested.

DROPSY OF THE ABDOMEN IN THE FOAL — ASCITES.

The accumulation of liquid in the abdominal cavity of the foetus ia
less frequent, but when present it may arrest parturition as completely
as will hydrocephalus. With an anterior presentation the foal may
pass as far as the shoulders, but behind this all efforts fail to secure a
further advance. With a posterior presentation the hind legs as far a3
the thighs may be expelled, but at this point all jirogress ceases. In
either case the oiled hand passed inward by the side of the foal will de-
tect the enormous distention of the abdomen and its soft, fluctuating
contents. The only course is to iiuncture the cavity and evacuate the
liquid. With the anterior presentation this may be done with a long
trochar and cannula, introduced through the chest and diaphragm ; or
with a knife an incision may be made between the first two ribs, and
the lungs and heart cut or torn out, when the diaphragm will be felt
projecting strongly forward and may be easily punctured. Should
there not be room to introduce the hand through the chest, the oiled
hand may be passed along beneath the breast bone and the abdomen
punctured. With a posterior presentation the abdomen must be punct-
ured in the same way, the hand, armed with a knife protected in its
palm, being passed along the side of the flank or between the hind
limbs. It should be added that moderate dropsy of the abdomen is not
incompatible with natural delivery, the liquid being at first crowded
back into the portion of the belly still engaged in the womb, and passing
slowly from that into the advanced i^ortion as soon as that has cleared
the narrow passage of the pelvis, and passed out where it can expand.

GENERAL DROPSY OF THE FCETUS.

In this case the tissues generally are distended with liquid, and the
skin is found at all points tense and rounded, and pitting on pressure
with the fingers. In some such cases delivery may be effected alter the
skin has been punctured at narrow intervals to allow the escape of the
fluid and then liberally smeared with fresh lard. More commonly,
however, it can not be reached at all points to be so punctured, nor
sufficiently reduced to be extracted whole, and resort must be had to
embryotomy.

SWELLING OF THE FCETUS WITH GAS — EMPHYSEMA.

This has been described as occurring in a living foetus, but I have
only met with it in the dead and decomposing foal, after futile efibrts
have been made for several days to effect delivery. These cases are
very difficult ones, as the foal is inflated to such an extent that it is
impossible to advance it into the passages, and the skin of the foetus

165

and the walls of the womb and vagina have become so dry that it ia
impracticable to cause the one to glide on the other. The hair comes
off any part that may be seized, and the case is rendered the more of-
fensive and dangerous by the very fetid liquids and gases. The only
resort is embryotomy, by which 1 have succeeded in saving a valuable
mare that had carried a colt in this condition for four days.

CONTRACTIONS OF MUSCLES.

The foal is not always developed symmetrically, but certain groups
of muscles are liable to remain short or to shorten because of persistent
spasmodic contraction, so that even the bones become distorted and
twisted. This is most common in the neck. The bones of this part
and even of the face are drawn to one side and shortened, the head
being held firmly to the flank and the jaws being twisted to the right
or left. In other cases the flexor muscles of the fore limbs are con-
tracted so that these members are strongly bent at the knee. In neither
of these cases can the distorted part be extended and straightened, so
that body or limbs must necessarily iiresent double, and natural deliv-
ery is rendered impossible. The bent neck "may sometimes be straight-
ened after the muscles have been cut on the side to which it is turned,
and the bent limbs after the tendons on the back of the shank bone have
been cut across. Failing to accomplish this, the next resort is to em-
bryotomy.

TUMORS OF THE FCETUS — INCLOSED OVUM.

Tumors or diseased growths may form on any part of the foal, in-
ternal or external, and by their size impede or hinder parturition. In
some cases what appears as a tumor is an imprisoned and undeveloped
ovum, which has grafted itself on the fcetus. These are usually saccu-
lated and may contain skin, hair, muscle, bone, and other natural tissues.
The only course to be pursued in such cases is to excise the tumor, or,
if this is not feasible, to perform embryotomy.

MONSTROSITIES.

Monstrosity in the foal is an occasional cause of difflcult parturition,
especially such monsters as show excessiv^e development of some part
of the body, a displacement or distortion of parts, or a redundancy of
parts, as in double monsters. Monsters may be divided into —

(1) Monsters with absence of parts — absence of head, limb, or other
organ.

(2') Monsters with some i)art abnormally small — dwarfed head, limb,
trunk, etc.

(3) Monsters through unnatural division of parts — cleft head, trunk,
limbs, etc.

(4) Monsters through absence of natural divisions — absence of mouth,
nose, eyes, anus, confluent digits, etc.

166

(5) Monsters tbrough fusion of parts— one central eye, one nasal
opening, etc.

(6) Monsters through abnormal position or form of parts — curved
spine, face, limb, etc.

(7) Monsters through excess of formation — enormous head, super-
numerary digits, etc.

(8) Monsters through imperfect differentiation of sexual organs —
hermaphrodites.

(9) Double monsters — double-headed, double-bodied, extra limbs,
etc.

The causes of monstrosities appear to be very varied. Some mon-
strosities, like extra digits, absence of horns or tails, etc., run in fami-
lies and are produced almost as certainly as color or form. Others are
associated with too close breeding, the powers of symmetrical develop-
ment beiug interfered with, just as in other cases a sexual incompati-
bility is developed, near relatives failing to breed with each other.
Mere arrest of development of a part may arise from accidental disease
of the embryo; hence vital organs are left out, or portions of organs, like
the dividing walls of the heart, are omitted, Sometimes an older foetus
is inclosed in the body of another, each having started independently
from a separate ovum, but the one having become embedded in the
semi-fluid mass of the other and having developed there simultaneously
with it, but not so largely nor perfectly. In many cases of redundance
of parts, the extra part or member has manifestly developed from the
same ovum and nutrient center with the normal member to which it
remains adherent, just as a new tail will grow out in a newt when the
the former has been cut off. In the early embryo, with its great powers
of development, this factor can operate to far greater purpose than in
the adult animal. Its influence is seen in the fact pointed out by St.
Hilaire that such redundant parts are nearly always connected with the
corresponding portions in the normal foetus. Thus superfluous legs or
digits are attached to the normal ones, double heads or tails are con-
nected to a common neck or rump, and double bodies are attached to
each other by corresponding points, navel to navel, breast to breast,
back to back. All this suggests the development of extra parts from
the same primary layer of the impregnated and developing ovum. The
effect of disturbing conditions in giving such wrong directions to the
developmental forces is well shown in the experiments of St. Hilaire
and Valentine in varnishing, shaking, and otherwise breaking up the
natural connections in eggs, and thereby determining the formation of
monstrosities at will. So, in the mammal, blows and other injuries
that detach the foetal membranes from the walls of the womb or that
modify their circulation by inducing inflammation are at times followed
by the development of a monster. The excitement, mental and phys-
ical, attendant on fright occasionally acts in a similar way, acting prob-
ably through the same channels.

167

The monstrous forms likely to interfere with parturition are such as
from contracted or twisted limbs or spine, must be presented double;
where supernumerary limbs, head, or body must approach the passages
with the natural ones; where a head or other member has attained to
an unnatural size ; where the body of one fcetus has become inclosed
in or attached to another, etc.

Extraction is sometimes possible by straightening the members and
securing such a presentation as will reduce the presenting mass to its
smallest and most wedge-like dimensions. To effect this it may be
needful to cut the flexor tendons of bent limbs or the muscles on the
side of a twisted neck or body; and one or more of the manii^ulations
necessary to secure and bring u\) a missing member may be required.
In most cases of monstrosity by excess, however, it is needful to remove
the superfluous parts, in which case the general principles employed
for emhryotomy must be followed. The Ctesarian section, by which the
foetus is extracted through an incision in the walls of the abdomen and
womb, is inadmissible, as it practically entails the sacrifice of the mare,
which should never be done for the sake of a monster. See "Em-
bryotomy."

ENTRANCE OF TWINS INTO THE PASSAGE AT ONCE.

Twins are rare in the mare, and still more rare is the impaction of
both at once intothe pelvis. The condition would be easily recognized
by the fact that two fore limbs and two hind would occupy the passage
at once, the front of the hoofs of the fore feet being turned upward and
those of the hind feet downward. If both belonged to one foal they
would be turned in the same direction. Once recognized, the condi-
tion is easily remedied by passing a rope with a running noose round
each foot of the foal that is farthest advanced or that promises to be
most easily extracted, and to i^ush the members of the other fcetus
back into the depth of the womb. As soon as the one foetus is fully
engaged in the passage it will hold its place and its delivery will pro-
ceed in the natural way.

TABLE OF WRONG PRESENTATIONS.

f Incompletely extended. Flexor tendons shortened,

fFore limbs ) Crossed over the neck.

I I Bent back at the knee.

l^Beufchack from the shoulder.

f Bent downward on the neck.

si

s- c3 Head } ^®^*^ ^"^ neck turned back beneath the breast.

®-M<( I Turned to one side.

a <B

U
ft

[Turned upward and backward on the back.

Hind limbs Hiud feet engaged in the pelvis.

Transverse Back of foal fo side of pelvis.

^ Inverted Back of foal to floor of pelvis.

•n § . »• fmnd limbs \ Benton itself at the hock.

® S ^"il 5 J \ Berut at the hip.

o u g •- 1 Transverse Back of foal to side of pelvis.

CL, o "^ t Inverted Back of foal to floor of pelvis.

Transverse presentation of body. \ ^\f^ back and loins presented.
*^ '' \ With breast and belly presented.

168

FORE-LIMBS INCOMPLETELY EXTENDED.

lu cases of this kiDtl, uot only are the back tendons behind the knee
and shank-bone unduly short, but the sinew extending from the
front of the shoulder-blade over the front of the elbow and down
to the head of the shank-bone is also shortened. The result is that
the fore-limb is bent at the knee and the elbow is also rigidly bent.
The condition obstructs parturition by the feet becoming pressed against
the floor of the pelvis or by the elbow pressing on its anterior brim.
Belief is to be obtained by forcible extension. A rope with a running
noose is passed around each fetlock and a repeller (see Plate YIII),
planted in the breast is pressed in a direction upward and backward
while active traction is made on the ropes. If the feet are not thereby
raised from the floor of the pelvis the palm of the hand may be placed
beneath them to protect the mucous membrane until they have ad-
vanced sufficiently to obviate this danger. In the absence of a repel-
ler, a smooth rounded fork-handle may be employed. If the shortening
is too great to allow of the extension of the limbs in this way, the tense
tendons may be cut across behind the shank bone and in front of the
elbow, and the limb will be easily straightened out. This is most easily
done with an embryotomy knife furnished with a ring for the middle
finger, so that the blade may be protected in the palm of the hand.
(See Plate XIY, Fig. 4.)

ONE FORE-LIMB CROSSED OVER THE BACK OF THE NECK.

With the long fore-limbs of the foal this readily occurs and the re-
sulting increase in thickness, both at the head and shoulder, offers a,
serious obstacle to progress. (See Plate X, Fig. 2.) The hand intro-
duced into the passage detects the head and one forefoot, and further
back on the same side of the head the second foot, from which the limb
may be traced obliquely across the back of the neck.

If parturition continues to make progress the displaced foot may
bruise and lacerate the vagina. By seizing the limb above the fetlock
it may be easily pushed over the head to the proper side, when par-
turition will proceed normally.

FORE-LIMB BENT AT THE KNEE.

The nose and one fore-foot present, and on examination the knee of
the missing fore-limb is found farther back. (Plate X, Fig. 1.) First
place a noose each on the presenting pastern and lower jaw, and push
back the body of the fcetus with a repeller. while the operator seizing
the shank of the bent limb extends it so as to press back the knee
and bring forward the fetlock and foot. As progress is made little
by little the hand is slid down from the region of the knee to the fet-
lock, and finally that is secured and brought up into the passage,
when parturition will proceed without hindrance. If both fore-limbs

169

are beut back the head must be noosed and tlio limbs brought up as
above, one after the other. It is usuallj' best to employ the left hand
for the right fore-limb and the right hand for the left fore-limb.

FORE-LIMB TURNED BACK FROM THE SHOULDER.

In this case, on esploration by the side of the head and presenting
limb, the shoulder only can be reached at first. (Plato X, Fig. 4.) By
noosing the head and presenting fore-limb these may be drawn for-
ward into the pelvis, and the oiled hand being carried along the shoul-
der in the direction of the missing limb is enabled to reach and seize
the fore arm just below the elbow. The body is now pushed back by
the assistants i)ressiug on the head and presenting limb or on a repel-
ler planted in the breast until the knee can be brought up into the pel-
vis, after which the procedure is the same as described in the last par-
agraph.

HEAD BENT DOWN BETWEEN THE FORE-LIMBS.

This may be so that the poll or nape of the neck with the ears can be
felt far back between the fore-limbs, or so that only the ujiper border of
the neck can be reached, head and neck being bent back beneath the
body. With the head only bent on the neck, noose the two presenting
limbs, then introduce the hand between them until the nose can be
seized in the palm of the hand. Next have the assistants push back
the presenting limbs, while the nose is strongly lifted upward over the
brim of the i^elvis. This accomplished it assumes the natural position
and parturition is easy.

When both head and neck are bent downward it may be impossible
to reach the nose. If, however, the labor has only commenced, the limbs
may be drawn upon until the operator can reach the ear, by dragging
on which the head may be so far advanced that the fingers may reach
the orbit; traction upon this while the limbs are being pushed back may
bring the head up so that it bends on the neck only, and the further
procedure will be as described in the last paragraph.

If the labor has been long in progress and the foetus is jammed into
the pelvis, the womb emptied of the waters and firml^^ contracted on its
solid contents, the case is incomparably more difQcult. The mare may
be chloroformed and turned on her back with hind parts elevated, and
the womb may be injected with sweet-oil. Then, if the ear can be
reached, the correction of the mal-presentation may be attempted as
above described. Should this fail one or more sharp hooks may be in-
serted in the neck as near the head as can be reached, and ropes at-
tached to these may be dragged on, while the body of the foal is pushed
back by the fore-limbs or by a repeller. Such repulsion should be made
in a direction obliquely upward toward the loins of the mother so as to
rotate the fostus in such a way as to bring the head up. As this is ac-
complished a hold should be secured nearer and nearer to the nose, with
hand or hook, until the head can be straightened out on the neck.

170

All means failing, it becomes necessary to remove tlie fore-limbs
{embryotomy) so as to make more space for bringing up the head. If,
even then, this can not be accomplished, it may be possible to push the
body backward and upward with the repeller until the hind-limbs are
brought to the passage, when they may be noosed and delivery effected
with the posterior presentation.

HEAD TURIs^ED BACK ON THE SHOULDER.

In this case, the fore-feet present, and the oiled h and passed along
the forearms in search of the missing head finds the side of the neck
turned to one side, the head being perhaps entirely out of reach.
(Plate XIII, Fig. 1.) To bring forward the head it may be desirable
to lay the mare on the opposite side to that to which the head is
turned, and even to give chloroform or ether. Then the feet being
noosed, the body of the foetus is pushed by the hand or repeller for-
ward and to the side opposite to that occupied by the head until the
head comes within reach, near the entrance of the pelvis. If such dis-
placement of the foetus is diflicult, it may be facilitated by a free use
of oil or lard. When the nose can be seized it can be brought into the
I)assage as when the head is turned down. If it can not be reached
the orbit may be availed of to draw the head forward until the nose can
be seized or the lower jaw noosed. In very difficult cases a rope may
be passed around the neck by the hand, or with the aid of a curved car-
rier (Plate VIII), and traction may be made upon this while the body
is being rotated to the other side. In the same way, in bad cases,
a hook may be fixed in the orbit or even between the bones of the
lower jaw to assist in bringing the head up into position. Should all
fail, the amputation of the fore-limbs may be resorted to as advised
under the last heading.

HEAD TURNED UPWARD ON THE BACK.

This differs from the last mal-presentatiou only in the direction of
the head, which has to be sought above rather than at one side, and is
to be secured and brought forward in a similar manner. (Plate XIII,
Fig. 2.) If a rope can be passed around the neck it will prove most
effectual, as it naturally slides nearer to the head as the neck is
straightened, and ends by bringing the head within easy reach.

HIND FEET ENGAGED IN THE PELVIS.

In this case fore-limbs and head iiresent naturally, but the hind
limbs bent forward from the hip and the loins arched allow the hind
feet also to enter the passages, and the farther labor advances the
more firmly does the body of the foal become wedged into the pelvis.
(Plate XII, Fig. 2.) The condition is to be recognized by introducing
the oiled hand along the belly of the foetus, when the hind feet will be

171

felt advancing. An attempt should at once be made to push them
back, one after the other, over the brim of the pelvis. Failing in this,
the mare may be turned on her back, head down hill, and the attempt
renewed. If it is possible to introduce a straight rope carrier, a noose
passed through this may be put on the fetlock and the repulsion thereby
made more effective. In case of continued failure the anterior present-
ing part of the body may be skinned and cut off as far back toward the
pelvis as possible (see "Embryotomy"); then nooses are placed on the
hind fetlocks and traction is made upon these while the quarters are
pushed back into the womb. Then the remaining portion is brought
away by the posterior presentation.

ANTERIOR PRESENTATION "WITH BACK TURNED TO ONE SIDE.

The greatest diameter of the axis of the foal, like that of the pelvic
passages, is from above downward, and when the foetus enters the
pelvis with this greatest diameter engaged transversely or in the nar-
row diameter of the pelvis, parturition is rendered dif&cult or impossi-
ble. In such a case the pasterns and head may be noosed, and the
passages and engaged portion of the foal freely lubricated with lard,
the limbs may be crossed over each other and the head, and a move-
ment of rotation effected in the fcetus until its face and back are turned
up toward the crouj) of the mother ; then parturition becomes natural.

BACK OF THE FOAL TURNED TO THE FLOOR OF THE PELVIS.

In a roomy mare this is not an insuperable obstacle to parturition,
yet it may seriously impede it, by reason of the curvature of the body
of the foal being opposite to that of the passages, and the head and
withers being liable to arrest against the border of the pelvis. Lubri-
cation of the passage with lard and traction of the limbs and head
will usually suffice with or without the turning of the mare on her back.
In obstinate cases two other resorts are open : (1) to turn the foal,
pushing back the fore-parts and bringing up the hind so as to make a
a posterior presentation, and (2) the amputation of the fore-limbs,
after which extraction will usually be easy.

HIND PRESENTATION WITH LEG BENT AT HOCK.

In this form the quarters of the foal with the hind-legs bent up be-
neath them present, but can not advance through the pelvis by reason
of their bulk. (Plate X, Fig. 3.) The oiled hand introduced can recog-
nize the outline of the buttocks, with the tail and anus in the center
and the sharp points of the hocks beneath. First pass a rope around
each limb at the hock, then with hand or repeller, push the buttocks
backward and upwards, until the feet can be brought up into the pas-
sages. The great length of the shank and pastern in the foal is a serious
obstacle to this, and in all cases the foot should be protected in the

172

palm of the baud while being brought up over the brim of the pelvis.
Otherwise the womb may be torn. When the pains are too violent and
constant to allow effective manipulation, some respite maybe obtained
by the use of chloroform or morphia, and by turning the mare ou her
back, but too often the operator fails and the foal must be sacrificed.
Two courses are still open : first, to cut through the cords behind and
above the hock and extend the upper part of the limb, leaving the
hock bent, and extract in this way, and, second, to amputate the hind
limbs at the hip joint and remove them separately, after which the body
may be extracted.

HIND PRESENTATION WITH LEGS BENT FORWARD FRO^M THE HIP.

This is merely an aggravated form of the presentation last de-
scribed. (Plate XII, Fig. 1). If the mare is roomy a rope may be
passed around each thigh and the body pushed upward and forward, so
as to bring the hocks and heels upward. If this can be accomplished,
nooses are placed on the limb farther and farther down until the feltlock
is reached and brought into position. If failure is met with, then am-
putation at the hips is the dernier ressort.

HIND PRESENTATIONS WITH THE BACK TURNED SIDEWAYS OB

DOWNWARD.

These are the counterparts of similar anterior presentations and are
to be managed in the same way.

PRESENTATION OF THE BACK.

This is rare, yet not unknown, the foal being bent upon itself with
the back, recognizable by its sharp row of spines, presented at the en-
trance of the pelvis, and the head and all four feet turned back into the
womb. (Plate XI, Fig. 1.) The body of the foetus may be extended
across the opening transversely so that the head corresponds to one side
(right or left), or it may be vertical with the head above or below.

In any such position the object should be to push the body of the
foetus forward and upward or to one side, as may best promise to bring
up the fore or hind extremities, and bring the latter into the passage so
as to constitute a normal anterior or posterior presentation. This turn-
ing of the foetus may be favored by a given position of the mother, by
the free use of oil or lard on the surface of the foetus, and by th3 use of
a propeller.

PRESENTATION OF BREAST AND ABDOMEN.

This is the reverse of the back presentation, the foal being extended
across in front of the pelvic opening, but with the belly turned toward
the passages and with all four feet engaged in the passage. (Plate XI,
Fig. 2.) The most promising course is to secure the hind feet with

173

nooses and then push the forefeet forward into the womb. As soon as
the forefeet are pushed forward clear of the brim of the pelvis, traction
is made on the hind feet so as to bring the thighs into the passage and
prevent the re-entrance of the fore-limbs. If it prove difficult to push
back the fore-limbs a noose may be passed around the fetlock of each
and the cord drawn through the eye of a rope carrier, by means of
which the members may be easily pushed back.

EMBRYOTOMY.

This consists in the dissection of the foetus so as to reduce its bulk
and allow of its exit through the pelvis. The indications for its adop-
tion have been furnished in the foregoing pages. The operation will
vary in different cases according to the necessity for the removal of one
or more parts in order to secure the requisite reduction in size. Thus
it may be needful to remove head and neck, one fore-limb or both, one
hind limb or both, to remove different parts of the trunk, or to remove
superfluous (monstrous) parts. Some of the simplest operations of em-
bryotomy (incision of the head in hydrocephalus, incision of the belly
in dropsy) have already been described. It remains to notice the more
difBcnlt procedures which can be best undertaken by the skilled
anatomist.

Amputation of the fore limbs. — This may usually be begun on the fet-
lock of the limb projecting from the vulva. An embryotomy knife is
desirable. This knife consists of a blade with a sharp, slightly hooked
point, and one or two rings in the back of the blade large enough to
fit on the middle finger, while the blade is protected in the palm of the
hand. (See Plate XIY, Fig. 4.) Another form has the blade inserted
in a mortise in the handle from which it is pushed out by a movable
button when wanted. First place a noose around the fetlock of the
limb to be amputated, cut the skin circularly entirely around the fet-
lock, then make an incision on the inner side of the limb from the fetlock
up to the breast bone, ifext dissect the skin from the limb, from the fet-
lock up to the breast bone on the inner side, and as far up on the shoulder
blade as possible on the outer side. Finally, cut through the muscles
attaching the limb to the breast bone, and employ strong traction on
the limb so as to drag out the whole limb, shoulder blade included. The
muscles around the upper part of the shoulder blade are easily torn
through and need not be cut, even if that were possible. In no case
should the fore-limb be removed unless the shoulder blade is taken with
it, as that furnishes the greatest obstruction to delivery, above all when
it is no longer advanced by the extension of the fore-limb, but is pressed
back so as to increase the already thickest posterior portion of the
chest. The preservation of the skin from the whole limb is advan-
tageous in various ways; it is easier to cut it circularly at the fetlock
than at the shoulder; it covers the hand and knife in making the need-
ful incisions, thus acting as a protection to the womb; and it affords a

174

means of traction on the body after tlie litnb has been removed. In dis-
secting the skin from the limb the knife is not needful at all points; much
of it may be stripped off with the fingers or knuckles, or by a blunt iron
spud pushed up inside the hide, which is meanwhile held tense to ren-
der the spud effective.

Amputation of the head. — This is easy when both fore-limbs are turned
back and the head alone has made its exit in part. It is more difficult
when the head is still retained in the passages or womb, as in double-
headed monsters. The head is secured by a hook in the lower jaw, or
in the orbit, or by a halter, and the skin is divided circularly around
the lower part of the face or at the front of the ears, according to the
amount of head protruding. Then an incision is made backward along
the line of the throat, and the skin dissected from the neck as far back
as possible. Then the muscles and other soft parts of the neck are cut
across, and the bodies of two vertebrse (neck bones) are severed by
cutting completely across the cartilage of the joint. The bulging of
the ends of the bones will serve to indicate the seat of the joint. The
head and detached portion of the neck may now be removed by steady
pulling. If there is still an obstacle the knife may be again used to
sever any obstinate connections. In the case of a double-headed mon-
ster, the whole of the second neck must be removed with the head.
When the head has been detached a rope should be passed through
the eye-holes, or through an artificial opening in the skin, and tied
firmly around the skin, to be employed as a means of traction when the
missing limbs or the second head have been brought up into position.

Amputation of the hind limh. — This may be required when there are
extra hind limbs, or when the hind limbs are bent forward at hock or
hip joint. In the former condition the procedure resembles that for
removal of a fore-limb, but requires more anatomical knowledge. Hav-
ing noosed the pastern, a circular incision is made through the skin
around the fetlock, and a longitudinal one from that up to the groin,
and the skin is dissected from the limb as high up as can be reached,
over the croup if possible. Then cut through the muscles around the
hip joint, and, if possible, the two interarticular ligaments of the joint
(pubiofemoral and round), and extract the limb by strong dragging.

In case the limb is bent forward at the hock, a rope is passed round
that and pulled so as to bring the point of the hock between the lips
of the vulva. The hamstring and the lateral ligaments of the hock are
now cut through, and the limbs extended by a rope tied round the
lower end of the long bone above (tibia). In case it is still needful to
remove the upper part of the limb, the further procedure is the same
as described in the last paragraph.

In case the limb is turned forward from the hip, and the foetus so
wedged into the passage that turning is impossible, the case is very
difficult. I have repeatedly succeeded by cutting in on the hip joint
and disarticulating it, then dissecting the muscles back from the upper

175

end of the thigh bone. A noose was placed around the neck of the bone
and pulled on forcibly, wliile any unduly resisting structures were cut
with the knife.

Cartwright recommends to make free incisions round the hip joints
and tear through the muscles when they can not be cut; then with
cords round the pelvic bones, and hooks inserted in the openings in the
floor of the pelvis to drag out the pelvic bones ; then put cords arouud
the heads of the thigh bones and extract them; then remove the intes-
tines; and finally, by means of the loose, detached skin, draw out the
body with the remainder of the hind limbs bent forward beneath it.

Keuft" cuts his way into the pelvis of the foal, and with a knife separ-
ates the pelvic bones from the loins, then skinning the quarter draws
out these pelvic bones by means of ropes and hooks, and along with
them the hind limbs.

The hind limbs having been removed by one or the other of these pro-
cedures, the loose skin detaciied from the pelvis is used as a means of
traction and delivery is effected. If it has been a monstrosity with ex-
tra hind limbs, it may be possible to bring these up into the passage
and utilize them for traction.

Removal of the abdominal viscera. — In case where the belly is unduly
large, from decomposition, tumors, or otherwise, it may be needful to
lay it open with the knife and cut or tear out the contents.

Removal of the thoracic viscera, — To diminish the bulk of the chest it
has been found advisable to cut out the breast-bone, remove the heart
and lungs, and allow the ribs to collapse with the lower free ends over-
lapping each other.

Dissection of the trunk. — In case it becomes necessary to remove other
portions of the trunk, the general rule should be followed of preserving
the skin so that all maniiDulations can be made inside this as a pro-
tector, that it may remain available as a means of exercising traction
on the remaining parts of the body, and as a covering to protect the
vaginal walls against injuries from bones while such part is passing.

FLOODING— BLEEDING- FROM THE WOMB.

This is rare in the mare, but not unknown, in connection with a fail-
ure of the womb to contract on itself after parturition, or with eversion
of the womb (casting the withers), and congestion or laceration. If the
blood accumulates in the flaccid womb the condition may only be sus-
pected by reason of the rai^idly advancing weakness, swaying, unsteady
gait, hanging head, paleness of the eyes and other mucous membranes,
and weak, small, failing pulse. The hand introduced into the womb
detects the presence of the blood partly clotted. If the blood escapes
by the vulva the condition is evident.

Treatment consists in evacuating the womb of its blood clots, giving
a large dose of powdered ergot of rye, and in the application of cold
water or ice to the loins and external generative organs. Beside this

176

a sponge impregnated with a strong solution of alum, or, still better,
with tincture of muriate of iron may be introduced into the womb and
squeezed so as to bring the liquid in contact with the walls generally.

EVERSION OF THE WOMB.

If the womb fails to contract after difficult parturition, the after-pains
will sometimes lead to the fundus passing into the body of the organ
and passing through that and the vagina until the whole inverted organ
appears externally and hangs down on the thighs. The result is rapid
engorgement and swelling of the organ, impaction of the rectum with
fneces, and distention of the bladder with urine, all of which conditions
seriously interfere with the return of the mass. In returning the womb
the standing is preferable to the recumbent jiosition, as the abdomen
is more pendant and there is less obstruction to the return. It may,
however, be necessary to put hobbles on the hind limbs to prevent the
mare from kicking. A clean sheet should be held beneath the womb
and all filth, straw, and foreign bodies washed from its surface. Then
with a broad, elastic (india-rubber) band, or in default of that a long
strip of calico 4 or 5 inches wide, wind the womb as tightly as possible,
beginning at its most dependent part (the extremity of the horn). This
serves two good ends. It squeezes out into the general circulation the
enormous mass of blood which engorged and enlarged the organ, and
it furnishes a strong protective covering for the now delicate friable
organ, through which it may be safely manipulated without danger of
laceration. The next step may be the pressure on the general mass
while those portions next the vulva are gradually pushed in with the
hands; or the extreme lowest point (the end of the horn) may be turned
within itself and pushed forward into the vagina by the closed fist, the
return being assisted by manipulations by the other hand, and even by
those of assistants. By either mode the manipulations may be made
with almost perfect safety so long as the organ is closely wrapped in
the bandage. Once a portion has been introduced into the vagina the
rest will usually' follow with increasing ease, and the operation should
be completed with the hand and arm extended the full length within
the womb and moved from point to point so as to straighten out all parts
of the organ and insure that no portion still remains inverted within
another portion. Should any such partial inversion be left it will give
rise to straining, under the force of which it will gradually increase
until the whole mass will be protruded as before. The next step is to
apply a truss as an effectual mechanical barrier to further escape of
the womb through the vulva. The simplest is made with two inch ropes,
each about 18 feet long. These are each doubled and interwoven at
the bend, as seen in Plate YIII, Fig. 4. The ring formed by the inter-
lacing of the two ropes is adjusted around the vulva, the two ends of
the one rope are carried up on the right and left of the tail and along
the spine, being wound round each other in their course, and are finally

177

tied to the upper part of the collar encircling the neck. The remain-
ing two ends, belonging to the other rope, are carried downward and
forward between the thighs and thence forward and upward on the
sides of the belly and chest to be attached to the right and left sides of
the collar. These ropes are drawn tightly enough to keep closely ap-
plied to the opening without chafing, and will fit still more securely
when the mare raises her back to strain. It is desirable to tie the mare
short so that she may be unable to lie down for a day or two, and she
should be kept in a stall with the hind parts higher than the fore. Violent
straining may be checked by full doses of opium (one-half dram), and
any costiveness or diarrhea should be obviated by a suitable laxative or
binding diet.

In some mares the contractions are too violent to allow of the return
of the womb, and full doses of opium (one-half dram), laudanum (two
ounces), or chloral hydrate (one ounce) may be demanded, or the mare
must be rendered insensible by ether or chloroform.

RUPTUEE OR LACERATION OF THE WOMB.

This may occur from the feet of the foal during parturition, or from
ill-directed efforts to assist, but it is especially liable to take place in
the everted, congested, and friable organ. The resultant dangers are
bleeding from the wound, escape of the bowels through the opening
and their fatal injury by the mare's feet or otherwise, and peritonitis
from the extension of inflammation from the wound and from the pois-
onous action of the septic liquids of the womb escaping into the ab-
dominal cavity. The first object is to close the wound, but unless in
aversion of the womb this is practically impossible. In the last named
condition the wound must be carefully and accurately sewed up before
the womb is returned. After its return, the womb must be injected
daily with an antiseptic solution (borax one-half ounce or carbolic acid
3 drachms to a quart of tepid water). If inflammation threatens,
the abdomen may be bathed continuously with hot water by means of
a heavy woolen rag, and large doses of opium (one-half dram) may be
given twice or thrice daily.

RUPTURES OF THE VAGINA.

These are attended by dangers similar to those belonging to rupture
of the womb, and in addition by the risk of protrusion of the bladder,
which appears through the lips of the vulva as a red pyriform mass.
Sometimes such lacerations extend downward into the bladder, and
in others upward into the terminal gut (rectum). In still other cases
the anus is torn so that it forms one common orifice with the vulva.

Too often such cases prove fatal, or at least a recovery is not at-
tained, and urine or foeces or both escaiie freely into the vagina. The
11035 12

178

simple laceration of the anus is easily sewed up, but the ends of the
muscular fibers do not reunite and the control over the lower bowel is
never fully re-acquired. The successful stitching up of the wound com-
municating with the bladder or the rectum requires unusual skill and
care, and though I have succeeded in a case of the latter kind, I can
not advise the attem^it by unprofessional persons.

BLOOD CLOTS IN THE WALLS OF THE VAGINA.

See *' Obstructions to parturition."

INFLAMMATION OF THE "WOMB AND PERITONEUM.

These may result from injuries sustained by the womb during or
after parturition, from exposure to cold or wet, or from the irritant ac-
tion of putrid products within the womb. Under the inflammation the
womb remains dilated and flaccid, and decomposition of its secretions
almost always occurs, so that the inflammation tends to assume a putrid
character and general septic infection is likely to occur.

The symptoms are ushered in by shivering, staring coat, small rapid
pulse, elevated temperature, accelerated breathing, inapx)etence, with
arched back, stiff movement of the body, looking back at the flanks,
and uneasy motions of the hind limbs, discharge from the vulva of a
liquid at first watery, reddish, or yellowish, and later it may be whitish
or glairy, and fetid or not in different cases. Tenderness of the abdo-
men shown on pressure is especially characteristic of cases affecting
the peritoneum or lining of the belly, and is more marked lower down.
If the animal survives, the inflammation tends to become chronic and
attended by a whitish mucopurulent discharge. If, on the contrary,
it proves fatal, death is preceded by extreme i)rostration and weakness
from the general septic poisoning.

In treatment the first thing to be sought is the removal of all offen-
sive and irritant matters from the womb through a caoutchouc tube in-
troduced into the womb, and into which a funnel is fitted. Warm water
should be passed until it comes away clear. To insure that all of the
womb has been washed out, the oiled hand may be introduced to carry
the end of the tube into the two horns successively. When the offen-
sive contents have been thus removed, the womb should be injected
with a quart of water holding in solution one-half ounce permanganate
of potash, or, in the absence of the latter, two teaspooufuls of carbojic
acid. Eepeat twice daily. Fomentation of the abdomen, or the appli-
cation of a warm flax-seed poultice, may greatly relieve. Acetanilid,
in doses of half an ounce, repeated twice or thrice a day, or sulphate
of quinia in doses of one-third ounce, may be employed to reduce the
fever. If the great prostration indicates septic iwisouing large doses
(one-half ounce) bisulphite of soda, or salicylate of soda may be re-
sorted to.

179

-LEUCORRnCEA.

This is a white, glutinous, chronic discharge, the result of a continued
sub-acute iuflaramation of the mucous membrane Of the womb. Like the
discharge of acute intlammation it contains many forms of bacteria, by
some of which it is manifestly inoculable on the penis of the stallion,
producing ulcers and a specific gonorrhoeal discharge.

Treatment may consist in the internal use of tonics (sulphate of iron
3 drams daily), and the washing out of the womb, as described under
the last heading, followed by an astringent antiseptic injection (car-
bolic acid 2 teaspoonfuls, tannic acid one-half dram, water one quart).
This may be repeated two or three times a day.

LAMINITIS OK FOUNDER FOLLOWING PARTURITION.

This sometimes follows on inflammation of the womb, as it frequently
does on disorder of the stomach. Its symptoms agree with those of the
common form of founder, and treatment need not differ.

DISEASES OF THE UDDER AND TEATS — CONGESTION AND INFLAM-
MATION OF THE UDDER.

This is comparatively rare in the mare, though in some cases the ud-
der becomes painfully engorged before parturition, and a doughy swell-
ing, pitting on pressure, extends forward on the lower surface of the
abdomen. When this goes on to active inflammation one or both of the
glands become enlarged, hot, tense, and painful; the milk is dried up
or replaced by a watery or reddish serous fluid, which at times becomes
fetid ; the animal walks lame, loses appetite, and shows general disor-
der and fever. The condition may end in recovery, in abscess, indu-
ration, or gangrene, and in some cases may lay the foundation for a tu-
mor of the gland.

The treatment is simple so long as there is only congestion. Active
rubbing with lard or oil, or better, camphorated oil, and the frequent
drawing off of the milk, by the foal or with the hand, will usually bring
about a rapid improvement. When active inflammation is present fo-
mentation with warm water may be kept up for an hour and followed
by the application of the camphorated oil, to which has been added some
carbonate of soda and extract of belladonna. A dose of laxative medi-
cine (4 drams Barbadoes aloes) will be of service in reducing fever, and
one half ounce saltpeter daily will serve a similar end. In case the milk
coagulates in the udder and can not be withdrawn, or when the liquid
becomes fetid, a solution of 20 grains carbonate of soda and 10 drops
carbolic acid dissolved in an ounce of water should be injected into the
teat. In doing this it must be noted that the mare has three separate
ducts opening on the summit of each teat and each must be carefully in-
jected. To draw off the fetid product it may be needful to use a small
milking tube, or spring teat-dilator designed by the writer (Plate YlII,

180

figs. 2 and 3.) When pus forms and points externally, and can not
find a free escape by the teat, the spot where it fluctuates must be
opened freely with the knife and the cavity injected daily with the car-
bolic acid lotion. When the gland becomes hard and indolent it may
be rubbed daily with iodiue ointment 1 part, vaseline 6 parts.

TUMOKS OF THE UDDER.

As the result of iuflammatiou of the udder it may become the seat of
an indurated diseased growth, which may go on growing and seriously
interfere with the movement of the hind limbs. If such swellings will
not give way in their early stages to treatment by iodino the only re-
sort is to cut them out with a knife. As the gland is often implicated
and has to be removed, such mares can not in the future suckle their
coits, and therefore should uo^^ be bred.

SORE TEATS, SCABS, CRACKS, WARTS.

By the act of sucking, especially in cold weather, the teats are sub-
ject to abrasions, cracks, and scabs, and as the result of such irritation,
or independently, warts sometimes grow and prove troublesome. The
warts should be clipped off with sharp scissors and their roots burned
with a solid pencil of lunar caustic. This is best done before parturi-
tion to secure healing before suckling begins. For sore teats use an
ointment of vaseline 1 ounce, balsam of tola 5 grains, and sulphate of
zinc 5 grains.

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DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

By M, R. TRUMBOWER, V. S.

THE ANATOMY AND rHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS

SYSTEM.

The uerv^ous system may be regarded as consisting of two sets of
organs, peripheral and central, the function of one being to establish a
communication between the centers and the different parts of the body,
and that of the other to generate nervous force. The whole may be
arranged under two divisions : First. The cerebrospinal or nervous sys-
tem of animal life. Second. The sympathetic, ganglionic, or nervous
system of organic life. Each is possessed of its own central and periph-
eral organs.

In the first, the center is made up of two portions, one large and
expanded— the brain — placed in the cranial cavity; the other elon-
gated—spinal cord — continuous with the brain, and lodged in the canal
of the vertebral column. The peripheral portion of this system consists
of the cerebro-spinal nerves, which leave the axis in symmetrical pairs,
and are distributed to the skin, the voluntary muscles, and the organs
of common and spinal sensation.

In the second, the central organ consists of a chain of ganglia con-
nected by nerve cords, which extends from the head to the rump on
each side of the spine. The nerves of this system are distributed to the
involuntary muscles, mucous membrane, viscera, and blood-vessels.

The two systems have free intercommunication, ganglia being at the
junctions.

Two substances, distinguishable by their color, enter into the forma-
tion of nervous matter, viz, the white or medullary, and the gray or
cortical substance. Both are soft, fragile, and easily injured, in con-
sequence of which the principal nervous centers are always well pro-
tected by bony coverings. The nervous substances present two dis-
tinct forms — nerve fibers and nerve cells. An aggregation of nerve cells
constitutes a nerve ganglion.

The nerve fibers represent a conducting apparatus, and serve to
place the central nervous organs in connection with i)eripheral end

181

182

organs. The nerve cells, however, besides transmitting impulses, act
as physiological centers for automatic or reflex movements, and also
for the sensory, perceptive, trophic, and secretory functions. A nerve
consists of a bundle of tubular fibers, held together by a dense areolar
tissue, and inclosed in a membranous sheath— the neurilemma. Iv'erve
fibers possess no elasticity, but are very strong. Divided nerves do not
retract.

Nerves are thrown into a state of excitement when stimulated, and
are, therefore, said to i^ossess excitable or irritable ])roperties. The
stimuli may be applied to, or may act upon any part of the nerve.
Nerves may be paralyzed by continuous pressure being applied. When
the nerves divide into branches, there is never any splitting up of their
ultimate fibers, nor yet is there ever any coalescing of them -, they
retain their individuality from their source to their termination.

Nerves which convey impressions to the centers are termed sensory
or centripetal^ and those which transmit stimulus from the centers to
organs of motion are termed motor or centrifugal.

The function of the nervous system may^ therefore, be defined in the
simplest terms, as follows: It is intended to associate the different x>arts
of the body in siich a manner that stimulus applied to one organ may ex-
cite or depress the activity of another.

The brain is that portion of the cerebro-spinal axis within the cra-
nium, which may be divided into four parts — the medulla oblongata, the
cerebellum, t\iQ pons Varolii, and the cerebrum, and it is covered by three
membranes called the meninges. The first of these membranes, the
dura mater, is a thick, white, fibrous membrane which lines the cavity
of the cranium, forming the internal periosteum of the bones; it is con-
tinuous with the spinal cord to the extremity of the canal. The second,
the araclinoid, is a delicate serous membrane, and loosely envelops the
brain and spinal cord; it forms two layers, leaving between them the
arachnoid space which contains the cerebro-spinal fluid, the use of
which is to protect the spinal cord and brain from pressure. The third,
the pia mater, is closelj' adherent to the entire surface of the brain, but
is much thinner and more vascular than when it reaches the spinal cord
which it also envelops, and is continued to form the sheaths of the
spinal nerves.

The medulla oblongata is the prolongation of the spinal cord, extend-
ing to the pons Varolii. This portion of the brain is very large in the
horse; it is pyramidal in shape, the narrowest part joining the cord.

The ^ons Varolii is the transverse projection on the base of the brain,
between the medulla oblongata and the peduncles of the cerebrum.

The cerebellum is lodged in the posterior part of the cranial cavity,
immediately above the medulla oblongata; it is globular or elliptical in
shape, the transverse diameter being greatest. The body of the cere-
bellum is composed of gray matter externally and white in the center.

The cerebrum, or brain proper, occupies the anterior portion of the

183

cranial cavity. It is ovoid in shape, with an irreguhir flattened base,
and consists of lateral halves or hemispheres. The greater part ol
the cerebrum is composed of white matter. The hemispheres of the
cerebrnm are usually said to be the seat of all psychical activities.
Only when they are intact are the processes of feeling, thinking, and
willing possible. After they are destroyed, the organism comes to be
like a complicated machine, and its activity is only the expression of the
internal and external stimuli which act upon it. The cerebellum is the
great and important central organ for the finer co-ordination and inte-
gration of movements. Injuries to the cerebellum cause disturbance of
the equilibrium of the body, but do not interfere with the psychical
activities or the will or consciousness, neither does an injury to these
parts give rise to pain.

The spincd cord or spinal marrow is that part of the cerebro-spinal
system which is contained in the spinal canal of the backbone, and
extends from the medulla oblongata to a short distance behind the
loins. It is an irregularly cylindrical structure, divided into two
lateral symmetrical halves by fissures. The spinal cord terminates
posteriorly in a pointed extremity, which is continued by a mass of ner-
vous trunks — cauda equincc. A transverse section of the cord reveals
that it is composed of white matter externally and of gray internally.
The spinal cord does not fill up the whole spinal canal. The latter con-
tains, besides, a large venous sinus, fatty matter, the membranes of the
cord, and the cerebro-spinal fluid.

The spinal nerves, forty-two or forty-three in number, arise each by
two roots, a superior or sensory and an inferior or motor. The nerves
originating from the brain are twenty-four in number, and arranged in
pairs, which are named first, second, third, etc., counting from before
backward. They also receive special names, according to their func-
tions, or the parts to which they are distributed, viz :

1. Olfactory.

2. Optic.

3. Oculo-motor.

4. Putlietic.

7. Facial.

8. Auditory,

9. Glosso-Pharyngeal.

10. Pneumogastric.

11. Spinal-Accessory.

12. Hypoglossal.

6. Abdaeens.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN AND ITS MEMBRANES.

Inflammation may attack these membranes singly, or any one of the
anatomical divisions of the nerve matter, or it may invade the whole
at once. Practical experience, however, teaches us that primary in-
flammation of the dura mater is of rare occurrence, except in direct
mechanical injuries to the head or diseases of the bones of the cranium.
Neither is the arachnoid often affected with acute inflammation except
as a secondary result. The pia mater is most commonly the seat of
inflammation, acute and subacute, but from its intimate relation with
the surface of the brain the latter very soon becomes involved in the

184

morbid elianges. Practically, we can not separate inflammation of the
pia mater from that of the brain proper. Inflammation may, however,
exist in the center of the great nerve masses, the cerebrum, cerebellum,
pons Varolii, or medulla at the base of the brain, without involving
the surface. When, therefore, inflammation invades the brain and its
enveloping membranes it is properly called encephalitis ; when the
membranes alone are affected it is called meningitis ; or the brain sub-
stance alone, cerebritis.

ENCEPHAL-ITIS — INFLAMMATION OF THE BKAIN AND ITS MEMBRANES.

Causes. — Exposure to extreme heat or cold, excessive continued cere-
bral excitement, direct injuries to the brain, such as concussion, or from
fracture of the cranium, sometimes as a sequelae to influenza, pysemia,
jioisons having a direct influence upon the encephalic mass, etc.

Symptoius. — Acute encephalitis may be ushered in by an increased
sensibility to noises, with more or less nervous excitability, contraction
of the pupil of the eyes, and a quick, hard pulse. In very acute attacks
these symptoms, however, are not always noted. This condition will
soon be followed by muscular twitchiugs, convulsive or spasmodic move-
ments, eyes wide open with shortness of sight. The animal becomes
afraid to have his head handled. Convulsions and delirium will develop,
with inability of muscular control, or stupor and coma may supervene.
Where the membranes are greatly implicated convulsions and delirium
with violence may be expected, but where the brain substances is prin-
cipally affected stupor and coma will be the prominent symptoms. In
the former condition the pulse will be quick and hard, in the latter soft
or depressed with often a dilatation of the pupils, and deep, slow, ster-
terous breathing. The symptoms. may follow one another in rapid suc-
cession, and the disease approach a fatal termination in less than twelve
hours. In subacute attacks the symjitoms are better defined, and the
animal seldom dies before the third day. Within three or four days
gradual imjirovement may become manifest, or cerebral softening with
partial paralysis may occur. In all cases of encephalitis there is a
marked rise in temperature from the very onset of the disease, with a
tendency to increase until the most alarming symptoms develop, suc-
ceeded by a decrease when coma becomes manifested. The violence
and character of the symptoms greatly depend upon the extent and
location of the structures involved. Thus, in some cases wo may find
marked paralysis of certain muscles, while in others we may have spas-
modic rigidity of muscles in a certain region. Very rarely the animal
becomes extremely violent early in the attack, aifd by rearing up, strik-
ing with the fore feet, or falling over, may do himself great injury.
Usually, however, the animal maintains the standing position, propping
himself against the manger or wall until he falls from inability of mus-
cular control or unconsciousness. Occasionally he may go through a

185

series of automatic movements in his delirium, such as trotting or walk-
ing, and if loose in a stall will move around in a circle persistently.
Early and persistent constipation of the bowels is a marked symptom
in nearly all acute affections of the brain ; retention of the urine, also,
IS frequently observed.

Chronic encephalitis. — This may succeed the acute stage, or may be
due to stable miasma, blood-poison, narcotism, lead-poisoniug, etc.
Contrary to acute encephalitis, this form is not characterized in its ini-
tial stages by excitability, quick and hard pulse, and high fever. The
animal appears at first stupid; eats slowly; the pupil of the eye does
not respond to light quickly; the animal often throws up his head or
shakes it as if siifiering sudden twinges of pain. He is slow and slug-
gish in his movements, or there may be partial paralysis of one limb,
one side of the face, neck, or body. These symptoms, with some varia-
tions, may be present for several days and then subside, or the disease
may pass into the acute stage and terminate fatally. Chronic encepha,-
litis may affect an animal for ten days or two weeks without much var-
iation in the symptoms before the crisis is reached. If improvement
commences the symptoms usually disappear in the reverse order in
which they developed with the exception of the paralytic effects, which
remain intractible or permanent. Paralysis of certain sets of muscles
is a very common result of chronic, subacute, and acute encephalitis,
and is due to softening of the brain, or to exudation into the cavities
of the brain or arachnoid space.

MENINaiTIS — THE MAD STAGGERS OF THE OLD WRITERS — INFLAM-
MATION OF THE CEREBRAL ENVELOPES.

Causes. — Excess of heat or cold, wounds of the cranium and mem-
branes, rheumatism, influenza, rupture of meningeal blood-vessels, etc.

Symptoms. — In an attack of acute meningitis the symptoms appear
very suddenly and are often extremely violent. The violent pain in the
head is indicated by the animal flying back in the halter, plunging for-
ward or running ahead, regardless of obstacles or obstructions in the
way. The pulse is very rapid, the breathing accelerated or panting,
the pupils of the eyes contracted, and the muscles of the body quiver-
ing. All these symptoms may develop within a few minutes or in a
few hours. If the animal does not obtain relief, spasms or rigidity of
the muscles along one or both sides of the neck or back will become
manifest, the head will be held elevated, the eyeballs will retract
into their sockets, the eye-lids twitch, convulsions and furious delirium
will soon appear, followed by coma and death. Acute meningitis
may result fatally in a very few hours. During the whole course of the
disease the more violent symptoms occur in paroxysms, and the least
noise or disturbance serves to induce them. In the quiescent periods
the animal appears dull and drowsy. The urine is frequently ejected
in spurts and strong efforts are made to pass manure. In subacute

186

menivgifis the symptoms will develop more slowly and be less ^marked
by violeuce. The sensory functions may not be much interfered with
until the near approach of death. In such attacks the animal may
suffer for a week or longer and ultimately recover. In meningitis the
temperature varies from 103° to 107° F., according to the severity of
the attack.

The violent symptoms of this disease must not be confounded with
those of rabies. In the latter the violence is directed at some object or
upon the animal himself; in the former no malice is shown toward the at-
tendant or surrounding objects, but is simply the manifestation of ex-
cruciating pain in the head. Meningitis may be distinguished from
encephalitis and cerebritis by the absence of marked localized paralytic
symptoms, or of coma, until the near approach of death. It is charac-
terized by violence, increased sensibility, and delirium.

CEBEBRITIS— INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN SUBSTANCE.

Causes.— The causes giving rise to this disease are very numerous.
Among them may be mentioned all those named heretofore as causing
encephalitis and meningitis, cystic and calcareous tumors, thrombi,
uraemic poisoning, metastatic abscesses, septic infection, etc.

Symptoms. — Cerebritis, when unaccompanied by other disease, is sel-
dom recognized as such during life. It is always localized in extent,
and the symptoms manifested depend upon the location of the organic
change for their character. The symptoms, therefore, are as varied as
the causes; they are usually of slow development and persistent. Ver-
tigo or giddiness may be regarded as a constant symptom. The ani-
mal may stop on the road, shake his head, or stagger, apparently un-
decided in what direction to go. There may be contraction of the pu-
pils, cramp of the muscles on the side of the neck or face, pulse small
and hard and variable in frequency, often, however, slower than normal.
The temperature is slightly increased, the respirations may be slow and
deep, the appetite capricious, bowels constipated; rapid emaciation is
a common symptom. Such conditions may be apparent for a week or
two weeks; then the horse may become comatose. The pupils dilate,
the pulse becomes intermitting, swallowing difficult, the muscles which
were previously rigid become relaxed and paralyzed, and the urine may
either be retained or be discharged involuntarily. In this way the ani-
mal may survive another week and then die in a paralyzed and uncon-
scious state. Not infrequently, however, few of those symptoms are
manifested, for in some cases the paralysis is sudden from extensive
lesions of the brain, and the animal may die within twenty-four hours.

SOFTENING AND ABSCESS OF THE BRAIN.

This is one of the terminations of cerebritis. It may also be due to
an insufficient supply of blood as a result of diseased cerebral arteries
and of apoplexy.

187

S>jm2Jtoms.—DroY7smcs5, vertigo, or attacks of giddiness, increased
timidity, or fear of familiar objects, paralysis of one limb, hemiplegia,
imperfect control of the limbs, and usually a weak, intermittent pulse.
In some cases tlie symptoms are analagous to those of apoplexy. The
character of the symptoms depends upon the seat of the softening or
abscess within the brain.

CEREBRAL SCLEROSIS.

This is a result of an inflammation in the structure of the brain af-
fecting the connective tissues, which eventually become hypertrophied
and press upon nerve cells and fibers, causing their ultimate disappear-
ance, leaving the parts hard and indurated.

Symptoms.— This condition gives rise to a progressive paralysis, and
may extend aloug a certain bundle of fibers into the spinal cord. Com-
plete paralysis almost invariably supervenes and causes death.

PATHOLOGY OF ACUTE BRAIN AFFECTIONS.

On making j?osf ?>Jorfem examinations of horses which have died in
the first stages of either of those diseases, we will find an excessive en-
gorgement of the capillaries and small blood-vessels, with correspond-
ingly increased redness and molecular changes in both contents and
the walls of the vessels. If the death has occurred at a later period of
the disease, in addition to the redness and engorgement we will find
that an exudation of the contents of the blood-vessels into the tissues
and upon the surfaces of the inflamed parts has supervened. If the
case has been one of encephalitis we will usually find more or less wa-
tery fluid in the ventricles (natural cavities in the brain), in the sub-
arachnoid space, and a serous exudation between the convolutions and
interstitial spaces of the gray matter under the membranes of the brain.
The amount of fluid varies in different cases. In some where the ani-
mal's blood was very plastic, exudations of a membranous character
may be present and are found attached to the surface of the pia mater.

In meningitis , especially in chronic cases, in addition to the serous
effusion, we find changes which may be regarded as characteristic in the
formation of a delicate and highly vascular layer or layers of membrane
or organized structure on the surface of the dura mater, and also indi-
cations of hemorrhages in connection with the membranous formations.
Hsematoma or blood tumors may be found embedded in this membrane.
In some cases the hemorrhages are copious, causing paralysis or
apoplexy, followed by speedy death.

In cerebritis, or inflammation of the interior of the brain, there is a
tendency to softening and suppuration and the formation of abscesses.
In some cases the abscesses are small and numerous, surrounded vvith
a softened condition of the brain matter, and sometimes we may find
one large abscess. In cases of recent development the walls of the ab-
scesses are fringed and ragged and have no lining membrane. In older

188

or clironic cases, the walls of the abscesses are generally liued with a
strong membrane, often having the appearance of a sac or cyst, and the
contents have a very offensive odor.

Treatment. — In all acute attacks of inflammation involving the mem-
branes or cerebral masses, it is the pressure from the distended and
engorged blood-vessels, and the rapid accumulation of inflammatory
products, that endangers the life of the animal in even the very early
stage of the disease. The earlier the treatment is commenced to lessen
the danger of fatal pressure from the engorged blood-vessels, the less
amount of inflammatory products and effusion we have to contend with
later on. The leading object then to be accomplished in the treatment
of the first stages of encephalitis, meningitis, or cerebritis is to relieve
the engorgement of the blood-vessels before a dangerous degree of effu-
sion or exudation has taken place, and thereby lessen the irritation or
excitability of the affected structures. If we fully succeed in this stage
in the accomplishment of this object, we certainly prevent a second
stage of the disease, and it will only be required to continue a treat-
ment which will tend to lessen irritability to prevent a second engorge-
ment from taking place. But if the attempt to relieve the engorgement
in the first stage has been only partially successful, and the second
stage with its inflammatory products and exudations, whether serous
or plastic, has set in, then the main objects in further treatment are to
keep up the strength of the animal and hasten the absorption of the
exudative producis as much as possible. To obtain these results, when
the animal is found in the initial stage of the disease, where there is
unnatural excitability or stupor with increase of temperature and quick-
ened pulse, we must rely upon the safest and quickest acting remedy
at hand, which is copious bleeding from the jugular vein. Especially
in acute meningitis, bleeding is imperatively demanded. The finger
should be kept on the pulse, and the blood allowed to flow until there
is a marked fluttering or softening of the pulse. As soon as the animal
recovers somewhat from the shock of the bleeding, the following medi-
cine should be made into a ball or dissolved in a pint of warm water,
and be given at one dose : Barbadoes aloes, 7 drams ; calomel, 2 drams ;
powdered ginger, 1 dram; tincture of aconite, 20 drops.

The animal should be placed in a cool, dark place, as free from noise
as possible, and cloths wrung out of hot water placed on his head.
These should be renewed frequently for at least twelve hours. When
the animal becomes thirsty half an ounce of saltpeter may be dissolved
in his drinking water every six hours. Injections of warm water into
the rectum may facilitate the action of the purgative. Norwood's tinct-
ure of veratrum viride, in 20 drop doses, should be given every hour,
and one dram of solid extract of belladonna every four hours, until
the symptoms become modified and the pulse regular and full.

If this treatment fails to give relief the disease will pass into the ad-
vanced stages, or if the animal has been neglected in the early stages

189

the treatment must be supplauted with the hypodermic injection of
ergotioj in 5 grain doses, dissolved in a dram of water, every six
hours. The limbs may bo poulticed above the fetlocks with mustard.
Cold water or ice-bags should now take the x^lace of the hot-water cloths
on the head. Warm blauketiog, to promote perspiration, is to be ob-
served in all cases in which there is no excessive perspiration.

If the disease becomes chronic — encephalitis or meningitis — we must
place our reliance upon alteratives and tcnics, with such incidental
treatment as special symptoms may demand. Iodide of potassium in
2-dram doses should be given twice a day, and 1 dram of calomel
once a day, to induce absorption of effusions or thickened membranes.
Tonics, in the form of iodide of iron in dram doses, to which is added
2 drams of powdered hydrastis, may also be given every six or eight
hours, as soon as the active fever has abated. In all cases, after the
disajipearauce of the acute symptoms, blisters (cantharides ointment)
should bo applied behind the poll. When paralytic effects remain after
the disapiiearance of all other symptoms, sulphate of strychnia in 2-graiu
doses, in combination with the other tonics, may be given twice a day,
and be continued until it produces muscular twitching. In some cases
of paralysis, as of the lips or throat, benefit may be derived from, the
moderate use of the electric battery. Many of the recoveries will, how-
ever, under the most active and early treatment, be but partial, and in
all cases the animals become predisposed to subsequent attacks. A
long jieriod of time should be allowed to i)ass before the animal is ex-
posed to severe work or great heat. When the disease depends upon
mechanical injuries they have to be treated and all causes of irritation
to the brain removed. If it is due to stable miasma, urtemic poison-
ing? pyaemia, influenza, rheumatism, toxic agents, etc., they should
receive prompt attention for their removal or mitigation.

Cerebral softening, abscess, or sclerosis, are practically inaccessible
to treatment, otherwise than such relief as may be afforded by the
administration of opiates and general tonics, and, in fact, the diagno-
sis is largely presumptive.

CONaESTION OF THE BRAIN — MEGRIMS.

Congestion of the brain consists in an accumulation of blood in the
vessels, also called hvperaemia, or engorgement. It may be active or
passive — active when there is an undue determination of blood or
diminished arterial resistance, and passive when it accumulates in the
vessels of the brain, owing to some obstacle to its return by the veins.

Causes. — Active cerebral congestion may be due to hypertrophy of
the left ventricle of the heart, excessive exertion, the influence of ex-
treme heat, sudden and great excitement, artificial stimulants, etc.
Passive congestion may be produced by any mechanical obstruction
which prevents the proper return of blood through the veins to 4;he
heart, such as small or ill-fitting collar, which often impedes the blood

190

current, tumors or abcesses pressing on the vein in its course, and or-
ganic lesions of the heart with regurgitation.

Extremely fat animals with short thick necks are peculiarly subject
to attacks of cerebral congestion. Simple congestion, however, is
merely a functional affection, and in a slight or moderate degree involves
no immediate danger. Extreme engorgement, on the contrary, may be
followed by rupture of previously weakened arteries and capillaries
and cause immediate death, designated then as a stroke of apoplexy.

Sym])toms.—GoTigGstioTi of the brain is usually sudden in its mani-
festation and of short duration. The animal may stop very suddenly
and shake his head or stand quietly braced on his legs, then stagger,
make a plunge, and fall. The eyes are staring, breathing hurried and
stertorous, and the nostrils widely dilated. This may be followed by
coma, violent convulsive movements, and death. Generally, however,
the animal gains relief in a short time, but he may remain weak and
giddy for several days. If it is due to organic change of the heart or
to disease of the blood-vessels in the brain, then the symptoms may be
of slow development manifested by drowsiness, dimness or imperfect
vision, difficulty in voluntary movements, diminished sensibility of the
skin, loss of consciousness, delirium, and death. In milder cases effu-
sion may take place in the arachnoid spaces and ventricles of the brain
followed by paralysis and other complications.

Fathology.— In congestion of the brain the cerebral vessels are loaded
with blood, and the venous sinuses distended to an extreme degree,
and the pressure exerted upon the braiu constitutes actual compres-
sion, giving rise to the symptoms just mentioned. On 2)ost mortem ex-
aminations this engorgement is found universal throughout the brain
and its membranes, which serves to distinguish it from inflammations
of these structures, in which the engorgements are confined more or
less to circumscribed portions. A prolonged cr)ngestion may, however,
lead to active inflammation, and in that case we will find serous and
plastic exudations in the cavities of the brain. In addition to the in-
tensely engorged condition of the vessels we find the gray matter of
the brain redder in color than natural. In cases where several attacks
have occurred the blood-vessels are often found permanently dilated.

Treatment.— Vvomiit removal of all mechanical obstructions to the
circulation. If it is due to venous obstruction by too tight a collar, the
loosening of the collar will give immediate relief. If due to tumors or
abscesses, a surgical operation becomes necessary to afford relief. To
revive the animal if he become partially or totally unconscious cold
water should be dashed on the head, and if this does not afford ready
relief recourse must be had to bleeding to lessen arterial tension. Tinct-
ure of veratrum viride or of aconite root may be given in twenty-drop
doses every hour until consciousness returns. If the limbs are cold
tincture of capsicum or strong mustard water should be applied to them.
If symptoms of paralysis remain after two or three days, an active

191

cathartic aud iodide of potassa will be indicated, to be given as pre-
scribed for inflammation of the brain.

Prevention. — Well adjusted collar, with strap running from the collar
to the girth, to hold down the collar when pulling up grade; regular
feed aud exercise, without allowing the animal to become excessively
plethoric; moderate checking, allowing a free aud easy movement of
the head; well ventilated stabling, proper cleanliness, pure water, etc.

SUNSTROKE— HEAT EXHAUSTION.

The term sunstroke is applied to affections occasioned not exclusively
by exposure to the sun's rays, as the word signifies, but by the action
of great heat combined generally with other causes, such as dryness
and rarefaction of the air aud an unusual accumulation of electricity.
Exhaustion produced by a long continued heat is often the essential
factor, and is called heat exhaustion. Horses on the race track uuder-
goiug protracted and severe work in hot weather often succumb to heat
exhaustion. Draught horses exposed to the direct rays of the suu for
many hours, which do not receive proper care in watering, feeding, rest
in shady places, suffer very frequently from sunstroke.

St/mpfoms.—S'unstio]Le is manifested suddenly. The animal stops,
drops his head, bagins to stagger, and soon falls to the ground uncon-
scious. The breathing is marked with great stertor, the pulse is very
slow and irregular, cold sweats break out in patches on the surface of
the body, and the animal often dies without recovering consciousness.

In heat exhaustion the animal usually requires urging for some time
previous to the appearance of any other symptoms, generally per-
spiration is checked, and then he becomes weak in his gait, the
breathing hurried or panting, eyes watery and bloodshot, nostrils
dilated and highly reddened, assuming a dark, purple color ; the pulse
is rapid and weak, the heart bounding, followed by uuconsciousuess
and death. If recovery takes place convalescence extends over a long
period of time, during which incoordination of movement may persist.

Fathology.— Sunstroke, virtually active congestion of the brain, often
accompanied by effusion and blood extravasation, characterizes this
condition, with often rapid and fatal lowering of all the vital functions.
The death may be due in many instances to the complete stagnation in
the circulation of the brain, inducing aua3mia or want of nourishment
of that organ. In other cases it may be directly due to the excessive
compression of the nerve matter controlling the heart's action, and
cause paralysis of that organ.

Treatment.— JJnder no circumstances is blood-letting permissible in
sunstroke. Ice or very cold water should be applied to the head and
along the spine and half an ounce of carbonate of ammonia or 6 ounces
of whisky should be given in a pint of water. Injections, per rectum,
of moderately strong ginger tea or weak ammonia water may be used
I with benefit. Brisk friction of the limbs and the application of spirits

192

of camphor often yield good results. The administration of the stimu-
lants should be repeated in one hour if the pulse has not become
stronger and slower. If the animal is suffering from heat exhaustion
similar treatment may be used, with the exception of cold to the head
and spine, for in this case cloths wrung out in hot water should be ap-
plied. In either case, when reaction has occurred preparations of iron
and general tonics may be given during convalescence : Sulphate of
iron 1 dram, gentian 3 drams, red cinchona bark 2 drams ; mix and
give in the feed morning and evening.

Prevention. — In very hot weather horses should have wet sponges or
light sun-shades on the head when at work, or the head may be sponged
with cold water as many times a day as possible. Proper attention
should be given to feeding and watering, never in excess. During
the warm mouths all stables should be cool and well ventilated, and if
an animal is debilitated from exhaustive work or disease he should re-
ceive such treatment as will tend to build up'the system.

An animal which has been affected with sunstroke is very liable to
have subsequent attacks when exposed to the necessary exciting causes.

APOPLEXY — CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE. -

Apoplexy is often confounded with cerebral congestion, but true
apoplexy always consists in rupture of cerebral blood-vessels, with
blood extravasation and formation of blood clot.

Causes. — Two causes are involved in the production of apoplexy, the
predis]}osing and the exciting cause. The predisposing cause is degen-
eration or disease which weakens the blood-vessel, the exciting cause
is any one which tends to induce cerebral congestion.

i^ymptoms. — Apoplexy is characterized by a sudden loss of sensation
and motion, profound coma, and stertorous and difficult breathing. The
action of the heart is little disturbed at first, but soon becomes slower,
then quicker and feebler, and after a little time ceases. If the rupture
is one of a small artery and the extravasation limited, sudden paraly-
sis of some part of the body is the result. The extent and location of
the paralysis depend upon the location within the brain which is
functionally deranged by the pressure of the extravasated blood j hence
these conditions are very variable.

In the absence of any premonitory symptoms or an increase of tem-
perature in the early stage of the attack we may be reasonably certain
in making the distinction between this disease and congestion of the
brain or sunstroke.

Pathology. — In apoplexy we are generally able to find an atheromatous
condition of the cerebral vessels with weakening and degeneration of
their walls. When a large artery has been ruptured it is usually fol-
lowed by immediate death, and large rents may be found in the cere-
brum, with great destruction of brain tissue, induced by the forcible
pressure of the liberated blood. In small extravasations producing

193

local paralysis without marked general distur jance, the animal may-
recover after a time; in such cases gradual absorption of the clot takes
place. In large clots atrophy of the brain substance may follow, or
softening and abscess from want of nutrition may result, and render the
animal worthless, ultimately resulting in death.

Treatment.— FluGG the animal in a quiet, cool place, avoid all stimu-
lating food. Administer, in his drinking water or feed, 2 drams of the
iodide of potassa twice a day for several weeks if necessary. Medical
interference with sedatives or stimulants is more apt to be harmful than
of benefit, and blood-letting in an apoplectic fit is extremely hazardous.
From the fact that cerebral apoplexy is due to diseased or weakened
blood-vessels, the animal remains subject to subsequent attacks.

COMPRESSION OF THE BRAIN.

Causes. — In injuries from direct violence a piece of broken bone may
press upon the brain, and according to its size the brain is robbed ol
its normal space within the cranium. It may also be due to an extrava-
sation of blood or to exudation in the subdural or arachnoid spaces.
Death from active cerebral congestion results through compression.
The occurrence may sometimes be traced to the direct cause, which
will give assurance for the correct diagnosis.

Symptoms.— lmiya.inueut of all the special senses and localized paraly-
sis. All the symptoms of lessened functional activity of the brain are
manifested to some degree. The paralysis remains to be our guide for
the location of the cause, for it will be found that the paralysis occurs
on the opposite side of the body from the location of the injury, and
the parts suffering paralysis will denote, to an expert veterinarian or
physician, the part of the brain which is suffering compression.

Treatment.— Treph'miug, by a skillful operator, for the removal of
the cause when due to depressed bone or the presence of foreign bodies.
When the symptoms of compression follow other acute diseases of the
brain, apoplectic fits, etc., the treatment must be such as the exigencies
of the case demands.

CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN.

Causes. — This is generally caused by an animal falling over back-
ward and striking his poll, or perhaps falling forward on his nose; by
a blow on the head, etc.

Symptoms.— Qoncxx&'&ion of the brain is characterized by giddiness,
stupor, insensibility, or loss of muscular power, succeeding immediately
upon a blow or severe injury involving the cranium. The animal
may rally quickly, or not for hours ; death may occur on the spot or
after a few days. When there is only slight concussion or stunning
the animal soon recovers from the shock. When more severe, insen-
sibility may be complete and continue for a considerable time; the
animal lies as if in a deep sleep; the pupils are insensible to light;
the pulse fluttering or feeble j the surface of the body cold, muscles
11035 13

194

relaxed, and the breathing scarcely perceptible. After a variable in-
terval partial recovery may take place, which is marked by paralysis
of some parts of the bodj-, often of a limb, the lips, ear, etc. Con-
valescence is usually tedious, and frequently permanent impairment
of some organs remains.

Pathology. — Concussion produces laceration of the brain, or at least
a jarring of the nervous elements, which if not sufficiently severe to
produce sadden death may lead to softening or inflammation, with
their respective symptoms of functional derangement.

Treatment. — The first object in treatment will be to establish reac-
tion or to arouse the feeble and weakening heart. This can often be
accomplished by dashing cold water en the head and body of the
animal; frequent injections of weak ammonia water, ginger tea, or
oil and turpentine should be given per rectum. In the majority of
cases this will soon bring the horse to a state of consciousness. In
more severe cases mustard poultices should be applied along the
spine and above the fetlocks. As soon as the animal gains i)artial
consciousness stimulants, in the form of whisky or capsicum tea,
should be given. Owing to severity of the structural injury to the
brain or the jiossible rupture of blood-vessels and blood extravasa-
tion, the reaction may often be followed by encephalitis or cerebritis,
and will then have to be treated accordingly. For this reason the
stimulants should not be administered too freely, and they must be
abandoned as soon as reaction is established. There is no need for
further treatment unless complications develop as a secondary result.
Bleeding, which is so often practiced, proves almost invariably fatal in
this form of brain attection. We should also remember that it is never
safe to drench a horse with large quantities of medicine when he is un-
conscious, for he is very liable to draw the medicine into the lungs in
inspiration.

Prevention. — "Young horses, when harnessed or bitted for the first few
times, should not have their heads checked up high, for it frequently
causes them to rear up, and, being unable to control their balance, they
are liable to fall over sideways or backwards, thus causing brain con-
cussion when they strike the ground.

ANEMIA OF THE BEAIN.

This is a physiological condition in sleep.

Causes. — It is considered a disease or may give rise to disease when
the circulation and blood su^jply of the brain are interfered with. In
some diseases of the heart the brain becomes anaemic, and fainting fits
occur, with temporary loss of consciousness. Tumors growijig within
the cranium may jjress ui)on one or more arteries and stop the supply
of blood to certain parts of the brain, thus inducing anamia, ultimately
atrophy, softening, or sui>puration. Probably the most frequent cause
is found in plugging or occlusion of the arteries by a blood-clot.

195

Symptoms. — Imperfect vision, constantly dilated pupils, frequently a
feeble and staggering gait, and occasionally cramps, convulsions, or
epileptic fits occur.

Pathology. — Tlie exact opposite of cerebral hypersemia. The blood-
vessels are found empty, the membranes blanched, and the brain sub
stance softened.

Treatment. — Kemoval of the remote cause when possible. General
tonics, nutritious food, rest, and removal from all causes of uervous
excitement.

ATROPHY OF THE BRAIN.

This condition is produced by a fault in nutrition, embracing the
causes which induce anosmia. Gradual absorption and shrinking of
brain substance may arise from the constant and increasing pressure
arising from the growth of tumors, degeneration in the arterial walls,
hydrocephalus, etc. AtrojDhy of the brain may be general or localized.
The cerebrum may waste away in a remarkable degree before any indi-
cation of disease becomes manifest.

Symptoms. — It may give rise to viciousness, paralysis, disorders of
special sensation, coma, etc. Treatment is of no avail.

HYDROCEPHALUS — BRAIN DROPSY.

This disease is most often seen in young foals and is manifested by
an unnaturally large forehead. The forehead bulges out, and the cra-
nial bones may be separated from their connections, and a part of the
brain be covered by the skin only. Foals seldom survive this affection,
and treatment is useless. In horses hydrocephalus is a result of
chronic meningitis, when an effusion of serum is poured out into the
ventricles and arachnoid spaces of tbe brain. The disease is some-
times indicated by a difficulty in controlling voluntary movements,
coma, etc. When effusion as a result of meningitis is suspected, iodide
of potassa in 2-dram doses may be given twice a day and a strong
blister applied behind the ears.

TUMORS WITHIN THE CRANIUM.

Tumors within the cranial cavity and the brain occur not infrequently,
and give rise to a variety of symptoms, imperfect control of voluntary
movement, local paralysis, epilepsy, etc.

Osseous tumors, growing from the walls of the cranium, are not very
uncommon.

Dentigerous cysts, containing a formation identical to that of a tooth,
growing from the temporal bone, sometimes are found lying loose within
the cranium.

Tumors of the choroid plexus, known as brain sand, are frequently met
with on postmortem examinations, but seldom give rise to any appreci-

196

able symptoms during life. They are foimd in horses at all ages, and
are of slow develoi^meut. The}" are found in one or both of the lateral
ventricles, enveloped in the folds of the choroid plexus.

Melanotic tumors have been found in the brain and meninges in the
form of small, black nodules, in gray horses, and in one instance are
believed to have induced the condition known as string-halt.

Fibrous tumors may develop within or from the meningeal structures
of the brain.

GHomatous tumor is a variety of sarcoma very rarely found in the
structure of the cerebellum.

Treatment for tumors of the brain is be^'oud our ambition in the pres-
ent age.

SPASMS — CRAMPS.

Causes. — Spasm is a marked symptom in many diseases of the brain
and of the spinal cord. Spasms may result from irritation of the motor
nerves as conductors, or may result from irritation of any part of the
sympathetic nervous system, and they usually indicate an excessive
action of the reflex-motor centers. Spasms may be induced by various
medicinal agents given in poisonous doses, or by eftete materials in the
circulation, such as nux vomica or its alkaloid strychnia, lead prepara-
tions, or an excess of the urea products in the circulation, etc. Spasms
may be divided into two classes: tonic spasm, when the cramp is con-
tinuous or results in persistent rigidity, as in tetanus; clonic spasm,
when the cramping is of short duration, or is alternated with relaxa-
tions. Cramps may be distinguished from choleraic movements by the
extreme pain or suflering which they induce. Spasms may afiect invol-
untary as well as the voluntary muscles, the muscles of the glottis,
intestines, and even the heart. They are always sudden in their devel-
opment.

SPASM OF THE GLOTTIS.

This is manifested by a strangling respiration ; a wheezing noise is
produced in the act of inspiration ; extreme anxiety and suflering for
want of air. The head is extended, the body j)rotusely perspiring;
pulse very rapid; soon great exhaustion becomes manifest; the mucous
membranes become turgid and very dark-colored, and the animal thus
may suflbcate in a short time.

SPASMS OF THE INTESTINES.

(See "Grampcolic")

SPASMS OF THE NECK OF THE BLADDER.

This may be due to spinal irritation, or a reflex from intestinal irrita-
tion, and is manifested by frequent but iueflectual attempts to urinate.

197

SPASM OF THE DIAPHRAGM — THUMPS.

Spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm, the principal muscle used
in respiration, is generally occasioned by extreme and prolonged speed-
ing on the ra<je-tracl£ or road. The severe strain thus put upon this
muscle finally induces irritation of the nerves coutrolliug it, and the con-
tractions become very forcible and violent, giving the jerking charac-
ter known among horsemen as thumps. This condition may be distin-
guished from violent beating of the heart by feeling the pulse beat at
the angle of the jaw, and at the saiuetime watching the jerking move-
ment of the body, when it will be discovered that the two bear uo rela-
tion to each other. (See "Palpitation of the Heart.")

SPASM OF THE THIGH, OR CRAMP OF A HIND LIMB.

This is frequently witnessed in horses that stand on sloping plank
floors — generally in cold weather — or it may come on soon after severe
exercise. It is probably due to an irritation of the nerves of the thigh.
In cramps of the hind leg the limb becomes perfectly rigid, and at-
tempts to flex the leg are unsuccessful ; the animal stands on the affected
limb, but is unable to move it; it is unnaturally cold; it does uot, how-
ever, appear to cause much suffering unless attempts are made to
change position. This cramp may beof short duration— a few minutes —
or it may persist for several days. This condition is often taken for a dis-
location of the stifle-joint. In the latter the foot is extended backward,
and the horse is uuable to advance it, but drags the limb after him. An
examination of the joint also reveals a change in form. Spasms may
affect the eye-lids, by closure or by retraction. Spasm of the steruo-
maxillaris muscle has been witnessed, and the animal was unable to
close the jaws until the muscle became relaxed.

Treatment. — An anodyne liniment, composed of chloroform 1 part
and soap liniment 4 parts, applied to cramped muscles will usually
cause relaxation. This may be used where single external muscles are
affected. In spasm of the glottis inhalation of sulphuric ether will
give quick relief. In spasm of the diaphragm, rest and the adminis-
tration of half an ounce of chloroform in 3 ounces of whisky, with a
pint of water added, will generally suffice to bring relief, or if this fails
give 5 grains of sulphate of morphia by hypodermic injection. If
spasms result from organic disease of the nervous system, the latter
sbould receive such treatment as its character demands. In cramp of
the leg compulsory movement usually causes relaxation very quickly;
therefore, the animal should be led out of the stable and be forced to run
or trot. Sudden nervous excitement, caused by a crack of the whip or
smart blow, will often bring about immediate relief. Should this fail,
the anodyne liniment may be used along the inside of the thigh, and
chloroform, ether, or laudanum given internally. An ounce of the
chloral hydrate will certainly relieve the spasm when given internally,

198

but the cramp may return soon after the effect has passed off, which
in many cases it does very quickly.

Convulsions. — Although there is no disease of the nervous system
which can be properly termed convulsive, or justify the use of the word
convulsion to indicate any particular disease, yet it is often such a
prominent symptom that a few words may not be out of place. Gen-
eral, irregular muscular contractions of various parts of the body, with
unconsciousness, characterize what we regard as convulsions, and like
ordinary spasms are dependent upon some disease or irritation of the
nervous structures, chiefly of the brain. No treatment is required; in
fact, a general convulsion must necessarily be self-limited in its dura-
tion. Suspending, as it does, respiratory movements, checking the
oxygenation and decarbonization of the blood, the rapid accumulation
of carbonic acid gas in the blood and the exclusion of oxygen quickly
puts the blood in a condition to produce the most reliable and speedy
sedative effect upon the nerve excitability that could be found, and
consequently furnishes its own remedy, so far as the continuance of
the convulsive paroxysm is concerned. Whatever treatment is insti-
tuted must be directed towards a removal of the cause of the convulsive
paroxysm.

CHOREA.

Chorea is characterized by involuntary contractions of voluntary
muscles. This disease is an obscure disorder, which may be due to
pressure upon a nerve, cerebral sclerosis, small aneurisms in the brain,
etc. Choreic symptoms have been produced by injecting granules of
starch into the arteries entering the brain. Epilepsy and other forms
of convulsions simulate chorea in appearance.

Stringhalt is by some termed chorea. This is manifested by a sudden
jerking-up of one or both hind legs when the animal is walking. This
symptom may be very slight in some horses, but has a tendency to in-
crease with the age of the animal. In some the catching-up of the af-
fected leg is very violent, and when it is lowered to the ground the
motion is equally sudden and forcible, striking the foot to the ground
like a pile-driver. Very rarely chorea may be found to affect one of the
fore legs, or the muscles of one side of the neck or the upper part of the
neck. Involuntary jerking of the muscles of the hip or thigh is seen
occasionally, and is termed shivering by horsemen.

Chorea is often associated with a nervous disposition, and is not so
frequent in animals with a sluggish temperament. The involuntary
muscular contractions cause no pain, and do not appear to produce
much exhaustion of the affected muscles, although the jerking may be
regular and persistent whenever the animal is in motion.

Treatment.— In a few cases, early in the appearance of this affection,
general nerve tonics may be of benefit, viz, iodide of iron, 1 dram ; pul-
verized nux vomica, 1 dram ; pulverized Scutellaria, 1 ounce. Mix, and
give in the feed once a day for two weeks. If the cause is connected
with organic brain lesions treatment is usually unsuccessful.

199

EPILEPSY— FALLING FITS.

The. cause of epilepsy is seldom traceable to any special brain lesions.
In a few cases it accompanies disease of the pituitary body, which is
located in the under surface of the brain. Softening of the brain may
give rise to this affection. Attacks may occur only once or twice a year,
or they may be of frequent recurrence.

Symptoms. — No premonitory symptoms precede an epileptic fit. The
animal suddenly staggers ; the muscles become cramped ; the jaws may
be spasmodically opened and closed, and the tongue become lacerated
between the teeth ; he foams at the mouth and falls down in a spasm.
The urine flows away involuntarily, and the breathing may be tempo-
rarily arrested. The paroxysm soon passes off, and the animal gets on
his feet in a few minutes after the return of consciousness.

Treatment. — Dashing cold water on the head during the paroxysm.
After the recovery 1 dram of oxide of zinc may be given in his feed
twice a day for several weeks, or benefit may be derived from the tonic
prescribed for chorea. *

COMA — SLEEPY STAGGERS.

This condition, like that of spasm and convulsion, is generally not a
disease, but merely a symptom manifested as a result of a variety of
brain affections, such as atrophy, chronic meningitis with effusion,
tumors in the lateral ventricles, etc. Another form of coma is that
which accompanies acute diseases of the brain, wherein the animal may
be unconscious, with sterterous breathing, difficult respiration, etc. We
meet, however, with a type of coma in horses which can not easily be
attributed to any special disease of the brain, unless it be a modified
form of congestion, which is sometimes amenable to treatment. This
condition is termed immohilite by the French, and sleepy staggers by
our stablemen. It is usually attributed to habitual overloading of the
stomach with bulky food and want of exercise.

8 ymxHoms.— Sleepy staggers is characterized by drowsiness, partial
insensibility, sluggish and often staggering gait. The animal is in-
clined to drop his head in the manger and to go to sleep with a wad of
hay in his mouth, which he is apt to drop when he awakens. He will
stand for a long time with his legs placed in any awkward position in
which the owner may choose to put them. The bowels are constipated,
the pulse slow and soft, with no fever or pain. The animal may remain
in this condition for many mouths without much variation of symptoms,
or he may become entirely comatose, with delirium or convulsions, and
die. Chronic cases are always much better in cold weather than in the
summer.

Treatment— Moderate bleeding from the jugular vein, 1 gallon from
a raedmm-sized horse, and 1^ or 2 gallons from a very large, heavy
horse. This should be immediately followed by a cathartic, composed

200

of aloes 6 drams, croton oil 6 drops, and 1 dram of capsicum, to be
made iuto a ball with liard soap, molasses, or bread soaked in water,
and given on an empty stomach. After the cathartic has ceased to
operate give one large tablespoonful or half an ounce of the following
mixture twice a day : Pulverized hydrastis, pulverized ginger, sodium
bicarbonate, of each 4 ounces; mix.

In some cases iodide of potassa in dram doses twice a day, alternated
each week with 1 dram of calomel twice a day, will prove successful.
In cases where there is a deep coma or almost continuous unconscious-
ness, ice bags or cold-water cloths should be applied to the head— be-
tween the ears, dropping well down over the forehead and extending
backward from the ears for 4 or 5 inches.

PARALYSIS — PALSY.

Paralysis is a weakness or cessation of the muscular contraction, by
diminution of loss of the conducting power or stimulation of the mo.,or
nerves. Paralytic affections are of two kinds, fhe perfect and the im-
perfect. The former includes those in which both motion and sensi-
bility are affected ; the latter those in which only one or tlie other is
lost or diminished. Paralysis may be general or partial, The latter is
divided into hemiplegia and paraplegia. When only a small portion
of the body is afi'ected, as the face, a limb, the tail, it is designated by
the term local paralysis. When the irritation extends from the pe-
riphery to the center it is termed reflex paralysis.

Causes. — ^They are very varied. Most of the acute affections of the
brain and spinal cord may lead to paralysis. Injuries, tumors, disease
of the blood-vessels of the brain, etc., all have a tendency to produce
sus])ension of the conducting motive power to the muscular structures.
Pressure upon, or the severing of, a nerve causes a paralysis of the
parts to which such a nerve is distributed. Apoplexy may be termed
a general paralysis, and in non-fatal attacks is a frequent cause of the
various forms of palsy.

GENERAL PARALYSIS.

This can not take place without producing immediate death. The
term is, however, usually applied to paralysis of the four extremities,
whether any other portions of the body are involved or not. This form
of palsy is due to compression of the brain by congestion of its vessels,
large clot formation in apoplexy, concussion or shock, or any disease in
which the whole brain structure is involved in functional disturbance.

HEMIPLEGIA — PARALYSIS OF ONE SIDE OR HALF OF THE BODY.

Hemiplegia is frequently the result of a tumor in the lateral ventricles
of the brain, softening of one hemisphere of the cerebrum, pressure
from extravasated blood, fracture of the cranium, or it may be due to

201

poisons in tbe blood, or to reflex origin. When hemiplegia is due to or
the result of a prior disease of the brain, especially of an inflammatory
character, it is seldom complete; it may only affect one limb and one
side of the head, neck, or muscles along the back, and may pass off in
a few days after the disappearance of all the other evidences of the
primary affection. In the majority of cases, however, hemiplegia arises
from emboli obstructing one or more blood-vessels of the brain, or the
rupture of some vessel the wall of which had become weakened by
degeneration and the extravasation of blood. Sensibility in most cases
is not impaired, but in some there is a loss of sensibility as well as of
motion. In some cases the bladder and rectum are involved in the
paralysis.

Sympto7ns.—Jn hemiplegia the attack may be very sudden, and the
animal fall down powerless to move one side of the body ; one side of
the lips will be relaxed ; the tongue may hang out on one side of the
mouth ; the tail curved around sideways ; an inability to swallow food
or water may be present, and oflen the urine dribbles away as fast as it
collects in the bladder. Sensibility of the affected side may be en-
tirely lost or only partial ; the limbs may be cold, and sometimes un-
naturally warm. In cases wherein the attack is not so severe the ani-
mal may be able to maintain the standing position, but will have great
difficulty in moving the affected side. In such cases the animal may
recover from the disability. In the more severe, where there is com-
plete loss of the power of movement, recoveries are rare.

PARAPLEGIA — TRANSVERSE PARALYSIS OF THE HIND EXTREMITIES.

Paralysis of the hind extremities is usually due to some injury, or
inflammation affecting the spinal cord. (See "Spinal Meningitis " and
"Myelitis.") It may also be due to a reflex irritation from disease of
peripheral nerves, to spinal irritation or congestion caused by blood
poisons, etc.

Symptoms. — When due to mechanical injury of the spinal cord, from
a broken back or spinal hemorrhage, it is generally progressive in its char-
acter, although it may be sudden. When it is caused by agents in the
blood it may be intermittent or recurrent.

Paraplegia is not difficult to recognize, for it is characterized by a
weakness and imperfect control of tiie hind legs, and powerless tail.
The urine usually dribbles away as it is formed and the manure is
pushed out, ball by ball, without any voluntary effort, or the passages
may cease entirely. When paraplegia is complete, large and ill-con-
ditioned sores soon form on the hips and thighs from chafing and bruis-
ing, which have a tendency to quickly weaken the animal and necessi-
tate his destruction.

202

LOCOMOTOR ATAXIA— INCOORDINATION OF MOVEMENT.

This is cbaracterized by an inability to properly control the move-
ment of the limbs. The animal appears usually perfectly healthy, but
when he is led out of his stall his legs have a wobbly movement, and
he will stumble or stagger, especially in turning. When this is con-
fined to the hind parts it may be termed a modified form of paraplegia,
but often it may be seen to aflect nearly all the voluntary muscles when
they are called into play, and must be attributed to some pressure ex-
erted on the base of the brain.

LOCAL PARALYSIS.

This is frequently met with in horses. It may affect many parts of
the body, even vital organs, and it is very frequently overlooked in
diagnosis.

FACIAL PARALYSIS.

This is a frequent type of local paralysis, and is due to impairment
of function of the motor nerve of the facial muscles, the portio dura.
The cause may exist at the base of the brain, compression along its
course after it leaves the medulla oblongata, or to a bruise after it
spreads out on the great masseter muscle.

Symptoms. — A flaccid condition of the cheek muscles, pendulous lips,
inability to grasp the food, often a slow and weak movement in chew-
ing, and difficulty and slowness in drinking.

LARYNGISMUS PARALYTICUS— ROARING.

This condition is characterized by roaring, and is usually caused by
an inflamed or hypertrophied bronchial gland pressing against the left
recurrent laryngeal nerve, which interferes with its conducting power.
A similar condition is occasionally induced in acute pleurisy, where the
recurrent nerve becomes involved in the diseased process or compressed
by plastic exudation.

PARALYSIS OF THE RECTUM AND TAIL.

This is generally the result of a blow or fall on the rump, which
causes a fracture of the sacrum bone and injury to the nerves supply-
ing the tail and part of the rectum and muscles belonging thereto.
This fracture would not be suspected, were it not for the loss of motion
of the tail.

INTESTINAL PARALYSIS.

Characterized by persistent constipation ; frequently the strongest
purgatives have no effect whatever on the movement of the bowels.
In the absence of symptoms of indigestion, or special diseases impli-
cating the intestinal canal, torpor of the bowels must be attributed to

203

deficient innervation. This condition may depend upon brain affec-
tions, or be dne to reflex paral^'sis. Sudden checks of perspiration
may induce excessive action of the bowels or paralysis.

PARALYSIS OF THE BLADDER.

This usually affects the neck of t\ie bladder, and is characterized by
incontinence of urine — the urine dribbles away as fast as it is secreted.

The cause may be of reflex origin, disease of the rectum, tumors grow-
ing within the pelvic cavity, injury to the spinal cord, etc.

PARALYSIS OF THE OPTIC NERVE — AMAUROSIS.

A paralysis of eyesight may occur very suddenly from rupture of a
blood vessel in the brain, acute local congestion of the brain, the admin-
istration of excessive doses of belladonna or its alkaloid atropia, etc.

Symptoms. — In amaurosis the pupil is dilated to its full extent, the
eye looks clear, but does not respond to light.

Paralysis of hearing, of the external ear, of the eyelid, partial paral-
ysis of the heart and organs of respiration, of the blood vessels from
injury to the vaso motor nerves of the oesophagus, or loss of deglutition,
palsy of the stomach, all may be manifested when the supply of ner-
vous influence is impaired or suspended.

Treatment. — In all paralytic affections there may be ancesthesia or im-
pairment of sensibility in addition to the loss of motion, or there may
be hypercvsthesia or increased sensibility in connection with the loss of
motion. These conditions may call for special treatment in addition to
that for loss of motion. Where hypt rajsthesia is well marked local
anodynes may be needed to relieve suffering. Chloroform liniment or
hypodermic injections of from 3 to 5 grains of sulphate of morphia will
allay local i^ain. If there is marked anaesthesia or loss of sensibility it
may become necessary to secure the animal in such a way that he can
not suffer serious injury from accidents which he can not avoid or feel.
In the treatment of any form of paralysis we must always refer to the
cause, and attempt its removal if it can be discovered. In cases where
the cause can not be determined we have to rely solely upon a general
external and internal treatment. Externally, fly-blisters or strong irri-
tant liniments may be applied to the paralyzed parts. In hemiplegia
they should be applied along the bony part of the side of the neck; in
paraplegia, across the loins. In some cases hot-water cloths will be
beneficial. Internally, it is well to administer 1 dram of powdered nux
vomica or 2 grains of sulphate of strychnia twice a day until twitch-
ing of some of the voluntary muscles occur ; then discontinue it for sev-
eral days, and then commence again with a smaller dose, gradually in-
creasing it until twitching recurs. In some cases Fowler's solution of
arsenic in teaspoonful doses twice a day, in the drinking water, proves
beneficial. Occasionally benefit may be derived from the application

204

of the electric current, especially in cases of roaring, facial paralysis,
liaralysis of the eyelid, etc. Nutritious but not too bulky food, good
veutilation, clean stabling, moderate exercise if the animal is capable
of taking it, good grooming, etc., should be observed in all cases.

SPINAL MENINGITIS — INFLAMMATION OF THE MEMBRANES ENVELOP-

INa THE SPINAL CORD.

Causes. — This may be induced by the irritant properties of blood-
poisons, exhaustion, and exposure, spinal concussion, all forms of injury
to the spine, tumors, caries of the vertebrse, rheumatism, etc.

Symptoms. — A chill may be the precursor, a rise in temperature, or a
general weakness and shifting of the legs. Soon a painful, convulsive
twitching of the muscles sets in, followed by muscular rigidity along the
spine, in which condition the animal will move very stifliy and evince
great pain in turning. Evidences of paralysis or paraplegia develop,
retention or incontinence of urine, and oftentimes sexual excitement is
present. The presence of marked fever at the beginning of the attack,
associated with spinal symptoms, should lead us to suspect spinal men-
ingitis or myelitis. These two conditions usually appear together, or
myelitis follows inflammation of the meninges so closely that it is almost
impossible to separate the two ; practically it does not matter much, for
the treatment will be about the same in both cases. Spinal meningitis
generally becomes chronic, and is then marked principally by paralysis
of that portion, or parts of it, posterior to the seat of the disease.

Pathology. — In spinal meningitis we will find essentially the same con-
dition as in cerebral meningitis ; there will be an effusion of serum be-
tween the membranes, and often a plastic exudation firmly adherent to
the pia mater serves to maintain a state of paralysis for a long time
after the acute symptoms have disappeared by compressing the cord.
Finally, atrophy, softening, and even abscess may develop within the
cord. Unlike in man, it is usually found localized in horses.

Treatment. — Bags filled with ice should be applied along the spine, to
be followed later on bj'^ strong blisters. The fever should be controlled
as early as possible by giving 20 drops of Norwood's tincture of vera-
trum viride every hour, until the desired result is obtained. One dram
of the fluid extract of belladonna, to control pain and vascular excite-
ment of the spinal cord, may be given every five or six hours until the
pupils of the eyes become pretty well dilated. If the pain is very in-
tense 5 grains of sulphate of morphia should be injected hypodermically.
The animal must be kept as free from excitement as possible. If the
urine is retained in the bladder it must be drawn off every four or six
hours. In very acute attacks the disease generally proves fatal in a
few days. If, however, the animal grows better some form of paraly-
sis is apt to remain for a long time and the treatment will have to
be directed then toward a removal of the exudative products and a

205

strengtLening of the systemaad stimulation of the nervous functions.'
To induce absorptiou iodide of potassa in 2 dram doses may be given
dissolved in the driukiug water twice a day. To strengthen the sys-
tem, iodide of iron 1 dram twice a day and 1 dram of uux vomica once
a day may be given in the feed. Electricity to the paralyzed and
weakened muscles is advisable; the current should be weak, but be
continued for half an hour two or three times daily. If the disease is
due to a broken back, caries of the vertebrte, or some other irremedi-
able cause, the animal should be destroyed at once.

MYELITIS — INFLAMMATION OF THE SUBSTANCE OF THE SPINAL CORD.

This is a rare disease, except as a secondary result of spinal menin-
gitis or injuries to the spine. Poisoning, by lead, arsenic, mercury,
phosphorus, carbonic-acid gas, etc., has been known to produce it.
Myelitis may be confined to a small spot in the cord or may involve the
whole for a variable distance. It may lead to softening, abscess, or de-
generation.

Symjjtoms. — The attack may begin with a chill or convulsions; the
muscles twitch or become cramped very envly in the disease, and the
bladder usually is affected in the outset, in which there may be either
retention or incontinence of urine. These conditions are followed by
complete or partial paralysis of the muscles posterior to the locality of
the inflamed cord, and the muscles begin to waste away rapidly. The
paralyzetl limb becomes cold and dry, due to the suspension of proper
circulation; the joints may swell and become cedematous; vesicular
eruptions appear on the skin, and frequently gangrenous sloughs form
on the paralyzed parts. It is exceedingly seldom that recovery takes
place. In a few instances it may assume a chronic type, when all the
symptoms become mitigated, and thus continue for some time until
septicemia, pysemia, or exhaustion causes death.

Pathology. — The inflammation may involve nearly the whole length
of the cord, but generally it is more intense in some places than others;
when due to mechanical injury the inflammation may remain confined
to a small section. The cord is swollen and congested, reddened, often
softened and infiltrated with pus cells, and the nerve elements are de-
generated.

Treatment. — Similar to that of spinal meningitis.

SPINAL SCLEROSIS.

This is the sequence of myelitis, when some mild form of the disease
has been existing. Thickening and hardening of the interstitial tissues
of the cmd, the result of inflammatory products, constitute sclerosis.
The affected section has a gray appearance, is firmer than the surround-
ing tissue, sometimes presents a depressed surface and at other times
may be elevated above the general level of the cord.

206

Symptoms. — Paralysis of sensatioQ or motion in local muscles, and
when located in the region of the neck may present the symptoms of
locomotor ataxia or inco-ordination of movement. Spinal sclerosis may
be suspected when these symptoms succeed an attack of myelitis.

Treatment. — The iodide of iron may be given in dram doses twice a
day for a week, alternating with two- grain doses of sulphate of strych-
nia twice a day for a week.

SPINAL CONGESTION AND SPINAL HYPEREMIA.

The distinction between congestion and hyperaemia is one of degree
rather than kind. Tn both we tiud an excess of blood. In hyperaemia
the current is unusually rapid, in cougestiou it is unusually slow. The
distinction between hyperemia and inflammation is also difficult to
m;ike; one is only the forerunner of the other. As the blood vessels of
the pia mater are the principal source of supply to the spinal cord, hy-
peroemia of the cord and of the meninges usually go together. The symp-
toms are, therefore, closely allied to those of spinal meningitis and
myelitis- When the pia mater is diseased the spinal cord is almost in-
variably affected also.

Cause. — Sadden checking of the perspiration, violent exercise, blows,
and falls.

Symptoms. — The symptoms may vary somewhat with each case, and
closely resemble the first symptoms of spinal meningitis, spinal tumors,
and myelitis. First, some disturbance in movement, lowering of the
temperature, and partial loss of sensibility posterior to the seat of the
congestion. If in the cervical region it may cause interference in
breathing and the action of the heart. When in the region of the loins
there may be loss of control of the bladder. • When the congestion is
sufficient to produce compression of the cord, paraplegia may be com-
plete. Usually fever, spasms, muscular twitching, or muscular rigidity
are absent, which will serve to distinguish spinal cougestiou from spinal
• meningitis.

Treatment. — Hot- water applications to the spine, one-dram doses fluid
extract of belladonna repeated every four hours, and tincture of aconite
root 20 drops every hour until the symptoms become ameliorated. If
no inflammatory products occur the animal is likely to recover.

SPINAL ANEMIA.

This may be caused by extreme cold, exhausting diseases, spinal em-
bolism or plugging of a spinal blood-vessel, an interference with the
circulation through the abdominal aorta, from compression, thrombosis,
or aneurism of that vessel ; the spinal vessels may be caused to contract
through vaso-motor influence, a result of peripheral irritation of some
nerve.

207

Symptoms.— Bpiual anaemia causes paralysis of the muscles used in
exteudiug the limbs. When the bladder is aflected it precedes the weak-
ness of motion, while in spinal congestion it follows, and increased sen-
sibility, in |>lace of diminished sensibility, as in spinal congestion, is ob-
served. Pressure along the spine causes excessive pain.

Treatment. — If the exciting cause can be removed the animal recov-
ers; if this fails, the spinal cord may undergo softening.

SPINAL COMPEESSION.

When caused by tumors or otherwise when pressure is slight, it pro-
duces a paralysis of the muscles used in extending a limb and contrac-
tion of those which flex it. When compression is great it causes com-
plete loss of sensibility and motion posterior to the compressed part of
the cord.

Compression of a lateral half of the cord produces motor paralysis,
disturbance in the circulation, and difficulty of movement, an increased
sensibility on the side corresponding to the compressed section, and a
diminished sensibility and some paralysis on the opposite side.

Treatment. — When it occurs as a sequence of a preceding inflammatory
disease, iodide of potassa and general tonics are indicated. When due
to tumors growing within the spinal canal, or to pressure from dis-
placed bone, no form of treatment will result in any benefit.

SPINAL HEMORRHAGE.

This may occur from changes in the wall of the blood-vessels, in con-
nection with tumors, acute myelitis, traumatic injuries, etc. The blood
may escape througli the pia m ater into the sub-arachnoid cavity, and
large clots be formed.

Sijmptomfi. — The symptoms are largely dependent upon the seat and
extent of the hemori'hage, as they are principally due to the compres-
sion of the cord. A large clot may produce sudden paraplegia accom-
panied by severe pain along the spine ; usually, however, the paralysis
of both motion and sensation is not very marked at first; on the second
or third day fever is apt to appear, and increased or diminished sensi-
bility along the spine posterior to the seat of the clot. When the
bladder and rectum are involved in the symptoms it indicates that the
spinal cord is compressed.

Treatment. — In the occurrence of injuries to the back of a horse,
whenever there is any evidence of paralysis, it is always advisable to
apply bags of ice along the spine to check or prevent hemorrhage or
congestion, and 2 drams of the fluid extract of ergot and 20 drops of
tincture of digitalis may be given every hour until three doses have
been taken. Subsequently tincture of belladonna in half-ounce doses
may be given three times a day. If there is much pain, 5 grains of
sulphate of morphia, injected under the skin, will afford relief and lessen
the excitability of the animal. In all cases the animal should be kept
perfectly quiet.

208

SPINAL CONCUSSION.

This is rarely observed in the horse, and unless it is sufficiently se-
vere to produce well-marked symptoms it would not be suspected. It
may occur in saddle-horses from jumping-, or it may be produced by
falling over an embankment, or a violent fall upon the haunches may
produce it. Concussion may be followed by j^artial paralysis or spinal
hemorrhage, generally, however, it is confined to a jarriug and some
disturbance of the nerve elements of the cord, and the paralytic effect
which ensues soon passes off. Treatment consists in rest until the ani-
mal has completely recovered from the shock. If secondary effects fol-
low from hemorrhage, or compression, they have to be treated as here-
tofore directed.

SPINAL TUMORS.

Within the substance of the cord glioma, or the mixed gliosarcomata,
is found to be the most frequent, tumors may form from the meninges
and the vertebrae, being of a fibrous or bony nature, and affect the spi-
nal cord indirectly by compression. In the meninges we may tiud gli-
oma, cancers, psammoma, fibromata ; and aneurisms of the spinal
arteries have been discovered in the spinal canal.

Symptoms. — Tumors of the spinal canal cause symptoms of spinal irri-
tation, or compression of the cord. The gradual and slow development
of symptoms of paralysis of one or both hind limbs or certain muscles
may lead to a suspicion of spinal tumors. The paralysis induced is
progressive, but not usually marked with atrophy of the muscles, or in-
creased sensibility along the spine. When the tumor is within the spi-
nal cord itself all the symptoms of myelitis may be jiresent.

Treatment. — General tonics and dram doses of nux vomica may be
given; iodide of iron or iodide of potassa in dram doses, three times a
day in feed, may, in a very few cases, give some temporary benefit.
Usually the disease progresses steadily until it proves fatal.

NEURITIS— INFLAMMATION OF A NERVE.

This is caused by a bruise or wound of a nerve, or to strangulation
in a ligature when it is included in the ligation of an artery. Tbe
changes in an inflamed nerve are an enlargement, reddening of the
nerve sheath, spots of extra vasated blood, and sometimes an infiltration
of serum mixed with pus.

Symptoms. — Acute pain of the parts supplied by the nerve, and absence
of swelling or increased heat of the part.

Treatment.— B-yDodermiG injections of from 3 to 5 grains of morphia
to relieve pain, hot fomentations, and rest. If it is due to an inclusion
of a ligature, the nerve should be divided above and below the ligature.

209

NEUROMA — TUMOR OF A NEKVE.

Neuroma may be from enlargementof the end of a divided nerve, or da©
to fibrous degeneration of a nerve which has been bruised or wounded.
Its most frequent occurrence is found after the operation of neurotomy
for foot lameness, and it may appear only after the lapse of months,
or even years. Neuroma usually develop within the sheath of the nerve
with or without implicating the nerve fibers. They are oval, running
lengthwise with the direction of the nerve.

Symptoms. — Pain of the atfected limb or part is manifested, more es-
pecially after resting awhile, and when pressure is made upon the
tumor it causes extreme suffering.

Trentment — Excision of the tumor, including part of the nerve above
and below, and then treat it like any other simple wound.

INJURY TO NERVES.

These may consist in wounding, bruising, laceration, stretching, com-
pression, etc. The symptoms which are produced will depend upoa
the extent, seat, and character of the injury. Recovery may quickly
take place, or it may lead to neuritis, neuroma, or spinal or cerebral irri-
tation, which may result in tetanus, paralysis, and other serious de-
rangements. In all diseases, whether produced by some form of ex-
ternal violence or intrinsic causes, the nerves are necessarily involved,
and sometimes it is to a primary injurj^ of them that the principal fault
in movement or change of nutrition of a part is due. It is often diffi-
cult or impossible to discover that an injury to a nerve has been in-
flicted, but whenever this is possible it may enable us to remedy that
which otherwise would result in permanent evil. Treatment should
consist in relieving compression, in hot fomentations, the api)licatiott
of anodyne liniments, excision of the injured part, and rest.

CEREBROSPINAL MENINGITIS.

This may occur sporadically as an encephalitis, with implications of
the spinal cord and its meninges. Usually, however, it appears as aB
enzooty in a stable, city, or farming district, not infrequently extend-
ing long distances in certain well-defined lines, along rivers, valleys,
or along ridges and mountains. For this reason the enzootic cerebro-
spinal meningitis has been attributed by some veterinarians to atmos-
pheric influences. The first written history we have of this disease was
published about thirty years ago by Dr. Isaiah Michener, of Carners-
villo. Pa., in a pamphlet entitled " Paralysis of the Par-Vagum." Sev-
eral years later Prof. A. Large, of Brooklyn, IST. Y., gave it the name of
" cerebro-spinal meningitis " on account of its similarity to that disease
in the human family. Dr. J. C. Michener, of Colmar, Pa., in 1882,
suggested the name of " Fungosus Toxicum Paralyticus," in view of
the exciting cause being found in foods undergoing fermentation. la
1103 J 14

210

England a similar disease has been called " grass staggers," due to
eating rye grass when it is ripening or when it is cut and eaten wbile
it is heating and undergoing fermentation. In eastern Pennsylvania
it was formerly known by the name of " putrid sore throat " and
" choking distemj)er." A disease similar in many respects, which is
very prevalent in Virginia, especially along the eastern border, is com-
monly known by the name of " blind staggers," and in many of the
southern States this has been attributed to the consumption of worm-
eaten corn. Professor Large attributed the cause of the disease to a
lack of sanitary conditions, poisonous gases, or emanations depending
upon defective sewerage in cities, defective drainage on lauds in the
country, and deficient stable ventilation.

These reputed causes, however, are inadequate to account for so-called
enzootic or epidemic cerebro-spinal meningitis. It frequently proves as
fatal on the hills and table-lands of Hunterdon County, isT. J., Bucks,
Montgomery, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties, Pa., as it does in the
dark, damp, illy ventilated stables in New York or Philadelphia. It
attacks animals which have been running at pasture, where drainage
has been perfect, as well as animals which have been stabled and kept
on dry food, regardless of variation in any appreciable sanitary condi-
tion. It afi'ects horses of all ages and both sexes ; temperament or con-
dition does not alter their susceptibility. Mules are attacked as well
as horses, and the mortality is equally as great. There is, however, a
variable severity of symptoms and degree of fatality in different out-
breaks.

That there is some specific cause which induces this disease is cer-
tain, for it is neither contagious nor infectious. Personally, I believe
the cause is connected with the food, either developed in it through
some fermentative process or upon it in the form of one of the many
parasitic fungi which grow on plants, grains, and vegetation. That
these, when they are consumed at certain stages of their development,
make a poisonous impression upon the brain and ultimately induce
structural changes is shown, I think, by the history of the outbreaks
wherever they can be traced. In manj- instances the outbreak of the
disease has been simultaneously witnessed where brewers' grains, oats,
and hay have been fed, which could be traced from i)laceto place, from
one diseased center to another. That they were the carriers, if not
the prime factors, can not be denied.

Symptoms. — The symi)toms which typify sporadic or epidemic cerebro-
spinal meningitis in man are seldom witnessed in equal distinctness
among horses, viz : excessive pain, high fever, and early muscular
rigidity. In the recognition of the severity of the attack we may divide
the symptoms into three grades. In the most rapidly fatal attacks, the
animal may first indicate it by weak, staggering gate, partial or total
inability to swallow solids or liquids, impairment of eyesight ; twitch-
ing of the muscles, and slight cramps may be observed. This is soon

211

followed by a paralysis of the whole body, inability to stand, delirium in
which the animal sometimes goes through a series of automatic move-
ments as if trotting or running; the delirium may become very violent
and the animal in his unconsciousness bruise his head in his struggles
very seriously, but usually a deep coma renders him quiet until he expires.
Death in these cases usually takes place in from four to twenty-four
hours from the time the first symptoms became manifest. The pulse is
variable during the progress of tlie disease; it may be almost imper-
ceptible at times, and then again very rapid and irregular ; the res-
pirations generally are quick and catching. When attacked in this
rapidly fatal form we may be able only to distinguish it from encepha-
litis when other animals in the same stable or neighborhood are simi-
larly aflFected. In the next form in which it may develop, it first be-
comes manifest by a difficulty in swallowing and slowness in mastica-
tion, and a weakness which may be first noticed in the strength of the
tail ; the animal will be unable to switch it or to offer resistance when
we bend it up over the croup. The pulse is often a little slower than
normal. There is no evidence of pain ; the respirations are unchanged,
and the temperature little less than normal ; the bowels may be some-
what constipated. These symptoms may remain unchanged for two or
three days and then gradual improvement take place, or the power to
swallow may become entirely lost and the weakness and uncertainty
in gait more and more perceptible ; then sleepiness or coma may ap-
pear; the pulse becomes depressed, slow and weak, the breathing ster-
terous, and paroxysms of delirium develop, with inability to stand, and
some rigidity of the spinal muscles or partial cramp of the neck and
jaws. In such cases death may occur in from six to ten days from the
commencement of the attack. In many cases there is no evidence of
pain, spasm, or fever at any time during the progress of the disease,
and finally profound coma develops and death follows, painless and
without a struggle.

In the last or mildest form, the inability of voluntary control of the
limbs becomes but slightly marked, the power of swallowing never en-
tirely lost, and the animal has no fever, pain, or unconscious movements.
Generally the animal will begin to improve about the fourth day and
recover.

In a few cases the spinal symptoms, manifested by paraplegia, may
be the most prominent symptoms ; in others they may be altogether ab-
sent and the main symptoms be difficulty in mastication and swallow-
ing; rarely it may affect one limb only. In all cases where coma re-
mains absent for six or seven days the animal is likely to recover.
When changes toward recovery take place, the symptoms usually leave
in the reverse order in which they developed, but local paralysis may
remain for some time, rarely persistent.

One attack does not give immunity, for it may recur at some later
time and prove fatal. Horses have been known to pass through three
attacks, being affected for a week or longer each time.

212

Treatment. — Ta the worst class of cases treatmeut is very seldom
successful, and it is dangerous to attempt the admiuistratioii of medi-
cine by tbe mouth, on account of the inability of the animal to swallow.
Cold shower baths may possibly induce revulsive action in connection
with stimulants per rectum, 4 to 6 ounces of whisky in 2 pints of milk;
the inhalation of ammonia vapor from a sponge saturated with dilute
aqua ammonia may arouse consciousness

In the second class of cases the treatment recommended by Professor
Large consists in giving a cathartic composed of 1 ounce of aloes and
the administration of 1 to 2 drams of the solid extract of belladonna,
alternated every three hours with 30 drops of tincture of aconite root,
and the application of blisters to the neck, spine, and throat. When
the animal is unable to swallow, oue-fourth-graiu doses of sulphate of
atropia may be injected under the skin every four, six, or eight hours,
as the ease may demand. The atropia is a heart stimulant, increases
capillary circulation, and quiets pain and excitability. This treatment
has been followed by very gratifying results in the hands of Professor
Large and others. VVheu the most ])rominent symptoms abate give
such food as they may be able to eat, keep fresh, cool water constantly
before them, support them in slings if necessary ; clean stabling and
plenty of fresh air are of the utmost importance.

Pathology. — Post mortem examination reveals more or less congestion
of the blood vessels at the base of the brain, effusion in the ventricles
and in the subarachnoid space both in the cranial and the spinal cavi-
ties. Plastic exudation is often found adherent to the pia mater of the
brain, anterior part of the spinal cord, and in the region of the loins.
The brain and cord appear softened in some cases where the greatest
evidence of inflammatory action existed.

Hygienic measures needful— Whenever this disease appears in a stable
all the animals should be removed as soon as possible. They should
be provided with clean, well-ventilated, and well-drained stables, and
each animal should receive 1 dram of the extract or half an ounce of
the tincture of belladonna twice a day for several days. The abandoned
stable should be thoroughly cleansed from all waste matters, receive a
coat of whitewash containing 4 ounces of carbolic acid to the gallon,
and should have time to dry thoroughly before the horses are replaced*
A complete change of food is of the very greatest importance, on ac-
count of the belief that the cai>se resides in diseased grain, hay, and
grass.

TETANUS — LOCK-JAW-

This disease is characterized by spasms affecting the muscles of the
face, neck, body, and limbs, of all the muscles supplied by the cerebro-
spinal nerves. The spasms or muscular contractions are rigid and per-
sistent, yet mixed with occasional more inter se coutraciions of convul-
sive violence.'

213

Causes. — The causes are classified under two beads, traumatic where
it is the result of injury, and idiopathic where it is due to other causes
than injuries, such as cold and damp, excessive fright, nervous exhaust-
ion from overwork, chronic irritation caused by worms in the intestines,
etc. In the majority of instances the cause of tetanus can be traced
to wounds, especially pricks or wounds of the feet or of tendinous
structiires. It sometimes follows castration, docking, the introduction
of setons, inclusion of a nerve in a ligature, etc. It may come on a
long time after the wound is healed, three or four months. In some
countries where tetanus appears to be enzootic the presumption is that
it is due to a specific germ. Horses with a nervous, excitable disposition
are more i^redisposed than those of a more sluggish nature. Stallions
are more subject to develop tetanus as the result of wounds than geld-
ings, and geldings more than mares.

Synqytoms. — The attacks may be acute or subacute. In an acute at-
tack the animal usually dies within four days. The first symptoms
which attract the attention of the owner is difficulty in chewing and
swallowing, an extension of the head and protrusion over the inner
part of the eye of themembrana nictitans or haw. An examination of
the mouth will reveal an inability to open the jaws to their full extent,
and the endeavor to do so will produce great nervous excitability and
increased spasm of the muscles of the jaw and neck. The muscles of
the neck and along the spine become rigid and the legs are moved in a
stiff manner. The slightest noise or disturbance throws the animal
into increased spasm of all the affected muscles. The tail is usually
elevated and held immovable; the bowels become constipated early in
the attack. The temperature and pulse are not much changed. These
symptoms in the acute type become rapidly aggravated until all the
muscles are rigid — in a state of tonic spasm — with a continuous tremor
running through them ; a cold perspiration breaks out on the body ;
the breathing becomes i^ainful from the spasm of the muscles used in
respiration ; the jaws are completely set, eye-balls retracted, lijis drawn
tightly over the teeth, nostrils dilated, and the animal presents a pict-
ure of the most extreme agony until death relieves him. The pulse,
which at first was not much affected, will become quick and hard, or
small and thready when the spasm affects the muscles of the heart.
In the subacute cases the jaws may never become entirely locked; the
nervous excitability and rigidity of muscles are not so great. There is,
however, always some stiffness of the neck or spine manifest in turn-
ing ; the haw is turned over the eye-ball when tbe nose is elevated. It
is not uncommon for owners to continue such animals at their work for
several days after the first symptoms have been observed. All the
symptoms may gradually increase in severity for a period of ten days,
and then gradually diminish under judicious treatment, or they may
reach the stage wherein all the characters of acute tetanus become de-
veloped. In some cases, however, we find the muscular crami^s almost

214

solely confined to the head or face, perhaps involving those of the neck.
In such cases we have complete trismus — lock jaw — and all the head
symptoms are acutely developed. On the contrary, we may find the
head almost exempt in some cases, and have the body and limbs per-
fectly rigid and incapable of movement without falling.

Tetanus may possibly be confounded with spinal meningitis, but the
character of the spasm-locked jaw, retraction of the eyeballs, the diffi-
culty in swallowing due to spasms of the muscles of the pharynx, and,
above all, the absence of paralysis, should serve to make the distinction.

Treatment. — The animal should be placed in a box-stall without bed-
ding, as far away as possible from other horses. If in a country district,
the animal should be put into an outbuilding or shed, where the noise of
other animals will not reach him ; if the place is moderately dark it is
all the better; in fly time he should be covered with a light sheet. The
attendant must be very careful and quiet about him, to prevent all un-
necessary excitement and increase of spasm.

A cathartic, comjjosed of Barbadoes aloes, 6 to 8 drams, with which
may be mixed 2 drams of the solid extract of belladonna, should be
given at once. This is best given in a ball form ; if, however, the ani-
mal is greatly excited by the attempt or can not swallow, the ball may
be dissolved in 2 ounces of olive oil and thrown on the back of the
tongue with a syringe. If the jaws are set, or nearly so, an attempt to
administer medicine by the mouth should not be made. In such cases
one quarter of a grain of atropia, with 5 grains of sulphate of morphia,
should be dissolved in 1 dram of pure water and injected under the skin.
This should be repeated sufficiently often to keep the animal continually
under its effect. This will usually mitigate the severity of the spasmodic
contraction of the aifected muscles and lessen sensibility to pain. Good
results may be obtained sometimes by the injection per rectum of the
fluid extract of belladonna and of cannabis indica, of each 1 dram, every
four or SIX hours. This may be diluted with a quart of milk. When
the anima! is unable to shallow liquids, oat-meal gruel and milk should
be given by injection i^er rectum to sustain the strength of the animal.
A pailful of cool water should be constantly before him, placed high
enough for him to reach it without special effort; even if he can not
drink, the laving of the mouth is refreshing. Excellent success fre-
quently may be obtained by clothing the upper part of the head, the
neck, and greater part of the body in woolen blankets kept saturated
with very warm water. This treatment should be continued for six or
eight hours at a time. It often relaxes the cramped muscles and gives
them rest and the animal almost entire freedom from pain ; but it
should be used every day until the acute spasms have permanently
subsided in order to be of any lasting benefit.

If the cause is due to the inclusion of a nerve in a ligature, the divi-
sion of the nerve becomes necessary. When it is due to a wound all
foreign substances should be searched for and be removed; if from a

215

wound which has healed an excision of the cicatrix may be beneficial.
In all cases it is not uncommon to have a partial recovery followed by
relapse when the animal becomes excited from any cause.

RABIES — HYDROPHOBIA — MADNESS.

This disease does not arise spontaneously among horses, but is the re-
sult of a bite from a rabid animal— generally a dog or cat. The devel-
opment of the disease follows the bite in from three weeks to three
mouths — very rarely in twelve or fourteen days.

Symptoms. — The first manifestation of the development of this disease
may be an increased excitability and viciousness; very sbght noises or
the approach of a person incites the animal to kick, strike, or bite at
any object near him. Very often the horse will bite his own limbs or
sides, lacerating the flesh and tearing the skin. The eyes appear star-
in '^, bloodshot : the ears are on the alert to catch all sounds : the head
is held erect. In some cases the animal will continually rub and bite
the locality of the wound inflicted by the rabid animal. This symptom
may precede all others. Generally the bowels become constipated and
he makes frequent attempts at urination, which is painful and the urine
very dark colored. The furious symptoms appear in paroxysms; at
other times the animal may eat and drink, although swallowing ap-
pears to become painful towards the latter stage of the disease, and
may cause renewed paroxysms. The muscles of the limbs or back may
be subject to intermittent spasms, or spasmodic tremors ; finally the
hind limbs become paralyzed, breathing very difiicult, and convulsions
supervene, followed by death. The pulse and respirations are increased
in frequency from the outset of the attack. Rabies may possibly be
mistaken for tetanus. In the latter disease we find tonic spasms of the
muscles of the jaws, or sLitfness of the neck or back very early in the
attack, and evidence of viciousness is absent.

Treatment. — As soon as the true nature of the disease is ascertained
the animal should be killed.

Prevention.— When a horse is known to have been bitten by a rabid
animal immediate cauterization of the wound with a red-hot iron may
possibly destroy the virus before absorption of it takes place.

PLUMBISM — LEAD-POISONma.

This disease is not of frequent occurrence. It may be due to habitu-
ally drinking water which has been standing in leaden conductors or
in old paint barrels, etc. It has been met with in enzootic form near
smelting works, where, by the fumes arising from such works, lead in
the form of oxide, carbonate, or sulphate was deposited on the grass
and herbage which the horses ate.

Symptoms. — Lead poisoning produces derangement of the functions
of digestion and locomotion, or it may affect the lungs principally. In

216

whatever system of organs the lead is deposited mostly there will we
have the symptoms of nervous debility most manifest. If in the lungs
the breathing becomes difiQcult aud the animal gets out of breath very
quickly when he is compelled to run. Roaring also is very frequently
a symptom of lead-poisoning. When it affects the stomach the animal
gradually falls away in flesh, the hair becouies rough, the skin tight,
and colicky symptoms develop. When the deposit is j^rincipally in the
muscles partial or complete paralysis gradually develops. When large
quantities of lead have been taken in and absorbed, symptoms resem-
bling epilepsy may result, or coma aud delirium develop and prove
fatal. In lead-poisoning there is seldom any increase in temperature.
A blue line forms along the gums of the front teeth, aud the breath
assumes a peculiar offensive odor. Lead can always be detected in the
urine by chemical tests.

Treatment. — The administration of 2-dram doses of iodide of potassa,
three times a day. This will form iodide of lead in the system, which
is rapidly excret^ed by the kidneys. If much muscular weakness or
paralysis is present, sulphate of iron in dram doses, and strychnia in 2-
grain doses may be given twice a day. In all cases of suspected lead-
poisoning all utensils which have entered into the supply of feed or
water should be examined for the piesence of soluble lead. If it occurs
near lead works great care must be given to the supply of uncoutam-
iuated fodder, etc.

UREMIA.

Urfemic poisoning may affect the brain in nephritis, acute albuminu-
ria, or when, from any cause, the functions of the kidneys become im-
paired or suppressed aud urea (a natural product) is no longer elimi-
nated from these organs, causing it to accumulate in the system and give
rise to uraemic poisoning.

Symptoms. — Urtemic poisoning is usually preceded by dropsy of the
limbs or abdomen ; a peculiar fetid breath is often noticed ; then drow-
siness, attacks of diarrhea, and general debility ensue. Suddenly ex-
treme stupor or coma develops ; the surface of the body becomes cold ;
the pupils are insensible to light ; the pulse slow and intermitting ; the
breathing labored, and death su[)ervenes. The temperature through-
out the disease is seldom increased, unless the disease becomes compli-
cated with acute inflammatory disease of the brain or respiratory
organs, which often occur as a result of the urea in the circulation.
Albumen and tube casts may frequently be found in the urine. The
disease almost invariably proves fatal.

Treatment. — This must be directed to a removal of the cause. (See
''Diseases of the Kiduey.")

ELECTRIC SHOCK.

Electric shock, from coming in contact with electric wires, is becom-
ing a matter of rather frequent occurrence, and has a similar effect upon

217

the animal system to a shock from lightning. Two degrees of electric
or lightning shock may be observed, one producing temporary contrac-
tion of muscles and insensibility, from which recovery is possible, the
other killing directly, by producing a condition of nervous and general
insensibility. In shocks which are not immediately fatal the animal is
usually insensible, the respiration slow, labored or gasping, the pulse
slow, feeble, and irregular, and the pupils dilated and not sensitive, or
they may be contracted and sensitive. The temi)erature is lowered.
There may be a tendency to convulsions or spasms. The predominat-
ing symptoms are extreme cardiac and respiratory depression.

Treatment. — Sulphate of atropia should be given hypodermically in
one quarter grain doses every hour or two hours until the heart beats
are invigorated, the number and fullness of the respirations increased,
and consciousness returns. Stimulating injections per rectum may also
be useful in arousing the circulation 3 for this purpose whisky or am-
monia water may be used.

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DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOODVESSELS.

By M. R. TRUMBOWER, V. S., Sterling, III.

REMARKS ON THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HEART AND

BLOOD VESSELS.

The heart is a hollow, involuntary, muscular organ, situated as nearly
as possible in the center of the chest, though its impulse is felt on the
left side from the rotary movement of the organ in action. It is cone-
shaped, with the base upwards; the apex points downwards, backwards,
and to the left side. It extends from about the third to the sixth ribs
inclusive. The average weight is about 6 J pounds. In horses used for
speed the heart is relatively larger, according to the weight of the ani-
mal, than in horses used for slow work. It is suspended from the spine
by the large blood-vessels, and held in position below by the attach-
ment of the pericardium to the sternum. It is inclosed in a sac, the
pericardium, which is composed of a dense, fibrous, membrane, lined by
a delicate serous membrane, which is reflected over the heart; the inner
layer is firmly adherent to the heart, the outer to the fibrous sac, and
there is an intervening space known as the pericardial space, in which
a small amount of serum — a thiu translucent liquid — is present con-
stantly.

The heart is divided by a shallow fissure into a right and left side ;
each of these is again subdivided by a transverse partition into two
compartments, which communicate. Thus there are four cardiac cavi-
ties, the superior or upper ones called the auricles, the inferior or
lower ones the ventricles. These divisions are marked on the outside
by grooves, which contain the cardiac blood-vessels, and are generally
filled with fat.

The right side of the heart may be called the venous, the left the ar-
terial side, named from the kind of blood which passes through them.
The auricles are thin- walled cavities placed at the base, and are con-
nected with the great veins, the vena cavse and pulmonary veins, through
which they receive blood from all parts of the body. The auricles com-
municate with the ventricles each by a large aperture, the auriculo-
ventricular orifice, which is furnished with a remarkable mechanism of

219

220

valves, allowing the transmission of blood from the auricles into the
ventricles, but preventing a reverse course. The ventricles are thick-
walled cavities, forming the more massive portion of the heart towards
the apex. They are separated by a partition, and are connected with
the great arteries, the pulmonary artery and the aorta, by which they
send blood to all parts of the body. At the mouth of the aorta and at
the mouth of the pulmonary artery is au arrangement of valves in each
case which prevents the reflux of blood into the ventricles. The auri-
culo-ventricular valves in the left side are composed of two flaps, hence
it is called the bicuspid valve. In the right side this valve has three
flaps, and is called the tricuspid valve. The flaps which form these
valves are connected with a tendinous ring between the auricles and
ventricles ; and each flap of the auriculo-ventricular valves is supplied
with tendinous cords, which are attached to the free margin and under
surface, so as to keep the valves tense when closed ; a condition which
is produced by the shortening of muscular pillars with which the
cords are connected. The arterial openings, both on the right and
on the left side, are provided with three-flapped semi-lunar shaped
valves, to prevent the regurgitation of blood when the ventricles con-
tract. The veins emptying into the auricles are not capable of closure,
but the posterior vena cava has an imperfect valve at its aperture.

The inner surface of the heart is lined by a serous membrane, the
endocardium, which is smooth and firmly adherent to the muscular
structure of the heart. This membrane is continuous with the lining
membrane of the blood vessels, and it enters into the formation of the
valves.

The circulation through the heart is as follows : The venous blood is
carried into the right auricle by the anterior and posterior venae cavae.
It then passes through the right auriculo ventricular opening into the
right ventricle, thence through the pulmonary artery to the lungs. It
returns by the pulmonary veins to the left auricle, then is forced through
the auriculo- ventricular opening into the left ventricle, which propels it
through the aorta and its branches into the system, the veins returning
it again to the heart. The circulation, therefore, is double, the pulmon-
ary or lesser being performed by the right, and the systemic or greater
by the left side.

As the blood is forced through the heart by forcible contractions of
its muscular walls it has the action of a force pump, and gives the im-
pulse at each beat, which we call the pulse — the dilatation of the arteries
throughout the system. The contraction of the auricles is quickly fol-
lowed by that of the ventricles, and then a slight pause occurs; this
takes i)lace in regular rythmical order during health.

The action of the heart is governed and maintained by the pneumo-gas-
tric nerve (tenth pair of cranial nerves) ; it is the inhibitory nerve of the
heart, and regulates, slows, and governs its action. When the nerve is
cut the heart-beats increase rajjidly, and in fact the organ works without

221

control. When the nerve is unduly irritated the bold-back or inhibitory
force is increased, and the heart slows up in the same measure. The
left cavities of the heart, the pulmonary veins, and the aorta or systemic
artery, contain red or Horid blood, fit to circulate through the body.
The right cavities of the heart, with the venae cavee or systemic veins
and pulmonary artery, contain dark blood, which must be transmitted
through the lungs for renovation.

The arteries, commencing in two great trunks, the aorta and the pul.
monary artery, undergo division as in the branching of a tree. Their
branches mostly come off at acute angles, and are commonly of uni-
form diameter in each case, but successively diminish after and incon-
sequence of division, and in this manner gradually merge into the
capillary system of blood vessels. As a general rule, the combined area
of the branches is greater than that of the vessels from which they
emanate, and hence the collective capacity of the arterial system is
greatest at the capillary vessels. The same rule applies to the veins.
The effect of the division of the arteries is to make the blood move more
slowly along their branches to the capillary vessels, and the effect of
the union of the branches of the veins is to accelerate the speed of the
blood as it returns from the capillary vessels to the venous trunks.

In the smaller vessels a frequent running together or anastoniosls oc-
curs. This admits of a free communication between the currents of
blood, and must tend to promote equability of distribution and of press-
ure, and to obviate the effects of local interruption. The arteries are
highly elastic, being extensile and retractile both in length and breadth.
During life they are also contractile, being provided with muscular tis-
sue. When cut across they present, although empty, an open orifice j
the veins, on the other hand, collapse.

In most parts of the body the arteries are inclosed in a sheath formed
of connective tissue, but are connected so loosely' that when the vessel
is cut across its ends readily retract some distance within the sheath.
Independently of this sheath arteries are usually described as being
formed of three coats, named, from their relative j)ositions, external^
middle, and internal. This applies to their structure so far as it is
discernable by the naked eye. The internal, serous or tunica intima
is the thinnest, and continuous with the lining membrane of the heart.
It is made up of two layers, an inner, consisting of a layer of epithelial
scales, and an outer, transparent, whitish, highly- elastic, and perforated.
The middle coat, tunica media, is elastic, dense, and of a yellow color,
consisting of non-striated muscular and elastic fibers, thickest in the
largest arteries and becoming thinner in the smaller. In the smallest
vessels it is almost entirely m uscular. The external coat, tunica ad-
ventitia, is composed mainly of fine and closely- woven bundles of white
connective tissue, which chiefly run diagonally or obliquely round the
vessel. In this coat the nutrient vessels, the vasa vasorum, form a cap-
illary net-work, from which a few penetrate as far as the muscular coat.

222

The veins differ from arteries ia possessing thinner walls, less elastic
and muscular tissue, and for the most part a stronger tunica adventitia.
They collapse when cut across or when they are empty. The majority
of veins are provided with valves ; these are folds of the lining mem-
brane, strengthened by fibrous tissue. They favor the course of the
blood and prevent its reflux. The nerves which supply both the ar-
teries and the veins come from the sympathetic system. The smaller
arteries terminate in the system of minute vessels, known as the cap-
illaiies, which are interposed between the termination of the arteries
and the commencement of the veins. Their average diameter is about
one three-thousandth of an inch.

SOUNDS OF THE HEART.

By placing the ear behind the elbow against the left side of the chest
two distinct sounds can be heard at each heart-beat in health. The first
is rather muffled and prolonged, the second is short and sudden. The
first is caused by the contraction of the ventricles, the closing of the
auriculo-ventricular valves, and the forcible propulsion of the blood into
the arteries; the second follows immediately, and is due to the reflux
of the blood just forced into the arteries, and the sudden closure of the
valves which prevent its return to the heart. In disease of the heart
or valves these sounds are generally modified, or supplanted by others,
which vary so much in character and are so diflicult to describe that we
can not consider them here ; long and extensive experience is required
to distinguish them practically.

CHARACTERS OF THE PULSE.

The circulation of the blood through the heart is constant, and is
maintained by the propelling activity of this organ. In the horse the
heart beats from thirty-six to forty-six times a minute, varying with the
disposition, breed, and temperament of the animal. In the foal the
pulse is about three times as rapid as in the adult, from six months to
a year about twice as quick, and in the two-year-old about one-quarter
faster. The pulse is usually taken at the angle of the jaw, where the
artery crosses the bone, and its force or character is often indicative of
the nature of the disease from which an animal may besufl"ering. The
pulse, therefore, is named in accordance with its character as slow, soft,
small, full, weak, quick, hard, irregular, intermittent, venous, etc.

Slow pulse is one where the number of beats are less than normal, and
is often found in certain diseases of the brain.

Soft or compressible pulse is one where the beat is rather weak, bat not
abnormally rapid. It is often found in debility due to want of assimi-
lation or proper nourishment. When accompanied with fever or loss
of appetite it is usually indicative of derangement of the digestive
organs.

223

Small pulse is one where the sensation conveyed to the linger is one of
lessened diameter of the artery ; it may be normal in frequency or
slightly increased. Generally due to eiihaustion from worlv or disease.

Full or strong pulse is one which imparts a bounding sensation as if
from over distention of the artery at each heart beat. It is usually
increased in frequency. This character may be felt immediately suc-
ceeding fast work, or in very plethoric horses wben slightly excited.
Often it may indicate a general systemic disturbance or disease of the
lungs.

WeaTc or feeble pulse is one which is hardly perceptible. This may
indicate organic disease of the heart, or denote general weakness from
loss of blood, prolonged sickness, starvation, etc.

Quick or frequent pulse is one where the heart-beats are more rapid
than normal, without any special change in its character. It is found
in the early stage of nearly all inflammatory diseases.

Hard or wiry pulse is one which is tense, incompressible, or vibrating,
and is always increased in frequency'. It usually denotes acute disease
of serous membranes, such as pleuritis, peritonitis, meningitis, etc.

Irregular pulse is one in which several pulsations follow in quick suc-
cession and then a pause ensues. This may indicate disease of the
heart, or of the nervous system, sometimes observed in lingering, ex-
hausting diseases.

Intermittent pulse is one where a beat is lost at regular intervals.
This is almost invariably an indication of disease of the heart.

Venous pulse may be seen along the side of the ueck in the jugular
furrow, and has the appearance of blood regurgitating in the vein at
each beat of the heart. It usually denotes disease of the heart, or an
obstruction to the flow of blood within the chest, from the pressureof a
tumor, dropsy, etc.

DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD-VESSELS.

In considering diseases of the heart we meet with many difiQculties,
depending much upon the position which this organ occupies in the
animal. The shoulders cover so much of the anterior portion of the
chest, and often in very heavy muscled horses the chest walls are so
thick, that a satisfactory examination of the heart caunoi be made.
Diseases of the heart are not uncommon among horses; the heartand its
membranes are frequently involved in diseases of the respiratory organs,
diseases of the kidneys, rheumatism, influenza, etc. Some of the dis-
eases of this organ are never suspected by the ordinary observer
during life, and are so diflQcult to diagnose with any degree of certainty
that we will have to confine ourselves to a general outline, giving at- [
tentionto such symptoms as may serve to lead to a knowledge of their
existence, with directions for treatment, care, etc.

Nervous affections often produce prominent heart symptoms by caus-
ing functional disturbance of that organ, which, if removed, will leave

224

tbe heart restored to perfect vigor and normal action. Organic changes
involving the heart or valves, however, usually grow worse and event-
ually prove fatal. Therefore it is necessary that we arrive at an appre-
ciation of the true nature and causes, so that we may be able to form a
true estimate of the possibilities for recovery or encouragement for
medical treatment.

Disease of the heart may occur at any age, but it is witnessed most
frequently in young horses, which, when being trained for fast work,
are often subjected to excessive hardship and fatigue. Nervous or timid
animals also suffer from such diseases more frequently than those of a
sluggish disposition. Any cause which induces a violent or sudden
change in the circulation may result in injury to tbe heart. Symptoms
which may frequently denote disease of the heart are difiQcult breath-
ing or short-windedness, dropsies of the limbs, habitual coldness of the
extremities, giddiness or fainting attacks, inability to stand work al-
though tbe general appearance would indicate strength and ability, etc.

INFLAMMATORY DISEASES OF THE HEART.

This, will embrace myocarditis, endocarditis, and pericarditis.

MVOCARDITIS — IXFLA.MMATION OF THE MUSCULAR STRUCTURE OF THE HEART.

This is of rare occurrence without implication of the endocardium or
pericardium. That inflammation of the muscular wallsof tbe heart may
frequently exist to some slight degree, induced by excessive action, can
not be doubted. Post-mortem examinations occasionally reveal abscess
and degeneration within the walls of this organ, which were not sus-
pected during life. Myocarditis primarily involves the interstitial mus-
cular tissue and the blood vessels, and presents itself in a sub-acute or
chronic type, which often leads to induration or bypertropby, occasion-
ally to tbe formation of pus and abscess. It may also lead to a dilata-
tion of the heart and rupture.

Causes. — Over-exertion or heart strain, influenza, rheumatism, pyae-
mia, extension of endocarditis or pericarditis, etc. Myocarditis usually
involves the endocardial membrane very early in the attack, and devel-
ops all the symptoms of endocarditis. Hence we will consider, as most
distinctive of inflammation of the heart, endocarditis.

ENDOCARDITIS — INFLAMMATION OF THE LINING MEMBRANE OF THE HEART, U8UALLT

INVOLVING THE MUSCULAR STRUCTURE.

It is frequently found in general rheumatism, involving the serous
membrane, some of the specific or zymotic fevers, septic poisoning, etc.
Endocarditis is a much more frequent disease among horses than we
are generally aware, and often gives rise to symptoms which, at first,
are obscure and unnoticed. I have witnessed two enzootics of influenza
in which 20 per cent, of the animals attacked developed symptoms of

225

either endocarditis or pericarditis. A certaiD number of these cases
subsequently developed the condition known as heaves, or gradually
failed in strength, with recurrence of attacks of heart failure upon the
slightest exertion, rendering many of them valueless. In th\) rheumatic
type of influenza we may often find the heart becoming involved in the
disease, in consequence of the morbid material conveyed through the
heart in the blood-stream. In view of the fact that many affections, ia
even remote portions of the body, may be traced directly to a primary
endocardial disease, we shall feel justified in inviting special attention
to this disease.

Endocarditis may be acute or assume various degrees of severity.
In acute inflammation we find a thickening and a roughened appear-
ance of the endocardium throughout the cavities of the heart. This
condition is soon followed by a coagulation of fibrine upon the inflamed
surface, which adheres to it, and by attrition soon becomes worked up
into shreddy-like granular elevations ; this may lead to the formation,
of fibrinous clots in the heart and sudden death early in the disease,
the second or third day. This acute type of the disease, however, does
not always affect the whole interior of the heart, but is often confined
to one ventricle or may be in patches ; it may extend through the ventri-
cle into the aorta or the pulmonary vein ; it may affect the valves prin-
cipally, which are composed of but little else than the endocardium
folded upon itself.

In acute endocarditis we invariably will find myocarditis develop
corresponding to the same space, which in intensity may i^roduce seri-
ous results through the destruction of functional ability or lead to
weakness, abscess, or rupture. Immediately upon the swelling of this
membrane we will find an abnormal action and abnormal sounds of the
heart.

Subacute endocarditis, which is the most common form we meet,
may not become appreciable for several days after its commencement.
It is characterized by being confined to one or more anatomical divisions
of the heart, and all the successive morbid changes follow each other
in a comparatively slow process. Often we would not be led to suspect
heart affection were it not for the distress in breathing, which it gen-
erally occasions when the animal is exercised, especially if the valves are
much involved. When the disease extends into the arteries, atherom-
atous deposits usually develop; when the inflammation is severe at the
origin of the tendinous cords they may become softened and ruptured.
When much fibrinous coagula or cellular vegetations form upon the
inflamed membrane, either in minute shreds or jiatches, or when forma-
tion of fibrinous clots occurs in the cavity affected, some of these mate-
rials may be carried from the cavity of the heart by the blood-current
into remote organs, constituting emboli that are liable to suddenly plug
vessels and thereby interrupt important functions. In the great major-
ity of either acute or subacute grades of endocarditis, whatever the
11035 15

226

exciting cause, the most alarming symptoms disappear in a week or ten
days, often leaving, however, such changes in the interior lining or
valvular structures as to cause impairment in the circulation for a much
longer period of time. These changes usually consist of thickening or
induration of the inflamed structures. But while the effects of the
inflammation in the membrane lining the walls of the ventricles may
subside to such a degree as to cause little or no inconvenience, or even
wholly disappear, yet after the valvular structures have been involved,
causing them to be thicker, less flexible than normal, they usually
remain, obstructing the free passage of the blood through the openings
of the heart, thereby inducing secondary changes which take place
slowly at first, but ultimately seriously impair the animal's usefulness.
What was but a slight obstruction to the circulation during the first
few weeks after the subsidence of the cardiac inflammatory attack
becomes in process of time so much increased as to induce increased
growth in the muscular structure of the heart, constituting hypertrophy
of the walls of the ventricles, more particularly of the left, with corre-
sponding fullness of the left auricle and pulmonary veins, thereby pro-
ducing fullness of the capillaries in the lungs, pressure ui)on the air
cells, difficult or asthmatic breathing — greatly increased in attempts to
work — until in a few months many of these cases become entirely dis-
abled for work. Sometimes, too, dropsical effusions in the limbs or into
the cavities of the body result from the irregular and deficient circula-
tion. Derangement of the urinary secretion, with passive congestion of
the kidneys, may akso appear.

Endocardial inflammation is seldom fatal in its early stages, but in
many cases the recovery is incomplete, for a large proportion are left
with some permanent thickening of the valves, which constitute the be-
ginning of valvular disease.

/Symptoms. — As already stated, myocarditis is seldom recognized until
p'ericarditis or endocarditis supervenes. Staggering gait with painful
' movement of the forc-lirabs, a constant irregularity of the heart's action,
but equality of strength regardless of the rapidity of the heart-beats,
constitute perhaps the most prominent symptoms which characterize
myocarditis. When the disease is associated with rheumatism, influ-
enza, or other zymotic diseases, these symptoms may not be sufficiently
well defined to attract the attention they deserve, and medical treat-
ment prescribed for the mitigation of such disease often serves to ag-
gravate the cardiac affection. In chronic myocarditis we generally
find a persistent palpitation with irregularity of beat, which, upon ex-
ercise, becomes greatly intensified. Change in the sounds of the heart
do not occur unless pericarditis, endocarditis, or disease of the valves
are associated with myocarditis. When it leads to hypertrophy we may
find an abnormally increased area of dullness on percussion. In endo-
carditis, when the attack is sudden and severe, we may find many of the
symptoms which characterize pericarditis and pleuritis, but a close ex-
amination will reveal notable differences.

227

Endocarditis may be ushered in by a cbill, with sudden and marked
rise in temperature. Tlie pulse rapidly decreases in strength or may
become irregular, while the heart beats more or less tumultuously. In
the early stages soft blowing sounds may be heard by placing the ear
over the heart on the left side, which correspond in number and rhythm
to the heart's action. Excessive pain, though not so great as in acute
pleuritis, is manifested when the animal is compelled to trot; very often
difficulty in breathing— shortness of breath— on the slightest exertion
develops early in the attack. When the valves are involved in the in-
flammatory process the visible mucous membranes become either very
pale or very dark colored, and fainting may occur when the head is
suddenly elevated. When the valves of the right side are afiected we
may have a regurgitant pulsation in the jugular vein. In some cases
we find marked lameness of the left shoulder, and when the animal is
turned short to the left side he may groan with pain, and the heart's
action become violently excited, although pressure against the chest-
wall will not produce pain unless roughly api^lied. The animal is not
disposed to eat or drink much ; the surface of the body and legs are
cold— rarely excessively hot -and frequently the body of the animal is
in a subdued tremor. In nearly all cases there is partial suppression
of the urinary secretion. The symptoms may continue with very little
modification for three or four days, sometimes seven days, without
any marked changes. If fibrinous clots lorm in the heart the change
will be sudden and quickly prove fatal unless they become loosened and
are carried away in the circulation; then apoplexy may result from the
plugging of arteries too small to give further transmission. If the ani-
mal manifests symptoms of improvement, the changes usually are slow
and steady until he feels apparently as well as ever, eats well, and
moves freely in his stall or yard. When he is taken out, however, the
seeming strength often proves deceptive, as he may quickly weaken if
urged into a fast gait, the breathing become quickened with a double
flank movement as in heaves, and all the former symptoms reappear in
a modified degree. An examination at this stage may reveal valvular
insufficiency, cardiac hypertrophy, or pulmonary engorgement.

In fatal cases of endocarditis death often occurs about the fourth day,
from the formation of heart clot or too great embarrassment of the
circulation. Endocarditis may be suspected in all cases where plain
symptoms of cardiac affection are manifested in animals affected with
influenza, rheumatism, or any disease in which the blood may convey
septic matter.

Acute endocardial inflammation may be distinguished from pleuritis
by the absence of any friction murmer, absence of pain when the chest
wall is percussed, and the absence of effusion in the cavity of the chest.
It may be distinguished from pericarditis by the absence of the friction
sounds and want of an enlarged area of dullness on percussion.

Treatment— The treatment will be similar in both myocarditis and

228

endocarditis. The objects to be attained will be to remove or mitigate
as much as possible the cause inducing the disease; to find a medicine
which will lessen the irritability of the heart without weakening itj
and last, to maintain a free urinary secretion and prevent exudation
and hypertrophy. So long as there is an increase of temperature, with
some degree of scantiness of the urine, it may be safe to believe that
there is some degree of inflammatory action existing in the cardiac
structures, and, as long as any evidence of inflammatory action remains,
however moderate in degree, there is a tendency to increase or hyper-
trophy of the connective tissue of the heart or valves, thereby render-
iufT it almost certain that the structural changes will become permanent
unless counteracted by persistent treatment and complete rest.

The tincture of digitalis, in 20-drop doses, repeated every hour, is
perhaps the most reliable agent we know to control the irritability
of the heart, and this also has a decided influence upon the uri-
nary secretion. After the desired impression upon the heart is ob-
tained the dose may be repeated every two or three hours, or as the
case may demand. Fluid extract of convallaria majalis, in 2-dram
doses, will quiet the tumultuous action of the heart in some cases where
the digitalis fails. Some veterinarians recommend bleeding, others cold
packs around the chest or over the heart. The former is decidedly
objectionable, because of its tendency to favor fibrinous exudation and
clot formation ; the latter is too risky a proceeding in the majority of
cases to warrant its use, for we find this disease in wet and damp sta-
bles in the most aggravated and fatal forms. Blistering and stimulat-
ing applications to the chest should also be avoided. They serve to
irritate the animal and can do no possible good. Chlorate of potassa,
in 2 dram doses, may be given in the drinking water every four hours
for the first five or six days, and then be superceded by the nitrate of
potassa, in half-ounce doses, for the following week, or until the urinary
secretion becomes abnormally profuse. Where the disease is associated
with rheumatism 2-dram doses of salicylate of soda may be substituted
for the chlorate of potassa. To guard against chronic induration of the
valves the iodide of potassa, in one to 2-dram doses, should be given
early in the disease, and may be repeated two or three times a day for
several weeks. When chronic eftects remain after the acute stage has
passed this drug becomes indispensable.

When dropsy of the limbs develops, it is due to weakened circulation
or functional impairment of the kidneys. When there is much weak-
ness in the action of the heart, or general debility is marked, the iodide
of iron, in 1 dram doses, combined with hydrastis, 3 drams, may be
given three times a day. Arsenic, in 5-grain doses twice a day, will give
excellent results in some cases of weak heart associated with difiicult
breathing. In all cases absolute rest and warm stabling, with comfort-
able clothing, becomes necessary, and freedom from work should be
allowed for a long time after all symptoms have disappeared.

229

AESCESS IN THE HEART.

This is a result of rajocarditis, or it may arise from localized pyaemic
infection or embolism of a coronary vessel, causing disintegration and
death of a part. Such abscess may be single and large, or multiple
and small. They may weaken the heart sufficiently to cause rupture
of its walls, or may embarrass the circulation by pressure upon the
orifices or cavities sufficient to produce death.

Abscess of the heart cannot be diagnosed with any degree of cer-
tainty.

PERICARDITIS— INFLAMMATION OF THE SAC INCLOSING THE HEART.

Causes.— Pericarditis may be induced by cold and damp stabling,
exposure and fatigue, from wounds caused by broken ribs, etc. Gen-
erally, however, it is associated with au attack of influenza, rheuma-
tism, pleuritis, etc.

Symptoms.— \Jsua,\\y the disease manifests itself abruptly by a brief
stage of chills coincident with pain in moving, a short painful cough,
rapid and short breathing, and high temperature, with a rapid and
hard pulse. The fever is highest, with corresponding pulse, in the
evening and lowest in the morning. In the early stages of the disease
the pulse is regular in beat ; later, when there is much exudation pres-
ent in the pericardial sac, the heart- beat becomes muffled, and may be
of a doubled or rebounding character. By placing the ear against the
left side of the chest behind the elbow a rasping sound may be heard,
corresponding to the frequency of the heart-beat. This is known as
the to-andfro friction sound. Between the second and fourth days this
sound may disappear, due to a distention of the pericardium by an exu-
date or serious effusion. As soon as this effusion partly fills the peri-
cardium, percussion will reveal an abnormally increased area of dull-
ness over the region of the heart, the heartbeats become less perceptible
than in health, and in some cases a splashing or flapping sound may
become audible.

If the efi'usiou becomes absorbed, the to-aud-fro friction sound usually
recurs for a short time ; this friction may often be felt by applying the
hand to the side of the chest. In a few cases clonic spasms of the mus-
cles of the neck may be present. In acute pericarditis, when the eflu-
sion is rapid and excessive, the animal may die in a few days, or recovery
may begin equally as early. In subacute or in chronic cases the effu-
sion may slowly become augmented until the pressure upon the lungs
and interference with the circulation becomes so great that death will
result. Whether the attack is acute, subacute, or chronic, the charac-
teristic symptoms which will guide us to a correct diagnosis are the
to-and-fro friction sound, which is always synchronous with the heart's
action, the high temperature with hard, irritable pulse, and in cases of
pericardial effusion the increased area of dullness over the cardiac

230

region. "When tlie disease is associated with influenza or rheumatism
some of the symptoms may be obscure, but a careful examination will
reveal sufficient upon which to base a diagnosis. "When pericarditis
develops as a result of or in connection with i)leuritis, the distinction
may not be very clearly definable, neither will many recover. When
it results from a wound or broken rib It almost invariably proves fatal.

Pathology. — Pericarditis may at all times be regarded as a very seri-
ous affection. At first we will find an intense injection or accumula-
tion of blood in the vessels of the pericardium, giving it a red and swollen
appearance, during which we have the friction sound. In twenty-four
or forty-eight hours this engorgement is followed by an exudation of
serofibrinous fluid, the fibrinous portion of which may soon form acoat-
ing over the internal surface of the pericardial sac, and may ultimately
form a union of the opposing surfaces. Generally this adhesion will
only be found to occupy a portion of the surfaces. As the serous or
waterj" portion of this effusion is absorbed, the distinctness of the fric-
tion sound recurs, and may remain peceptible iy varied degree for a.
long time. When the serous effusion is very great, the pressure exerted
upon the heart weakens its action, and may produce death soon ; when
it is not so great, it may cause dropsies of other portions of the body.
When the adhesions of the pericardial sac to the body of the heart are
extensive, they generally lead to increased growth or hypertrophy of
the heart, with or without dilatation of its cavities ; when they are but
slight, they may not cause any inconvenience.

Treatment. — In acute or subacute pericarditis the tincture of digitalis
and tincture of aconite root may be mixed, taking equal quantities, and
give 20 to 30 drop doses every hour until the pulse and temperature
become reduced. Bandages should be applied to the legs; if they are
very cold, tincture of capsicum should be first applied; the body should
be warmly clothed in blankets, to promote perspiration. W^hen the
suffering from pain is very severe, 2 ounces of tincture of opium may
be given once or twice a day; nitrate of potassa, half an ounce, in
drinking water, every six hours; after the third day, iodide of potassa,
in 2-dram doses, may be substituted. Hot packs to the chest in the
earl}' stages of the disease may give marked relief, or smart blisters
may be applied to the sides of the chest with benefit. If the disease
becomes chronic, iodide of iron and gentian to support the strength
will be indicated, but the iodide of potassa, in one or 2-dram doses,
two or three times a day, must not be abandoned so long as there is an
evidence of effusion or plastic exudate accumulating in the pericardial
sac. Where tlie effusion is great and threatens the life of the patient,
tapping, by an expert veterinarian, may save the animal.

VA.LYIILAR DISEASE OF THE HEART.

Acute valvular disease can not be distinguished from endocarditis,
and chronic valvular affections are generally the result of endocardial
inflammation. The valves of the left side are the most subject — the

231

bicuspid or mitral, and the aortic or semilunar. It may consist of mere
inflammation and swelling, or the edges of the valves may become
agglutinated hj the organization of the exudation, thus narrowing the
passage. Valvular obstruction and adhesions may occur, or the tendi-
nous cords may be lengthened or shortened, thus obstructing the orifices
and permitting the regurgitation of blood. In protracted cases the
fibrous tissue of the valves may be transformed into tibro-cartilage or
bone, or there may be deposits of salts of lime beneath the serous mem-
brane, which may terminate in ulceration, rupture, or fissures. Some-
times the valves become covered by fibrinous, fleshy, or cartilaginous
vegetations or excrescences. In cases of considerable dilatation of the
heart there may be atrophy and shrinking of the valves.

Symptoms. — Valvular disease may be indicated by a venous pulse,
jerking pulse, intermittent pulse, irregular pulse; palpitation; constant
abnormal fullness of the jugular veins ; difficulty of breathing when the
animal becomes excited, or is urged out of a walk or into a fast trot;
attacks of vertigo; congestion of the brain; dropsical swelling of the
limbs. A blowing, cooing, or bubbling murmur may sometimes be heard
by placing the ear over the heart on the left side of the chest.

Hypertrophy, or dilatation, or both, usually follows valvular disease.

Treatment. — Wlieu the pulse is irregular, or irritable, tonics, such as
j)reparatiou8 of iron, gentian, and ginger may be given. When the
action of the heart is jerking or violent, 20 to 30 drop doses of tincture
of digitalis or of veratrum viride may be given until these symptoms
abate. As the disease nearly always is the result of endocarditis, the
iodide of potassa and general tonics, sometimes stimulants, when gen-
eral debility supervenes, may be of temporary benefit. Very few ani-
mals recover, or remain useful for any length of time, after once marked
organic changes have taken place in the valvular structure of the heart.

ADVE?TTITIOUS GROWTHS IN THE HEART.

Fibrous, cartilaginous., and hony formations have been observed in
some rare instances, in the muscular tissue. Isolated calcareous masses
have sometimes been imbedded in the cardiac walls. Fibrinous coagula
and polypous concretions may be found in the cavities of the heart. The
former consist of coagulated fibrin, separated from the mass of blood, of
a wliitifih or yellowish white color, translucent, of a jelly-like consistence,
and having a nucleus in the center. They may slightly adhere to the sur-
face of the cavity, from which they can easily be separated without
altering the structure of the endocardium. They probably result from
an excess of coagulability of fibrin, which is i)roduced by an organiza-
tion of the lymph during exudation. They are usually found in the
right auricle and ventricle.

Polypous concretions are firmer than the preceding, more opaque, of
a fibrous texture, and may be composed of successive layers. In some
instances they are exceedingly minute, while in others they almost fill

232

one or more of the cavities. Their color is usually white, but occa-
sionally red from the presence of blood. They firmly adhere to the en-
docardium, and when detached from it give it a torn appearance. Occa-
sionally, avascular communication seems to exist between them and the
substance of the heart. They may be the result of fibrinous exudation
from inflammation of the inner surface of the heart, or the coagulation
of a portion of the blood which afterwards contracts adhesion with the
heart. These concretions prove a source of great inconvenience, and
often danger, no matter how formed. They cause a diminution in the
cavity in which they are found, thus narrowing the orifice through which
the blood i)asses, or preventing a proper coaptation of the valves, which
may produce most serious valvular disease.

Symptoms. — These are frequently uncertain ; they may, however, be
suspected when the action of the heart suddenly becomes embarrassed
with irregular and confused pulsations, great difficulty of breathing,
and the usual signs dependent upon the imperfect arterialization of

the blood.

Treatment— Stimulants, whisty, or carbonate of ammonia, may be

of service.

FUNCTIONAL AND ORGANIC DISEASES OF THE HEART.

The distinction between functional and organic diseases of the heart
is not easily made. We may accept as a guide that the character of
organic diseases of the heart is to progress, and that of functional to
occur at regular intervals. Active exercise almost invariably aggra-
vates organic, but seldom increases the symptoms of functional disease,
and that the physical signs generally are soon developed, and remain
permanent in organic, while they seldom exist in functional.

PALPITATION OF THE HEART.

This is a tumultuous and usually irregular beating of the heart.
It may be due to a variety of causes, both functional and organic. We
will, however, exclude the organic causes which lead to irregular action,
and give it a more simple specification. It may occur as a result of
indigestion, fright, increased nervousness, sudden excitement, exces-
sive speeding, etc. (See " Thumps.")

Symptoms.— The heart may act with such violence that each beat may
jar the whole body of the animal, very commonly it may be heard at a
short distance away from the animal. It can, usually, be traced very
readily to the exciting cause, which we may be able to avoid or over-
come in the future and thereby obviate subsequent attacks. Eest, a
mild stimulant, or a dose or two of tincture of digitalis or opium, will
generally give prompt relief. When it is due to organic impairment of
the heart it must be regarded as a symptom, not as a matter for pri-
mary sx^ecific treatment.

233

SYNCOPE — FAINTING-.

Aetna! fainting rarely occurs among horses. It may, however, be
induced by a rapid and great loss of blood, pain of great intensity, a
mechanical interference with the circulaliion of the brain, etc.

Symptoms. — Syncope is characterized by a decrease or temporary sus-
pension of the action of the heart and respiration, with partial or total
loss of consciousness. It generally occurs suddenly, though there may
be premonitory symptoms, as giddiness or vertigo, dilated pupil, stag-
gering, blanching of the visible mucous membranes, a rapidly sinking
pulse, and dropping to the ground. The pulse is feeble or ceases to
beat; the surface of the body turns cold; breathing is scarcely to be
perceived, and the animal may be entirely unconscious. This state is
uncertain in duration ; generally it lasts only a few minutes ; the circu-
lation becomes restored, breathing becomes more distinct, and con-
sciousness and muscular strength return. In cases attended with much
hemorrhage or organic disease of the heart, the fainting fit may be fatal,
otherwise it will prove but a transient occurrence. In jjaralysis of the
heart the symptoms may be exactly similar to syncope. Syncope may
be distinguished from apoplexy by the absence of stertorous breathing,
and lividity of the visible mucous membranes.

Treatment. — Dash cold w^ater on the head ; administer a stimulant, 4
ounces of whisky or half an ounce of carbonate of ammonia. Prevent
the animal from getting up too soon, or the attack may immediately
recur. Afterwards, if the attack was due to weakness from loss of
blood, impoverished blood, or associated with debility, general tonics,
rest, and nourishing food are indicated.

HYPERTROPHY OF THE HEART — CARDIAC ENLARGEMENT.

Hypertrophy of the heart imijlies augmentation of bulk in its muscu-
lar substance, with or without dilatation or contraction of its cavities.
It may exist with or without other cardiac affections. In valvular
disease or valvular iusufiticieucy hypertrophy frequently results as a
consequence of increased demand for propelling power. The difficul-
ties with which it is most frequently connected are dilatation and ossi-
fication of the valves. It may also occur in connection with atrophied
kidneys, weak heart, etc. It may be caused by an increased determi-
nation of blood to the organ, or from a latent form of myocarditis, and
it may arise from a long-continued increase of action dependent upon
nervous disease. All the cavities of the heart may have their walls hy-
pertrophied or the thickening may involve one or more. While the wall
of a ventricle is thickened its cavity may retain its normal size — simple
hypertrophy — or be dilated — eccentric hypertrophy — or it may be con-
tracted— concentric hypertrophy. Hypertrophy of both ventricles in-
creases the length and breadth of the heart. Hypertrophy of the left
ventricle alone increases its length, of the right ventricle alone in-

234

creases its breadth toward the right side. Ilypertrophy with dilatation
may affect the chambers of the heart conjointly or separately. This
form is by far the most frequent variety of cardiac enlargement. When
the entire heart is affected it assumes a globular appearance, the aj^ex
being almost obliterated, and situated transversely in the chest. The
bulk may become three or four times greater than the average size of
heart.

Symptoms. — In hypertrophy of the heart, in addition to the usual
symptoms manifested in organic diseases of the heart, there is a power-
ful and heaving impulse at each beat, which may be felt on the left
side, often also on the right. These jjulsations are regular, and when
full and strong at the jaw there is a tendency to active congestion of
the capillary vessels, which frequently gives rise to local inflammation,
active haemorrhage, etc. If the pulse is small and feeble at the jaw we
may conclude that there is some obstacle to the escape of the blood from
the left ventricle into the aorta, which has given rise to the hypertro-
phy. In case of hypertrophy with dilatation, the impulse is not only
powerful and heaving, but it is diffused over the whole region of the
heart, and the normal sounds of the heart are greatly increased in in-
tensity. Percussion reveals an enlarged area of dullness, while the im-
pulse is usually much stronger than normal.

Dropsy of the pericardium will give the same wide space of dullness,
but the impulse and sound are lessened. An animal with a moderate
degree of enlargement may j)ossibly live a number of years and be
capable of ordinary work; it depends largely upon concomitant disease.
As a rule, an animal affected with hypertrophy of the heart will soon
be incapacitated for work, and become useless and incurable.

Treatment. — If the cause can be discovered and is removable it should
be done. The iodide of i^otassa, in cases of valvular thickening, may
be of some benefit if continued for a sufficient length of time ; it may be
given in 2-dram doses, twice a day, for a month or more. Hydrocyanic
acid, in 30 drop doses twice a day, may relieve abnormal muscular ir-
ritability. General tonics, freedom from excitement or fatigue, avoid-
ance of bulky food, good ventilation, etc., are indicated.

DILATATION OF THE HEART.

This is an enlargement of the cavities of the heart, and may be con-
fined to one or extend to all. Two forms of dilatation may be men-
tioned— simple dilatation, where there is normal thickness of the walls,
and passive or attenuated dilatation, where the walls are simply distended
or stretched out without any addition of substance.

Causes. — Any cause producing constant and excessive exertion of
the heart may lead to dilatation. Valvular disease is the most frequent
cause. General anaemia predisposes to it by producing relaxation of
muscular fiber. Changes in the muscular tissue of the heart-walls,
serous infiltration from pericarditis, myocarditis, fatty degeneration

235

and infiltration, atrophy of the muscular fibers, may all lead to dilata-
tion.

Symptoms. — The movements of the heart are feeble and prolonged, a
disposition to staggering or vertigo, dropsy of the limbs, very pale or
very dark-colored membranes, and difficult breathing on the slightest
excitement.

Treatment. — General tonics, rich food, and rest.

FATTY DEGENERATION OF THE HEART.

Fatty degeneration may involve the whole organ, or may be limited
to its walls, or even to circumscribed patches. The latter is situated at
theexterior, and givesit a mottled appearance. When generally involved
it is tiabby or flacci<l, and in extreme cases collapses when emptied^r
cut. Upon dissection the interior of the ventricles is observed to be
covered with buff-colored spots of a singular zigzag form. This ap-
X)earance may be noticed beneath the pericardium, and pervading the
whole thickness of the ventricular walls, and in extreme cases those of
the fleshy columns in the interior of the heart. These spots are found
to be degenerated muscular fibers and colonies of oil-globules. Fatty
degeneration is often associated with other morbid conditions of the
heart, as obesity, <lilatation, rupture, aneurism, etc. It may be con-
nected with fatty diseases of other organs, as the liver, kidneys, etc.
When it exists alone its presence is seldom suspected previous to death.
It may be secondary to hypertrophy of the heart, to myocarditis, or to
pericarditis. It may be due to deteriorated conditions of the blood in
wasting diseases, excessive hemorrhages, etc., or to poisoning with ar-
senic and phosphorus.

Symptoms. — The most prominent symptoms of fatty degeneration are
a feeble action of the heart, a remarkably slow pulse, general debility,
and attacks of vertigo. It may exist for a long time, but is apt to sud-
denly terminate in death upon the occurrence of other diseases, surgical
operations, etc. It may involve a liability to sudden death from rupture
of the ventricular walls.

Treatment. — Confinement in feed to oats, wheat or rye bran, and
timothy hay. Twenty drops of sulphuric acid may be given in drink-
ing-water three times a day, and hypophosphite of iron in 2-dram doses,
mixed with the feed twice a day. Other tonics and stimulants as they
may be indicated.

ATROPHY OF THE HEART — WASTING.

A diminution of muscular substance of the heart and consequent de-
crease in bulk and weight. It is generally' due to imperfect nutrition
from occlusion of the blood-vessels which supply it.

Symptoms. — The heart beat is weak and hardly perceptible ; the area
of dullness over the region of the heart is lessened. Further than this

236

it furnishes no characteristic symptoms which distinguish it from some
other diseases of this organ. Treatment is of no avail.

RUPTURE OF THE HEART.

This may occur as the result of some previous disease, as fatty de-
generation, dilatation with weakness of the muscular walls, etc. It
may be caused by external violence, a crushing fall, pressure of some
great weight, etc. Usually, death follows a rupture very quickly,
though an animal may live for some time when the rent is not very
large.

WEAKNESS OF THE HEART.

This may arise from general debility, the result of exhausting disease,
overwork or heart strain, or loss of blood. It is indicated by a small,
leeble, but generally regular pulse, coldness of the body, etc.

Treatment. — This should be directed to support and increase the
strength of the animal, by tonics, rest, and nutritious food. Carbonate
of ammonia may be given to stimulate the heart's action and to pre-
vent the formation of heart-clot.

CONGESTION OF THE HEART.

Congestion, or an accumulation of the blood in the cavities of the
heart, may occur in consequence of fibrinous deposits interfering with
the free movements of the valves, usually the product of endocarditis.

Symptoms. — Great difficulty of breathing, paleness of the visible mu-
cous membranes, great anxiety, frequently accompanied by a general
tremor and cold perspiration, followed by death. It usually results in
death very quickly.

CYANOSIS.

This is a condition sometimes found in foals immediately after birth,
and is due to non-closure of the for-amen ovale, which allows a mixtuer
of the venous with the arterial blood in the left cavities of the heart.
It is characterized by a dark purple or bluish color of the visible mucous
membranes, shortness of breath, and general feebleness. Foals thus
affected generally live only a few hours after birth.

DISEASES OF ARTERIES — ARTERITIS AND ENDARTERITIS.

Inflammation of arteries is rarely observed in the horse as a pri-
mary affection. Direct injuries, such as blows, may produce a contu-
sion and subsequent inflammation of the wall of an artery ; severe
muscular strain may involve an arterial trunk; hypertrophy of the
heart, by increasing arterial tension, may result in the production of a
general endarteritis. Septic infection may affect the inner coat and
ultimately involve all three, or it may be the result of an inflammation
in the vicinity of the vessels, etc. Inflammation of arteries, whatever

237

the cause may be, often leads to very serious results in the development
of secondary changes in their walls. Arteritis may be acute, subacute,
or chronic ; when the inner coat alone is affected it is known as endar-
teritis.

Symptoms. — Arteritis is characterized by a jjainful swelling along the
intiamed vessel, throbbing pulse, coldness of the parts supplied by the
inflamed vessel, sometimes the formation of gangrenous sloughs, sup-
puration, abscess, etc. In an inflammation of the iliac arteries we find
coldness and excessive lameness or i^aralysis of one or both hind limbs.

Pathology. — In acute arteritis we find swelling along the vessel, loss
of elasticity, friability, and thickening of the walls; a roughness and
loss of gloss of the inner coat, with the formation of coagula or pus in
the vessel. Subacute or chronic arteritis may affect only the the outer
Qoat— periarteritis ; both the outer and middle coat, or the inner coat
alone — endarteritis ; and by weakening the respective coats leads to rup-
ture, aneurism, or to degenerations, such as bony, calcareous, fatty,
atheromatous, etc. It may also lead to sclerosis or increase of fibrous
tissue, especially in the kidneys, when it may result in the condition
known as arterio-capillary fibrosis. Chronic endarteritis is fruitful in
the production of thrombus and atheroma. Arteritis may be limited to
single trunks, or it may affect, more or less, all the arteries of the body.
Arteries which are at the seat of chronic endarteritis are liable to suf-
fer degenerative changes, consisting chiefly of fatty degeneration, cal-
cification, or the breaking down of the degenerated tissue, and the
formation of erosions or ulcer-like openings in the inner coat. These
erosions are frequently called atheromatous ulcers, and fragments of
tissue from these ulcers may be carried into the circulation, forming
emboli. Fibrinous thrombi are apt to form upon the roughened sur-
face of the inner coat, or upon the surface of the erosions.

Fatty degeneration and calcification of the middle and outer coats
may occur, and large, hard, calcareous plates project inward, upon which
thrombi may form or maj^ exist in connection with atheroma of the in-
ner coat. When there is much thickening and increase of new tissue
in the wall of the affected artery, it may encroach upon the capacity of
the vessel, and even lead to obliteration. This is often associated with
interstitial inflammation of glandular organs.

Treatment. — Carbonate of potassa in dram doses, to be given in four
ounces liquor acetate of ammonia every six hours. Scalded bran suffi-
cient to produce loosening of the bowels, and complete rest. Exter-
nally, applications of hot water or hot hop infusion.

ATHEROMA.

Atheroma is a direct result of an existing chronic endarteritis, the
lining membrane of the vessels being invariably involved to a greater
or less degree. It is most frequently found in the arteries, although

238

the veins may develop an atlieromntons condition wLen exposed to any
source of prolonged irritation. Atheroma may affect arteries in any
jiart of the body; in some instances almost every vessel is diseased, in
others only a few, or even parts of one vessel. It is a very common
result of endocarditis extending into the aorta, which we find perhaps
the most frequent seat of atheroma. As a result of this condition the
affected vessel becomes impaired in its contractile power, loses its nat-
ural strength, and in consequence of its inability to sustain its accus-
tomed internal pressure, undergoes, in many cases, dilatation at the seat
of disease, constituting awewmm. In an atheromatous vessel, calcare-
ous deposits soon occur, whicli render it rigid, brittle, and subject to
ulceration or rupture. In such vessels the contractility is destroyed,
the middle coat atrophied and beyond repair. Atheroma in the vessels
of the brain is a frequent cause of cerebral apoplexy. jS^o symptoms
are manifested by which we can recognize this condition during life.

CONSTRICTION OF AN AKTERY.

This is usually the result of arteritis, and may partly or wholly be
impervious to the flow of blood. When this occurs in a large vessel it
may be followed by gangrene of the parts; usually, however, collateral
circulation will be established to nourish the parts previously supplied
by the obliterated vessel. In a few instances constriction of the aorta
has i)roduced death.

ANEURISM.

Aneurism is usually described as true and false. True aneurism is a
dilatation of the coats of an artery over a larger or smaller part of its
course. Such dilatations are usually due to chronic endarteritis and
atheroma. False aneurism is formed after a puncture of au tirtery by
a dilatation of the adhesive lymph by which the puncture was united.

Symptoms. — If the aneurism is seated along the neck or a limb, it ap-
pears as a tumor in the course of an artery, and pulsating with it. The
tumor is round, soft, and compressible, and yields a peculiar fluctuation
upon pressure. By applying the ear over it a peculiar purring or hiss-
ing sound may sometimes be heard. Pulsation, synchronous with the
action of the heart, is the diagnostic symptom. It is of a slow, expan-
sive, and heavy character, as if the whole tumor were enlarging under
the hand. Aneurisms seated internally may occupy the cavity of the
cranium, chest, or abdomen. As regards the first, little is known dur-
ing life, for all the symptoms which they produce may arise from other
causes. Aneurism of the anterior aorta may be situated very closely to
the heart or in the arch, and it is very seldom that we can distinguish it
from disease of the lieart. The tumor may encroach upon the wind-pipe
and produce difficulty in breathing, or it may produce pressure upon the
venae cavse or the thoracic duct, obstructing the flow of blood and lymph.

239

In fact, whatever parts the aneurism may reach or subject to its pres-
sure, may have their functions suspended or disturbed. When the
tumor in the chetst is large we generally find much irregularity in the
action of the heart; the superficial veins of the neck are distended, and
there is usually dropsical swelling under the breast and of the limbs.
There may be a very tr<>ublesorae cough without any evidence of lung
affection. Sometimes pulsation of the tumor may be felt at the lower
part of the neck where it joins the chest. When ihe aneurism occurs
in the posterior aorta no diagnostic symptoms are appreciable; when it
occurs in the internal iliac arteries an examination per rectum will re-
veal it.

There is one form of aneurism which is not unfrequeutly overlooked,
aff"ecting the anterior mesenteric artery, primarily induced by a worm —
the Strongylus armafus. This worm produces an arteritis, with atheroma,
degeneration, and dilatation of the mesenteric arteries, associated with
thrombus and aneurism. The aneurism gives rise to colic, which ap-
pears periodically in a very violent and often persistent type. Ordinary
colic remedies have no effect, and after a time the animal succumbs to
the disease. In all cases of animals which are habitually subject to
colicky attacks, parasitic aneurism of the anterior mesenteric artery
may be suspected.

Fathology. — Aneurisms maybe diff"use or sacculated. The diffuse con-
sists in a uniform dilatation of all the coats of an artery, so that it as-
sumes the shape of a cylindrical swelling. The wall of the aneurism
is atheromatous or calcified ; the middle coat may be atrophied. The
sacculated or circumscribed aneurism consists either in a dilatation of
the entire circumference of an artery over a short portion of its length,
or in a dilatation of only a small portion of one side of the wall. Aneu-
rism may become very large; as it increases in size it presses upon and
causes the destruction of neighboring tissues. The cavity of the auen-
rismal sac is filled with fluid or clotted blood, or with layers of fibrin
which adhere closely to its wall. Death is produced usually by the
pressure and interference of the aneurism with adjoining organs, or by
rupture. In worm aneurism we usually find large thrombi within the
aneurismal dilatation of the artery, which sometimes plug the whole
vessel or extend into the aorta. Portions of this thrombus or clot may
be washed away and produce embolism of a smaller artery. The effect
in either case is to produce anaemia of the intestinal canal, serous or
bloody exudation in its walls, which leads to paralysis of the intestine
and resultant colicky symptoms.

Treatment. — The only treatment advisable is to extirpate or ligate the
tumor above and below.

RUPTURE OF AN ARTERY.

Endarteritis, with its subsequent changes in the walls of arteries, is
the primary cause of rupture iu the majority of instances. The rupture

240

may be i)artifil, involving only one or two coats, and will tben form an
aneurism. If complete, it may produce death when it involves a large
vessel, especially if it is situated in one of the large cavities permitting
an excessive escape of blood. Kupture may be produced by mechanical
violence or accident.

Symptoms. — In fatal rupture associated with profuse bleeding, the
animal becomes weak, the visible mucuous membranes become blauclied,
the breathing hurried or gasping, pupils dilated, staggering in gait,
syncope, death. When the hemorrhage is limited, the symptoms may
not become noticeable ; if it is near the surface of the body a round or
diffuse swelling or tumor may form, constituting a hygroma. If the
rupture is associated with an external wound the bleeding artery should
be ligated, or where a bandage is applicable, pressure may be applied
by tight bandaging. As a secondary result of rupture of an artery we
may have formation of abscess, gangrene of a part, etc.

Treatment. — When rupture of a deep-seated artery is suspected, large
doses of fluid extract of ergot may be given to produce contraction of
the blood-vessels. Tannin and iron are also useful. The animal should
be allowed to have as much water as he desires. Afterwards stimulants
and nourishing food are indicated.

THROMBUS AND EMBOLISM.

By thrombosis is generally understood the partial or complete closure
of a vessel by a morbid product developed at the site of the obstruc-
tion. The coagulum, which is usually fibrinous, is known as a throm-
bus. The term embolism designates an obstruction caused by any body
detached and transported from the interior of the heart, or of some ves-
sel. Thrombi occur as the result of an injury to the wall of tbe vessel,
or may follow its compression or dilatation ; they may result from some
alteration of the wall of the vessel by disease, or by the retardation of
the circulation. These formations may occur during life, in the heart,
arteries, veins, or in the i^ortal system. W' hen a portion of fibrin coag-
ulates in one of the arteries and is carried along by the circulation, it
will be arrested, of course, in the capillaries, if not before ; when in the
veins it may not be sto^iped until it reaches the lungs; and when in the
portal system the capillaries of the liver will prevent itsfurther progress.
The formation of thrombi may act primarily by causing partial or com-
l^lete obstruction, and secondarily, either by larger or smaller frag-
ments becoming detached from their end, and by being carried along
by the circulation of the blood to remote vessels, embolism; or by the
coagulum becoming softened and converted into pus, constituting sup-
purative phlebitis. These substances occur most frequently in those
affections characterized by great exhaustion or debility, as pneumonia,
purpura hoemorrhagica, endocarditis, phlebitis, puerpural fever, hem-
orrhages, etc. These concretions may form suddenly and produce in-
stantaneous death by retarding the blood current, or they may arise

241

gradually, in which case the thrombi may be organized and attached to
the walls of the heart, or they may soften, and fragments of them (em-
boli) may be carried away. The small, wart like excrescences, occur-
ring sometimes in endocarditis, may occasioually form a foundation on
which a thrombi may develop.

Symptoms. — When heart clot or thrombus exists in the right side the
return of blood from the body and the aeration in the lungs is im-
peded, and if death occurs it is owing to syncope rather than to stran-
gulation in i)ulmonary respiration. There will be hurried and gasping
breathing, paleness and coldness of the surface of the body, a feeble
and intermittent or fluttering pulse, and fainting. When a fibrinous
coagulum is carried into the pulmonary artery from the right side of the
heart, the indications are a swelling and infiltration of the lungs and
pulmonary apoplexy. When the clot is situated in the left cavities of
the heart or in the aorta, death, if it occurs, takes place either suddenly
or at the end of a few hours from coma.

Pathology. — When a coagulum is observed in the heart it may become
a question whether it was formed during life or after death. The loose?
dark coagula, so often found after death, are polypi. If the deposition
has taken place during the last moments of life, the fibrin will be iso-
lated and soft, but not adherent to the walls; if it be isolated, dense,
and adherent or closely intertwined with the muscles of the papillag and
tendinous cords, the deposition has occurred more or less remote from
the act of dying. Occasionally the fibrin may be seen lining one of the
cavities of the heart, like a false endocardium, or else forming an addi-
tional coat to the aorta or other large vessels without producing much
obstruction. Thrombi, in some iustau.'3es, soften in their centers, and
are then observed to contain a pus-like substance. If this softening has
extended considerably an outer shell or cyst only may remain. The
sources of danger exist not only in the interruption of the circulation of
the blood, but also in a morbid state of the system, produced by the dis-
turbed nutrition of a limb or organ, as well as the mingling of purulent
and gangrenous elements with the blood.

Treatment. — The urgent symptoms should be relieved by rest, stim-
ulants, and the use of agents which will act as solvents to the fibrinous
clots. Alkalies are specially useful for this purpose. Carbonate of
ammonia may be administered in all cases of thrombus, and should be
continued for a long time in small doses several times a day. In cases
of great debility associated with a low grade of fever, stimulants and
tonics, and nitro-muriatic acid as an antiseptic, may be beneficial.

DISEASES OF VEINS — PHLEBITIS.

Intlammation of veins may be simple or diffuse. In simple phlebitis
the disease of the vein is confined to a circumscribed or limited portion
of a vein ; in diffuse it involves the vein for a long distance; it may even
extend from a limb or foot to the heart.
11035 16

242

Cfltwsfis.— Phlebitis may be induced by contusions or direct injuries,
an extension of inflammation from surrounding tissue, as in abscess,
formation of tumor, or malignant growth. It is often due to embolism of
infective material, gangrenous matter, etc. Blood-letting from the
jugular vein is occasionally followed by dangerous phlebitis.

Symptoms. — The symptoms vary according to the extent and severity
of the inflammation. In most cases the vein is swollen, thickened, and
indurated to such a degree as to resemble an artery. A diffused
swelling, with great tenderness, may extend along the affected vessel
and the animal manifest all the symptoms connected with acute fever
and general functional disturbance.

Pathology. — The disease is only serious when large veins are affected.
The coats undergo the same changes as in arteritis, clots of blood and
lymph plug the inflamed vessel, and if the inflammatory process con-
tinues these are converted into pus, which ruptures the vessel and pro-
duces a deep abscess ; or it may be carried away in the circulation and
produce metastatic abcess in the lungs or other remote organs. In
mild cases the clots may become absorbed and the vessel restored to
health. Phlebitis in the course of the veins of the limbs frequently leads
to numerous abscesses, which may be mistaken for farcy ulcerations.
A very common result of phlebitis is an obliteration of the affected por-
tion of the vein, but as collateral circulation is readily established this
is seldom of any material inconvenience.

Trefl^men./.— Phlebitis should be treated by the application of a smart
blister along the course of the inflamed vessel ; early opening of any
abscesses which may form ; the animal should have complete rest, and
the bowels be kept loose with bran mashes. When the fever runs high,
half-ounce doses of nitrate of potassa may be given in the drinking
water, which may be changed in two or three days for dram doses of
the iodide of potassa. If the animal becomes debilitated, carbonate of
ammonia, 1 dram, and powdered gentian, 3 drams, may be given every
six hours.

VARICOSE VEINS — VARIX — DILATATION OF VEINS.

This may be a result of weakening of the coats from inflammatory
disease and degeneration. It may also be due to mechanical obstruc-
tion from internal or external sources. It is sometimes found in the
vein which lies superficial over the inside of the hock joint, and may
be due to the pressure of a spavin. Occasionally it may be observed
in stallions, which are more or less subject to varicocele or dilatation of
the veins of the testicular cord. Hemorrhoidal veins or piles are occa-
sionally met with, generally in horses which run at pasture. Varicose
veins may ulcerate and form an abscess in the surrounding tissues, or
they may rupture from internal blood pressure and the blood form
large tumors where the tissues are soft.

Treatment. — Stallions which manifest a tendency to varicocele should

243

wear suspensory bags when they are exercised. Piles may often be re-
duced by astringeut washes — tea made from white oak bark or a satu-
rated solution of alum. Tlie bowels should be kept loose with bran
mashes and the animal kept quiet in the stable. When varicose veins
exist superficially and threaten to produce inconvenience, they may be
ligated above and below and thus obliterated. Sometimes absorption
may be induced by constant bandages.

AIR IN VEINS— AIR EMBOLISM.

It was formerly supposed that the entrance of air into a vein at the
time of the infliction of a wound or in blood-letting was extremely dan-
gerous and very often produced sudden death by interfering with the
circulation of the blood through the heart and lungs. Danger from air
embolism is exceedingly doubtful, unless great quantities were forced
into a large vein by artificial means.

PURPURA HEMORRHAGICA.

Purpura hemorrhagica usually occurs as a sequel to debilitating dis-
eases, such as strangles, influenza, etc. It may, however, arise in the
absence of any previous disease in badly ventilated stables, among
poorly-fed horses, and in animals subject to exhausting work and ex-
treme temperatures. It is apparently due to a primary deterioration of
the blood, weakness of the capillary vessels, and general debility or ex-
haustion of the nervous system. Its gravity does not depend so much
upon the amount of blood extravasated as it does upon the disturbance
or diminished action of the vasomotor centers.

t>\jmptoms. — This disease becomes manifested by the occurrence of
sudden swellings on various parts of the body, on the head or lips, limbs,
abdomen, etc. They may be diffused or very markedly circumscribed,
though in the advanced stages they cover large areas. They pit on
pressure and are but slightly painful to the touch. The limbs may
swell to a very large size, the nostrils may become almost closed, and
the head and throat may swell to the point of suffocation. The swell-
ings not infrequently disappear from one portion of the body and de-
velop on another, or may recede from the surface and invade the intes-
tinal mucous membrane. The mucous lining of the nostrils and mouth
is covered with dark red or purple spots, a bloody colored serum flows
from the nostrils, the tongue may be swollen and prevent eating or
closing of the jaws. In twenty-four or forty-eight hours bloody serum
may exude through the skin over the swollen parts, and finally large
gangrenous sloughs may form. Tlie temperature is never very high,
the pulse is frequent and compressible, and becomes feebler as the ani-
mal loses strength. A cough is usually present. The urine is scanty
and high colored, and when the intestines are much affected a bloody
diarrhea may set in, with colicky pains. Some of the internal organs

244

t)ecorae implicated in the disease, the Inng-s may become oedematous^
extravasation may occur in the intestinal canal, or effusion of serum
into the cavity of the chest or abdomen ; occasionally the brain becomes
affected. A few cases run a mild course and recovery may commence
in three or four days, generally, however, the outlook is unfavorable.
In severe cases septic poisoning is liable to occur, which soon brings
the case to a fatal issue.

Pathology. — On section we find the capillaries dilated, the connective
tissue filled with a coagulable or coagulated lymph, and frequently we
may discover gangrenous spots beneath the skin or involving the skin.
The lymphatic glands are swollen and inflamed. Extensive extravasa-
tions of blood may be found imbedded between the coats of the intes-
tines, or excessive effusion into the substance of the lungs.

Treatment. — Diffusible stimulants and tonics should be given from
the very start, regardless of fever or frequency of the pulse. Carbon-
ate of ammonia, 1 dram; fluid extract of red cinchona bark, 2 drams, and
tincture of ginger half an ounce, with half a pint of water; thin gruel or
milk should be given every four or six hours. Sulphate of iron in dram
doses may be dissolved in water and given every six hours. Chlorate
of potassa in 2-ounce doses may be given every eight or twelve hours.
When the discharges from the mouth and nose become offensive to the
smell, 10 drops of carbolic acid in 2 ounces of water may be given in a
drench, or thrown on the root of the tongue with a syringe several times
a day. Where the swelling is very great, incisions half an inch in
length penetrating the skin should be made with a sharp knife, to per-
mit drainage. The application of linimeuts or washes externally are of
no use, and if injudiciously used may do harm. Complications, when
they arise, must be treated with proper circumspection.

DISEASES OF THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM.

The lymphatic or absorbent system is connected with the blood vas-
cular system, and consists of a series of tubes which absorb and convey
to the blood certain fluids. These tubes lead to lymphatic glands,
through which the fluids pass to reach the right lymphatic vein and
thoracic duct, both of which enter the venous system near the heart.
Through the excessively thin walls of the capillaries the fluid part of
the blood transudes, to nourish the tissues outside the capillaries ; at
the same time fluid passes from the tissues into the blood. The fluid,
after it passes into the tissues, constitutes the lymph, and acts like a
stream irrigating the tissue elements. Much of the surplus of this
lymph passes into the lymph vessels, which in their commencement can
hardly be treated as independent structures, since their walls are so
closely joined with the tissues through which they pass, being nothing
more than spaces in the connective tissue until they reach the larger
lymph vessels, which finally empty into lymph glands. These lymph
glands are structures so placed that the lymx)h flowing towards the

245

larger trunks passes through them, undergoing a sort of filtration. From
the fact of this arrangement lymph glands are subject to inflammatory
diseases in the vicinity of diseased structures, because infective mate-
rial being conveyed in the lymph stream lodges in the glands and pro-
duces irritation.

LOCAL INFLAMMATION AND ABSCESS OF LYMPHATIC GLANDS.

Acute inflammation of the lymph glands usually occurs in connection
with some inflammatory process in the region from which its lymph is
gathered. Several or all of the glands in a cluster may become affected,
as in strangles, nasal catarrh, or nasal gleet, diseased or ulcerated teeth,
the lymph glands between the branches of the lower jaw almost inva-
riably become affected, which may lead to suppuration or induration.
Similar results obtain in other portions of the body; in pneumonia the
bronchial glands become affected; in pharyngitis, the post-pharyugeal
glands lying above the trachea become affected, etc.

8i/mj>toms. — The glands swell and become painful to the touch, the
connective tissue surrounding them becomes involved, suppuration
usually takes place, and one or more abscesses form. If the inflamma-
tion is of a milder type, resolution may take place and the swelling
recede, the exudative material being absorbed, and the gland restored
without the occurrence of suppuration. In the limbs a whole chain of
the glands along the lymphatic vessels may become affected, as in farcy,
phlebitis, or septic poisoning.

Treatment. — Fomentation with hot water, the application of cam-
phorated soap liniment, or camphorated oil, may produce a revulsive
action and prevent suppuration. If there is any indication of abscess
forming, poultices of linseed meal and bran made into a paste with hot
water should be applied, or a mild blistering ointment rubbe d in over
the swollen gland. As soon as fluctuation can be felt a free opening
must be made for the escape of the contained pus. The wound may
subsequently be washed out with a solution of chloride of zinc, 5 grains
to the ounce of water, three times a day.

HYPERTROPHIED LYMPHATICS.

This is characterized by an enlargement and growth of lymphatic
glands ; the causes are obscure, but they sometimes attain an enormous
size, and seriously interfere with neighboring organs. This condition
is sometimes found in the region of the throat above the larynx, and
produces wheezing or roaring, by pressing upon the recurrent laryngeal
nerve. It may occur in the bronchial glands of the chest, and interfere
with the action of the heart and respiration. The swelling is not pain-
ful or feverish, it may be very hard or may be rather soft ; occasionally
they contain a cheesy deposit or even undergo calcification. A condition
almost similar to this may be induced by chronic inflammation. In such
cases, however, the glandular structure may become lessened, as the

246

result of pressure by an increase of fibrous or connective tissue, altbougli
a large tumor at the site of the gland remains. This may become grad-
ually absorbed, more often, however, recurrence of inflammation takes
place and frequently small abscesses form.

Treatment— Uei^eated blistering with ointment of cantharides 8 parts,
bin-iodide of mercury 1 part, to be thoroughly mixed and applied once
in ten days or two weeks. If this fails, extirpation will become neces-
sary.

LYMPHANGITIS.

Specific inflammation of the lymphatic structures, usually affecting the
hind leg, very seldom a fore leg. This disease is very sudden in its
attack, exceedingly painful, accompanied by a high temperature, and
great general disturbance.

Causes.— UoTses of lymphatic or sluggish temperament are predis-
posed to this affection. It usually attacks well-fed animals, and in such
cases may be due to an excess of nutritive elements in the blood. Sud-
den changes in work or in the habits of the animal may inducean attack.

8ymptoms.—It is usually ushered in by a chill, rise in temperature,
and some uneasiness; in a very short time this is followed by lameness
in one leg and swelling on the inside of the thigh. The swelling gradu-
ally surrounds the whole limb, continues on downward until it reaches
the foot. The limb is excessively tender to the touch, the animal per-
spires, the breathing is accelerated, pulse hard and quick, and the tem-
perature may reach lOG^ Fah. The bowels early become constipated,
and the urine scanty. The symptoms usually are on the increase for
about two days, then they remain stationary for the same length of
time ; the fever then abates ; the swelling recedes and becomes less
painful. It is very seldom, though, that all the swelling leaves the leg;
generally it leaves some permanent enlargement, and the animal be-
comes subject to recurrent attacks. Occasionally, the inguinal lym-
phatic glands (in the groin) undergo suppuration, and pyasmia may
supervene and prove fatal. In severe cases the limb becomes denuded
of hair in patches, the skin remains indurated with a fibrous growth,
which is known by the name of elephantiasis.

Treatment. — Fomentations with vinegar and water, equal parts, to
which add 2 ounces of nitrate of potassa for each gallon. This should be
applied every ten or fifteen minutes for six or eight hours, then the leg
may be dried with a woolen cloth and bathed with camphorated soap
liniment. Internally, administer tincture of digitalis and aconite root,
equal parts of each, 30 drops every hour until the fever and pulse be-
come reduced. Half-ounce doses of nitrate of potassa in the drinking-
water every six hours, bran m ashes, and complete rest. This treatment,
if instituted early in the attack, very frequently brings about a remark-
able change within twenty-four hours.

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DISEASES OF THE EYE.

By Dr. JAMES LAW, F. R. C. V. S.,

Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., Cornell University.

We can scarcely overestimate the value of sound eyes in the horse,
and hence all diseases and injuries which seriously interfere with vision
are matters of extreme gravity and apprehension, for should they prove
permanent they invariably depreciate the selling price to a considerable
extent. A blind horse is always dangerous in the saddle or in single
harness, and he is scarcely less so when, with partially impaired vision,
he sees things imperfectly, in a distorted form or in a wrong place, and
when he shies or avoids objects which are commonplace or familiar.
When we add to this that certain diseases of the eyes, like recurring
inflammation (moon blindness), are habitually transmitted from parent
to offspring, we can realize still more fully the importance of these mala-
dies. Again, as a mere matter of beauty, a sound, full, clear, intelligent
eye is something which must always add a high value to our equine
friends and servants.

THE EYEBALL.

A full description of the structure of the eye is incompatible with our
prescribed limits, and yet a short description is absolutely essential to
the clear understanding of what is to follow.

The horse's eye is a spheroidal body, flattened behind, and with its
posterior four-tifths inclosed by an opaque, white, strong fibrous mem-
brane (the sclerotic), on the inner side of which is laid a more delicate
friable membrane, consisting mainly of blood-vessels and pigment cells
(the choroid), and that in its turn is lined by the extremely delicate and
sensitive expansion of the nerve of sight (the retina). The anterior fifth
of the globe of the eye bulges forward from what would have been the
direct line of the sclerotic, and thus forms a segment of a much smaller
sphere than is inclosed by the sclerotic. Its walls, too, have in health
a perfect translucency from which it has derived the name of trayisp are nt
cornea. This transparent coat is composed, in the main, of fibres with
lymph interspaces, and it is to the condition of these and their conden-
sation and compression that the translucency is largely due. This may
be shown by comjiressing with the fingers the eye of an ox which has just

247

248

been killed, wlien the clear transparent cornea will suddenly become
clouded over with a whitish blue opacity, and this will remain until the
compression is interrupted. The interior of the eye contains three trans-
parent media for the refraction of the rays of light, on their way from the
cornea to the visual nerve. Of these media the anterior one (aqueous
humor) is liquid, the posterior (vitreous humor) is semi-solid, and the
intermediate one (crystalline lens) is solid. The space occupied by the
aqueous humor corresponds nearly to the portion of the eye covered by
the transparent cornea. It is, however, divided into two chambers, an-
terior and posterior, by the iris, a contractile curtain with a hole in the
center (the pupil), and which may be looked on as in some sense a projec-
tion inward of the vascular and pigmentary coat from its anterior margin
at the point where the sclerotic or opaque outer coat becomes continuous
with the cornea or transparent one. This iris, or curtain, besides its
abundance of blood-vessels and pigment, possesses two sets of muscular
fibers, one set radiating from the margin of the pupil to the outer border
of the curtain at its attach ment to the sclerotic and choroid, and the other
encircling the pupil in the manner of a ring. The action of the two sets
is necessarily antagonistic, the radiating fibers dilating the pupil and
exposing the interior of the eye to view, while the circular fibers con-
tract this opening and shut out the rays of light. The form of the pupil
in the horse is ovoid, with its longest diameter from side to side and its
upper border is fringed by several minute black bodies (corpora nigra)
projecting forward and serving to some extent the purpose of eyebrows
in arresting and absorbing the excess of rays of light which fall upon
the eye from above. These pigmentary projections in front of the upper
border of the pupil are often mistaken for the products of disease or in-
jury, in place of the normal and beneficient protectors of the nerve of
sight which they are. They may, like all other parts, become the seat of
disease, but so long as they and the iris retain their clear, dark aspect,
without any tints of brown or yellow, they may be held to be healthy.

The vitreous or semi-solid refracting medium occupies the posterior
part of the eye— the part corresponding to the sclerotic, choroid, and
retina— and has a consistency corresponding to that of the white of an
egg, and a power of refraction of the light-rays correspondingly greater
than the aqueous humor.

The third or solid refracting medium is a biconvex lens, with its con-
vexity greatest on its posterior surface, which is lodged in a depression
in the vitreous humor, while its anterior surface corresponds to the
opening of the pupil. It is inclosed in a membranous covering (cap-
sule), and is maintained in posirion by a membrane (suspensory liga-
ment) which extends from the margin of the lens outward to the scle-
rotic at the point of junction of the choroid and iris. This ligament is,
in its turn, furnished with radiating muscular fibers, which change the
form or position of the lens so as to adapt it to see with equal clearness
objects at a distance or close by.

249

Anotlier point wbicli strikes the observer of tlie horse's eye is that in
the darkuess a bright bluish tinge is reflected from the widely-dilated
pupil. This is owing to a comparative absence of pigment in the cho-
roid coat inside the upper part of the eyeball, and enables the animal
to see and advance with security in darkuess where the human eye
would be of little use. The lower part of the cavity of the horse's eye,
into which the dazzling rays fall from the sky, is furnished with an in-
tensely black lining, by which the rays penetrating the inner nervous
layer are instantly absorbed.

MUSCLES OF THE EYE.

These consist of four straight muscles, two oblique and one retractor.
The straight muscles pass from the depth of the orbit forward on the
inner, outer, upper, and lower sides of the eyeball, and are fixed to the
anterior portion of the fibrous (sclerotic) coat, so that in contracting
singly they respectively turn the eye inward, outward, upward, and
downward. When all act together they draw the eyeball deeply into
its socket. The retractor muscle also consists of four muscular slips,
repeating the straight muscles on a smaller scale, but as they are only
attached on the back part of the eyeball they are less adapted to roll
the eye than to draw it down into its socket. The two oblique muscles
rotate the eye on its own axis, the upper one turning its outer surface
upward and inward, and the lower one turning it downward and inward.

THE HAW — THE WINKING CARTILAGE— CARTILAGO NICTATANS.

This is a structure, wliich, like the retractor muscle, is not found in
the eye of man, but it serves in the lower animals to assist in removing
foreign bodies from the front of the eyeball. It consists, in the horse,
of a cartilage of irregular form, thickened inferiorly and j)osteriorly
where it is intimately connected with the muscles of the eyeball, and
the fatty material around them ; and expanded and flattened anteriorly
where its upper surface is concave, and, as it were, moulded on the
lower and inner surface of the eyeball. Externally, it is covered by the
mucous membrane which lines the eyelids and extends over the front
of the eye. In the ordinary restful state of the eye the edge of this
cartilage should just appear as a thin fold of membrane at the inner
angle of the eye, but when the eyeball is drawn deeply into the orbit
the cartilage is pushed forward, outward, and upward over it until the
entire globe may be hidden from sight. This protrusion of the carti-
lage, so as to cover the eye, may be induced in the healthy eye by
pressing the finger and thumb on the upper and lower lids, so as to cause
retraction of the eyeball into its socket. When foreign bodies, such
as sand, dust, and chaff, or other irritants, have fallen on the eyeball or
eyelids, it is similarly projected to push them off, their expulsion being
further favored by a profuse flow of tears.

250

This is seen, to a lesser extent, in all painful inflammations of tlie eye,
and to a very marked degree in lockjaw, when the spasm of the muscles
of the eyeball draws the latter deeply into the orbit and projects for-
ward the masses of fat and the cartilage. The brutal practice of cut-
ting off this apparatus, whenever it is projected, necessitates this ex-
planation which, it is hoped, may save to many a faithful servant a
most valuable appendage. That the cartilage and membrane may be-
come the seat of disease is undeniable, but so long as its edge is thin
and even, and its surface smooth and regular, the mere fact of its pro-
jection over a portion or the whole of the eyeball is no evidence of
disease in its substance, nor any warrant for its removal. It is usually
but the evidence of the presence of some pain in another part of the
eye, which the suffering animal endeavors to assuage by the use of this
beneficient provision. For the diseases of the cartilage itself see
" Encephaloid Cancer."

LACHRYMAL APPARATUS.

This consists, first, of a gland for the secretion of the tears, and, sec-
ond, of a series of canals for the conveyance of the superfluous tears
into the cavity of the nose.

The gland is situated above the outer part of the eyeball, and the
tears which have flowed over the eye and reached the inner angle are
there directed by a small conical papilla (lachrymal caruncle) into two
minute orifices, and thence by two ducts (lachrymal) to a small pouch
(lachrymal sac) from which a canal leads through the bones of the face
into the nose. This opens in the lower part of the nose on the floor of
the passage, and a little outside the line of union of the skin which lines
the false nostril with the mucous membrane of the nose. In the ass
and mule this opening is situated on the roof instead of the floor of the
nose, but still close to the external opening,

EXAMINATION OP THE EYE.

To avoid unnecessary repetition the following general directions are
given for the examination of the eye : The eye, and to a certain extent
the mucous membrane lining the eyelids, may be exposed to view by
gently parting the eyelids with the thumb and forefinger pressed on
the middle of the respective lids. The pressure, it is true, causes the
protrusion of the haw over a portion of the lower and inner part of the
eye, but by gentleness and careful graduation of the pressure this may
be kept within bounds, and oftentimes even the interior of the eye can
be seen. As a rule it is best to use the right hand for the left eye, and
the left hand for the right, the finger in each case being pressed on the
upper lid while the thumb depresses the lower one. In cases in which
it is desirable to examine the inner side of the eyelid farther than is
possible by the above means, the upper lid may be drawn down by the
eyelashes with the one hand and then everted over the tip of the fore-

251

finger of the otlier hand, or over a probe laid flat against the middle of
the lid. Where the interior of the eye must be examined it is useless
to make the attempt in the open sunshine or under a clear sky. The
■worst cases, it is true, can be seen under such circumstances, but for
the slighter forms the horse should be taken indoors, where all light
from above will be shut off, and should be placed so that the light shall
fall on the eye from the front and side. Then the observer, placing him-
self in front of the animal, will receive the reflected rays from the cor-
nea, the front of the lens and the back, and can much more easily detect
any cloudiness, opacity, or lack of transparency. The examination
can be made much more satisfactory by placing the horse in a dark
chamber and illuminating the eye by a lamp placed forward and out-
ward from the eye which is to be examined. Any cloudiness is thus
easily detected, and any doubt may be resolved by moving the lamp so
that the image of the flame may be passed in succession over the whole
surface of the transparent cornea and of the crystalline lens. Three
images of the flame will be seen, the larger one upright, reflected from
the anterior surface of the eye ; a smaller one upright, reflected from
the anterior surface of the lens ; and a second small one inverted from
the back surface of the lens. So long as these images are reflected
from healthy surfaces they will be clear and perfect in outline, but, as
soon as one strikes on an area of opacity, it will become diffused, cloudy,
and indefinite. Thus, if the large upright image becomes hazy and im-
perfect over a particular spot of the cornea, that will be found to be the
seat of disease and opacity. Should the large image remain clear, but
the small upright one become diffuse and indefinite over a given point,
it indicates opacity on the front of the capsule of the lens. If both
upright images remain clear, while the inverted one becomes indistinct
at a given point, then the opacity is in the substance of the lens itself
or in the posterior part of its capsule.

If in a given case the pupil remains so closely contracted that the
deeper jiarts of the eye can not be seen the eyelids may be rubbed with
extract of belladonna, and in a short time the pupil will be found
widely dilated.

DISEASES OF THE EYELIDS.

Congenital disorders. — Some faulty conditions of the eyelids are con-
genital, as division of an eyelid in tico, after the manner of harelip, ab-
normally small opening between the lids, often connected with imperfect
development of the eye, and closure of the lids by adhesion. The first is
to be remedied by paring the edges of the division and then bringing
them together, as in torn lids. The last two, if remediable at all, re-
quire separation by the knife, and subsequent treatment with a cooling
astringent eye wash.

Nervous disorders. — Spasm of the eyelids may be owing to constitutional
susceptibility, or to the presence of local irritants (insects, chemical

252

irritants, sand, etc.) in the eye, to wounds or inflammation of the mucous
membrane, or to disease of the brain. When due to local irritation, it
may be temporarily overcome by instilling a few drops of a 4 per
cent, solution of cocaine into the eye, when the true cause may be
ascertained and removed. The nervous or constitutional disease must
be treated according to its nature.

Drooping eyelids— Ptosis. — This is usually present in the upper lid, or
is at least little noticed in the lower. It is sometimes but a symptom of
paralysis of one-half of the face, in which case the ear, lips, and nostrils
on the same side will be found soft, drooping, and inactive, and even
the half of the tongue may partalie of the palsy. If the same condition
exists on both sides there is difficult snuffling breathing, from the air
drawing in the flaps of the nostrils in inspiration, and all food is taken
in by the teeth, as the lips are useless. In both there is a free discharge
of saliva from the mouth during mastication. This paralysis is a fre-
quent result of injury, by a poke, to the seventh nerve, as it passes over
the back of the lower jaw. In some cases the paralysis is confined to
the lid, the injury having been sustained by the muscles which raise it,
or by the supra-orbital nerve which emerges from the bone just above
the eye. Such injury to the nerve may have resulted from fracture of
the orbital process of the frontal bone above the eye ball.

The condition may, however, be due to spasm of the sphincter muscle,
which closes the lids, or to inflammation of the upper lid, usually a re-
sult of blows on the orbit. In the latter case it may run a slow course
with chronic thickening of the lid.

The paralysis due to the poke may be often remedied by, first, the
removal of any remaining inflammation by a wet sponge worn beneath
the ear and kept in place by a bandage; second, when all inflammation
has passed by a blister on the same region, or by rubbing it daily with
a mixture in equal proportions of olive oil and strong aqua ammonia.
Improvement is usually slow, and it may be months before complete
recovery ensues.

In paralysis from blows above the eyes the same treatment may be
applied to that part.

Thickening of the lid may be treated by painting with tincture of
iodine, and that failing, by cutting out an ellipitical strip of the skin
from the middle of the upper lid and stitching the edges together.

INFLAMMATION OF THE EYELIDS.

The eyelids suffer more or less in all severe inflammations of the eye,
whether external or internal, but inasmuch as the disease sometimes
starts in the lids and at other times is exclusively confined to them, it
deserves independent mention.

Among the causes may be named: exposure to draughts of cold air,
or to cold rain or snow-stormsj the bites or stings of mosquitoes, flies.

253

and other insects 5 snake-bites, pricks witli thorns, blows of whip or club;
accidental bruises against the stall or ground, especially during the vio-
lent struggles of colic, enteritis, phrenitis (staggers), and when thrown
for operations. It is also a result of infecting inoculations, as of ery-
sipelas, anthrax, boil, etc., and is noted by Leblanc as especially preva-
lent among horses kept on low marshy pastures. Finally, the introduc-
tion of sand, dust, chaff, beards of barley and seeds of the finest grasses,
and the contact with irritant chemical powders, liquids, and gases (am-
monia from manure or factory, chlorine, strong sulphur fumes, smoke,
and other products of combustion, etc.), may start the iniiammation.
The eyelids often undergo extreme infiammatory and dropsical swelling
in urticaria (nettlerash, surfeit), and in the general inflammatory dropsy
known as purpura hemorrhagica.

The affection will, therefore, readily divide itself into (1), inflamma-
tions due to constitutional causes; (2), those due to direct injury, me-
chanical or chemical; and (3), such as are due to inoculation with in-
fecting material.

(1) Inflammations due to constitutional causes are distinguished by
the absence of any local wound, and the history of a low damp pasture,
exposure, indigestion from unwholesome food, or the presence elsewhere
on the limbs or body of the general doughy swellings of purpura
hoemorrhagica. The lids are swollen and thickened, it may be slightly
or it may be so extremely that the eye ball can not be seen. If the lid
can be everted to show its mucous membrane, that is seen to be of a
deep red color, especially along the branching lines of the blood vessels.
The part is hot and painful, and a profuse flow of tears and mucus
escapes on the side of the face, causing irritation and loss of the hair.
If improvement follows, this discharge becomes more tenacious, and
tends to cause adhesion of the edges of the upper and lower lids and
to mat together the eyelashes in bundles. This gradually decreases to
the natural amount, and the redness and congested appeai-ance of the
eyes disappears, but swelling, thickening, and stiffness of the lids may
continue for a length of time. There may be more or less fever accord-
ing to the violence of the inflammation, but so long as there is no serioua
disease of the interior of the eye or of other vital organ this is usually
moderate.

The local treatment consists in astringent, soothing lotions (sugar of
lead 30 grains, laudanum 2 teaspoonsful, rain water — boiled and cooled —
1 pint^, applied with a soft cloth kept wet with the lotion, and hung over
the eye by tying it to the headstall of the bridle on the two sides. If
the mucous membrane lining the lids is the seat of little red granular
elevations, a drop of a solution of 2 grains of nitrate of silver in an ounce
of distilled water should be applied with the soft end of a clean feather
to the inside of the lid twice a day. The patient should be removed
from all such conditions (pasture, faulty food, exposure, etc.) as may
have caused or aggravated the disease, and from dust and irritant

254

fumes and gases. He sliould be fed from a manger high enough to favor
the return of blood from the head, and shoukl be kept from work,
especially in a tight collar, which would prevent the descent of blood
by the jugular veins. His diet should be laxative and non-stimulating
(grass, bran mashes, carrots, turnips, beets, potatoes, or steamed hay),
and any costiveness should be corrected by a mild dose of linseed oil (1
to 1^ pints). In cold weather warm blanketing may be needful, and
even loose flannel bandages to the limbs, and heat should never be
sought at the expense of pure air.

(2) In inflammations due to local irritants of a non-infective kind, a
careful examination will usually reveal their presence, and the first step
must be their removal with a pair of blunt forceps or the point of a lead
pencil. Subsequent treatment will be in the main the local treatment
advised above.

(3) In case of infective inflammation, there will often be found a prick
or tear by which the septic matter has entered, and in such case the
inflammation will for a time be concentrated at that point. A round
or conical swelling round an insect bite is especially characteristic. A
snake bite is marked by the double prick made by the two teeth and
by the violent and rapidly spreadiug inflammation. Erysipelas is at-
tended with much swelling, extending beyond the lids, and causing the
mucous membrane to protrude beyond the edge of the eyelid (chemosis).
This is characterized by a bright, uniform, rosy red, disappearing on
pressure, or later by a dark, livid hue, but with less branching redness
than in noninfecting inflammation, and less of the dark, dusky, brown-
ish or yellowish tint of anthrax. Little vesicles may appear on the
skin, and j^us may be found without any distinct limiting membrane, as
in abscess. It is early attended by high fever and marked general
weakness and inappetence. Anthrax of the lids is marked by a firm
swelling, surmounted by a blister, with bloody serous contents, which
tends to burst aud dry up into a slough, while the surrounding parts
become involved in the same way. Or it may show as a diff"use dropsi-
cal swelling, with less of the hard central sloughing nodule, but like
that tending to spread quickly. In both cases alike the mucous mem-
brane and the skin, if white, assume a dusky brown or yellowish brown
hue, which is largely characteristic. This may pass into a black color
by reason of the extravasation of blood. There appears early great
constitutional disturbance, with much prostration and weakness and
generalized anthrax symptoms.

The treatment of these will vary according to the severity. Insect
bites may be touched with a solution of equal parts of glycerine and
aqua ammonia, or a 10 per cent, solution of carbolic acid in water.
Snake bites may be bathed with aqua ammonia, and the same agent
given in doses of 2 teaspoonfuls in a quart of water. Or alcohol may
be given in pint or quart doses, according to the size of the animal. In
erysipelas the skin may be painted with tincture of muriate of iron, or

255

■with a solution of 20 grains of iodine in an ounce of carbolic acid, and
one-half an ounce of tincture of muriate ot iron may be given thrice
daily in a bottle of water. In anthrax the swelling should be painted
with tincture of iodiue, or of the mixture of iodine and carbolic acid,
and if very threatening it may have the tincture of iodine injected into
the swelling with a hypodermic syringe, or the hard mass may be freely
incised to its depth with a sharp lancet and the lotion applied to the
exposed tissues. Internally iodide of potassium may be given in doses
of 2 drams thrice a day, or tincture of the muriate of iron every four
hours...

STYE — FURUNCLE (BOIL) OF THE EYELID.

This is an inflammation of limited extent, advancing to the formation
of matter and the sloughing out of a small mass of the natural tissue
of the eyelid. It forms a firm, rounded swelling, usually near the mar-
gin of the lid, which suppurates and bursts in four or five days. Its
course may be hastened by a poultice of chamomile flowers, to which
have been added a few drops of carbolic acid, the whole applied in a
very thin muslin bag. If the swelling is slow to open after having be-
come yellowisli-white, it may be opened by a lancet, the incision being
made at right angles to the margin of the lid.

ENTROPION AND ECTROPION — INVERSION AND EVERSION OF THE EYE

LID.

These are respectively caused by wounds, sloughs, ulcers, or other
causes of loss of substance of the mucous membrane on the inside of
the lid and of the skin on the outside ; also of tumors, skin diseases, or
paralysis which leads to displacement of the margin of the eyelid. As
a rule they require a surgical operation, with removal of an eliptical
jiortion of the mucous membrane or skin, as the case may be, but which
requires the skilled and delicate hand of the surgeon.

TRICHIASIS..

This consists in the turning in of the eyelashes so as to irritate the
front of the eye. If a single eyelash, It may be snipped off with scis-
sors close to the margin of the eyelid, or pulled out by the root with
a pair of flat-bladed forceps. If the divergent lashes are more numer-
ous the treatment may be as for entropion by excising an elliptical por-
tion of skin opposite the offending lashes, and stitching the edges
together, so as to draw outward the margin of the lid at that point.

"WARTS AND OTHER TUMORS OF THE EYELIDS.

The eyelids form a favorite site for tumors, and above all, warts, which
consist in a simple diseased overgrowth (hypertrophy) of the surface
layers of the skin. If small, these may be snipped off with scissors.

256

or tied around tbe neck with a stout waxed thread and left to drop off,
the destruction being completed, if necessary, b^^ the daily application
of a piece of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), until any unhealthy ma-
terial has been removed. If more widely spread the wart may still be
clipped off with curved scissors or knife, and the caustic thoroughly
applied day by day.

A bleeding wart or erectile tumor is more liable to bleed, and is best
removed by constricting its neck with the waxed cord or rubber band,
or if too broad for this it may be transfixed through its base by a nee-
dle armed with a double thread, which is then to be cut in two and tied
around the two portions of the neck of the tumor. If still broader the
armed needle may be carried through the base of the tumor at regu-
lar intervals, so that the whole may be tied in moderately sized sec-
tions.

In gray and white horses black pigmentary tumors (melanotic) are
common on the black ijortions of skin, such as tbe eyelids, and are to
be removed by scissors or knife, according to their size. In the horse
these do not usually tend to recur when thoroughly removed, but at
times they prove cancerous (as is the rule in man), and then they tend
to reappear in the same site or in internal organs with, it may be, fatal
efi'ect.

Encysted, honey-like (melicerous), sebaceous, and fibrous tumors of
the lids all require removal with the knife.

TORN EYELIDS — WOUNDS OF EYELIDS.

The eyelids are torn by attacks with horns of cattle, or with the teeth,
or by getting caught on nails in stall rack or manger, on the point of
stump fences or fence rails, on the barbs of wire-fences and on other
pointed bodies. The edges should be brought together as promptly as
possible, so as to secure union without the formation of matter, puck-
ering of the skin, and unsightly distortions. Great care is necessary
to bring the two edges together evenly without twisting or puckering.
The simplest mode of holding them together is by a series of sharp pins
passed through the lips of the wound at intervals of not over a third of
an inch, and held together by a thread twisted around each pin in the
form of the figure 8, and carried obliquely from pin to pin in two direc-
tions, so as to prevent gaping of the wound in the intervals. The points
of the pins may then be cut off with scissors, and the wound may be
wet twice a day with a weak solution of carbolic acid.

TUMOR OF THE HAW — CARIES OF THE CARTILAGE.

Though cruelly excised for alleged "hooks," when itself perfectly
healthy in the various diseases which lead to retraction of the eye into
its socket, the haw may, like other bodily structures, be itself the seat
of actual disease. The pigmentary black tumors of white horses and

257

soft (encephaloid) cancer may attack this part primarily or extend to
it from the eyeball or eyelids; hairs have been found growing from ita
surface ; and the mucous membrane covering it becomes inflamed in
common with that covering the front of the eye. These inflammations
are but a phase of the inflammation of the external structures of the
eye, and demand no particular notice nor special treatment. The
tumors lead to such irregular enlargement and distortion of the haw
that the condition is not to be confounded with the simple projection of
the healthy structure over the eye when the lids are pushed apart with
the finger and thumb, and the same remark applies to the ulceration or
caries of the cartilage. In the latter case, besides the swelling and
distortion of the haw, there is this peculiarity, that in the midst of the
red inflamed mass there appears a white line or mass formed by the
exposed edge of the ulcerating cartilage. The animal having been
thrown and properly fixed, an assistant holds the eyelids apart while
the operator seizes the haw with forceps or hook and carefully dissects
it out with blunt-pointed scissors. The eye is then covered with a
cloth kept wet with an eye wash, as for external ophthalmia.

OBSTRUCTION OF THE LACHRYMAL APPARATUS — WATERING EYE.

The escape of tears on the side of the cheek is asymptom of external
inflammation of the eye, but it may also occur from any disease of the
lachrymal apparatus which interferes with the normal progress of tho
tears to the nose. Hence, in all cases when this symptom is not at-
tended by special redness or swelling of the eyelids, it is well to exam-
ing the lachrymal apparatus. In some instances the orifice of the lach-
rymal duct on the floor of the nasal chamber and close to its anterior
outlet will be found blocked by a portion of dry muco purulent matter,
on the removal of which tears may begin to escape. This implies an
inflammation of the canal, which may be helped by occasional sponging
out of the nose with warm water, and the application of the same on
the face. Another remedy is to feed warm mashes of wheat bran from
a nose-bag, so that the relaxing eflects of the water vapor may be
secured.

The two lachrymal openings, situated at the inner angle of the eye,
may fail to admit the tears by reason of their deviation outward in con-
nection with eversion of the lower lid, or by reason of their constriction
in inflammation of the mucous membrane. The lachrymal sac, into which
the lachrymal ducts open, may fail to discharge its contents by reason of
constriction or closure of the duct leading to the nose, and it then forms
a rounded swelling beneath the inner angle of the eye. The duct lead-
ing from the sac to the nose may be compressed or obliterated by fract-
ures of the bones of the face, and in disease of these bones (osteo- sar-
coma, so-called osteoporosis, diseased teeth, glanders of the nasal sinuses^
abscess of the same cavities).
11035 17

258

The narrowed or obstructed ducts ma^ be made pervious by a fine
silver probe passed dowu to the lachrymal sac, and any existing inflam-
mation of the passages may be counteracted by the use of steaming
mashes of wheat bran, by fomentations or wet cloths over the face, and
even by the use of astringent eye washes and the injection of similar
liquids into the lachrymal canal from its nasal opening. The ordinary
eye wash may be used for this purpose, or it may be injected after di-
lution to half its strength. The fractures and diseases of the bones and
teeth must bo treated according to their special demands when, if the
canal is still left pervious, it may be again rendered useful.

EXTERNAL OPHTHALMIA — CONJUNCTIVITIS.

In inflammation of the outer parts of the eye ball the exposed vas-
cular and sensitive mucous membrane (conjunctiva) which covers the
ball, the eyelids, the haw, and the lachrymal apparatus, is usually the
most deeply involved, yet adjacent parts are more or less implicated,
and when disease is concentrated on these contiguous parts it consti-
tutes a phase of external ophthalmia which demands a special notice.
These have accordingly been already treated of.

The causes of external ophthalmia are mainly those that act locally —
blows with whips, clubs, and twigs, the presence of foreign bodies like
hay-seed, chaff, dust, lime, sand, snuff, pollen of plants, flies attracted by
the brilliancy of the eye, wounds of the bridle, the migration of the
scabies (mange) insect into the eye, smoke, ammonia rising from the
excretions, irritant emanations from drying marshes, etc. A very dry
air is alleged to act injuriously by drying the eye as well as by favoring
the production of irritant dust; and the undue exposure to bright sun-
shine through a window in front of the stall, or to the reflection from
snow or water, is undoubtedly injurious. The unprotected exposure of
the eyes to sunshine through the use of a very short overdraw check is
to be condemned, and the keeping of the horse in a very dark stall from
which it is habitually led into the glare of full sunlight, intensified by
reflection from snow or white limestone dust, must be set down among
the locally acting causes. But exposure to cold and wet, to rain and
snow storms, to cold draughts and wet lairs must also be accepted as
causes of conjunctivitis, the general disorder which they produce affect-
ing the eye, if that happens to be the weakest and most susceptible
organ of the body, or if it has been subjected to any special local injury
like dust, irritant gases, or excess of light. Again, external ophthalmia
isaconstant concomitant of inflammation of the contiguous and contin-
uous mucous membranes, as those of the nose and throat. Hence the
red watery eyes that attend on nasal catarrh, sore throat, influenza,
strangles, nasal glanders, and the like. In sncli cases, however, the
afiection of the eye is subsidiary and is manifestly overshadowed by the
primary and i^redominatiug disease-

259

The symptoms are watering of the eye, swollen lids, redness of the
mucous membrane exposed by the separation of the lids — it may be a
mere pink blush with more or less branching redness, or it may be a
deep, dark red, as from effusion of blood — and a bluish opacity of the
cornea which is normally clear and translucent. But except) when re-
sulting from wounds and actual extravasation of blood, the redness is
seen to be superficial, and if the opacity is confined to the edges, and
does not involve the entire cornea the aqueous humor behind is seen to be
still clear and limpid. The fever is always less severe than in internal
ophthalmia, and only runs high in the worst cases. The eyelids may
be kept closed, the eye-ball retracted, and the haw protruded over one-
third or one-half of the ball, but this is due to the pain only and not to
any excessive sensibility to light, as shown by the comparatively widely
dilated pupil. In internal ophthalmia, on the contrary, the narrow
contracted pupil is the measure of the pain caused by the falling of
light on the inflamed and sensitive optic nerve (retina) and choroid.

If the affection has resulted from a wound of the cornea, not only is
that the point of greatest opacity, forming a white speck or fleecy cloud,
but too often blood-vessels begin to extend from the adjacent vascular
covering of the eye (sclerotic) to the white spot, and that portion of
the cornea is rendered permanently opaque. Again, if the wound has
been severe, though still short of cutting into the anterior layers of the
cornea, the injury may lead to ulceration which may penetrate more or
less deeply and leave a breach in the tissue which, if filled up at all, is
repaired by opaque fibrous tissue in place of the transparent cellular
structure. Pus may form, and the cornea assumes a yellowish tinge
and bursts, giving rise to a deep sore which is liable to extend as an
ulcer, and may be in its turn followed by bulging of the cornea at that
point (staphyloma). This inflammation of the conjunctiva may be
simply catarrhal, with profuse mucopurulent discharge; it may be
granular, the surface being covered with minute reddish elevations, or
it may become the seat of a false membrane (diphtheria).

In treating external ophthalmia the first object is the removal of the
cause. Remove any dust, chaff, thorn, or other foreign body from the
conjunctiva, purify the stable from all sources of ammouiacal or other
irritant gas; keep the horse from dusty roads, and above all from the
proximity of a leading wagon and its attendant cloud of dust ; remove
from pasture and feed from a rack which is neither so high as to drop
seeds, etc., into the eyes nor so low as to favor the accumulation of
blood in the head ; avoid equally excess of light from a sunny window
in front of the stall and excess of darkness from the absence of win-
dows ; i^reserve from cold draughts and rains and wet bedding, and ap-
ply curative measures for inflammation of the adjacent mucous mem-
branes or skin. If the irritant has been of a caustic nature remove
any remnant of it by jjersistent bathing with tepid vrater and a soft
sponge, or with water mixed with white of egg, or a glass filled with

260

tlie liquid may be inverted over tbe eye so tliat its contents may dilute
and remove the irritant. If the suffering is very severe a lotion with
a few grains of extract of belladonna or of morphia in an ounce of
water may be applied, or if it is available a few drops of 4 j)er cent,
solution of cocaine may be instilled into the eye.

In strong, vigorous patients benefit will usually be obtained from a
laxative, such as 2 tablespoonfuls of Glauber's salts daily, and if the
fever runs high from a daily dose of half an ounce of saltpeter. As
local applications astringent solutions are usually the best, as 30 grains
of borax or of sulphate of zinc in a quart of water, to be applied con-
stantly on a cloth, as advised, under inflammation of the eyelids. In
the absence of anything better cold water may serve every purpose.
Above all, adhesive and oily agents (molasses, sugar, fats) are to be
avoided, as only adding to the irritation. By way of suggesting agents
that may be used with good effect, salt and sulphate of soda may be
named, in solutions double the strength of sulphate of zinc, or 7 grains
of nitrate of silver may be added to a quart of distilled water, and
will be found especially applicable in granular conjunctivitis, diph-
theria, or commencing ulceration. A cantharides blister (I j)art of
Spanish fly to 4 parts lard) may be rubbed on the side of the face 3
inches below the eye, and washed off next morning with soap-suds and
oiled daily till the scabs are dropped.

WHITE SPECKS AND CLOUDINESS OF THE CORNEA.

As a result of external ophthalmia, opaque specks, clouds, or haziness
are too often left on the cornea and require for their removal that
they be daily touched with a soft feather dipped in a solution of 3
grains nitrate of silver in 1 ounce distilled water. This should be
applied until all inflammation has subsided, and until its contact is
comparatively painless. It is rarely successful with an old thick scar
following an ulcer, nor with an opacity having red blood-vessels running
across it.

ULCERS OF THE CORNEA.

These may be treated with nitrate of silver lotion of twice the strength
used for opacities. Powdered gentian, one half ounce, and sulphate of
iron, one-fourth ounce daily, may improve the general health and increase
the reparatory power.

INTERNAL OPHTHALMIA — IRITIS — CHOROIDITIS — RETINITIS.

Although inflammations of the iris, choroid, and retina, the inner vas-
cular and nervous coats of the eye occur to a certain extent independ-
ently of each other, yet one usually supervenes upon the other, and
as the symptoms are thus made to coincide it will be best for our pres-
ent purposes to treat the three as one disease.

261

The causes of internal ophthalmia are largely those of the external form
only, actiug with greater intensity or on a more susceptible eye. Severe
blows, bruises, punctures, etc., of the eye, the penetration of foreign
bodies into the eye (thorns, splinters of iron, etc.), sudden transition
from a dark stall to bright sunshine, to the glare of snow or water, con-
stant glare from a sunny window, abuse of the overdraw check-rein,
vivid lightning flashes, draughts of cold, damp air 5 above all, when the
animal is perspiring, exposure in cold rain and snowstorms, swimming
cold rivers, also certain general diseases like rheumatism, arthritis, in-
fluenza, and disorders of the digestive organs, may become complicated
by this affection. From the close relation between the brain and eye —
alike in the blood vessels and nerves — disorders of the first lead to
affections of the second, and the same remark applies to the persistent
irritation to which the jaws are subjected in the course of dentition. So
potent is the last agency that we dread a recurrence of ophthalmia so
long as dentition is incomplete, and hope for immunity if the animal
completes its dentition without any permanent structural change in the
eye.

The symptoms will vary according to the cause. If the attack is due
to direct physical injury the inflammation of the eyelids and superficial
structures may be quite as marked as that of the interior of the eye.
If, on the other hand, from general causes, or as a complication of some
distant disease, the affection may be largely confined to the deei)er
structures, and the swelling, redness, and tenderness of the superficial
structures will be less marked. When the external coats thus compar-
atively escape the extreme anterior edge of the white or sclerotic coat
where it overlaps the border of the transparent cornea is in a meas-
ure free from congestion, and, in the absence of the obscuring dark
pigment, forms a whitish ring around the cornea. This is partly due
to the fact that a series of arteries (ciliary) passing to the inflamed iris
penetrate the sclei-otic coat a short distance behind its anterior border,
and there is therefore a marked difference in color between the general
sclerotic occupied by these congested vessels and the anterior rim
from which they are absent. Unfortunately the pigment is often so
abundant in the anterior part of the sclerotic as to hide this symptom.
In internal ophthalmia the opacity of the cornea may be confined to
a zone around the outer margin of the cornea, and even this may be a
bluish haze rather than a deep fleecy white. In consequence it becomes
possible to see the interior of the chamber for the aqueous humor and
the condition of the iris and pupil. The aqueous humor is usually tur-
bid, and has numerous yellowish white flakes floating on its substance
or deposited in the lower part of the chamber, so as to cut off" the view
of the lower portion of the iris. The still visible portion of the iris has
lost its natural, clear dark luster, which is replaced by a brownish or
yellosvish sere-leaf color. This is more marked in proportion as the
iris is inflamed, and less so as the inflammation is confined to the cho-

262

roid. Tho amouut of flocculent deposit in the chamber of the aqueous
humor is also iu direct ratio to the iuflammatiou of the iris. Perhaps
the most marked feature of internal ophthalmia is the extreme and
l^aiuful sensitiveness to light. On this account the lids are usually
closed, but when opened the pupil is seen to be narrowly closed even if
the animal has been kept iu an obscured stall. Exceptions to this are
seen when inflammatory effusion has overfilled the globe of the eye, and
by i)ressure on the retina has paralyzed it, or when the exudation into
the substance of the retina itself has similarly led to its paralysis. Then
the pupil may be dilated, and frequently its margin loses its regular
ovoid outline and becomes uneven by reason of the adhesions which it
has contracted with the capsule of the lens, through its inflammatory
exudations. In the case of excessive effusion into the globe of the eye
that is found to have become tense and hard so that it can not be in-
dented with the tip of the finger. With such paralysis of the retina,
vision is heavily clouded or entirely lost, hence in spite of the open
pupil the finger may be approached to the eye without tiie animal be-
coming conscious of it until it touches the surface, and if the nose on
the affected side is gently struck and a feint made to repeat the blow
the patient makes no effort to evade it. Sometimes the edges of the con-
tracted pupil become adherent to each other by an intervening plastic
exudation, and the opening becomes virtually abolished. In severe in.
flammations pus may form in the choroid or iris, and escaping into the
cavity of the aqueous humor show as a yellowish white stratum below.
In nearly all cases there is resulting exudation into the lens or its cap-
sule, constituting a cloudiness or opacity (cataract), which in severe
and old standing cases appears as a white fleecy mass behind a widely
dilated pupil. In the slighter cases cataract is to be recognized by ex-
amination of the eye in a dark chamber, with an oblique side light as
described in the introduction to this article. Cataracts that appear as
a simple haze or indefinite fleecy cloud are usually on the capsule (cap-
sular), while those that show a radiating arrangement are in the lens
(lenticular), the radiating fibers of which the exudate follows. Black
cataracts are formed by the adhesion of the pigment on the back of the
iris to the front of the lens, and by the subsequent tearing loose of the
iris, leaving a portion of its pigment adherent to the capsule of the lens.
If the pupil is so contracted that it is impossible to see the lens, it may
be dilated by applying to the front of the eye v> ith a feather some drops
of a solution of 4 grains of atropia in an ounce of water.

The treatment of internal ophthalmia should embrace first the removal
of all existing causes, or sources of aggravation, of the disease, which
need not be here repeated. Si^ecial care to protect the patient against
cold, wet, strong light, and active exertion, must, however, be specially
insisted on. A dark stall, and a cloth hung over the eye, are important,
while cleanliness, warmth, dryness, and rest are equally' demanded. If
the patient is strong and vigorous a dose of i drams of iiarbadoes aloes

263

may be given, and, if there is any reason to suspect a rlienmatic origin,
one-half a dram po^Ydered colchicum and one-half ounce salicylate of
soda may be given daily. Locally the astringent lotions advised for
external ophthalmia may be resorted to, especially when the superficial
inflammation is well marked. More important, however, is to instill
into the eye, a few drops at a time, a solution of 4 grains of atropia in
1 ounce distilled water. This may be effected with the aid of a soft
feather, and may be repeat-ed at intervals often minutes until the pupil
is widely dilated. As the horse is to be kept in a dark stall the con-
sequent admission of light will be harmless, and the dilation of the
pupil prevents adhesions between the iris and lens, relieves the con-
stant tension of the eye in the effort to adapt the pupil to the light,
and solicits the contraction of the blood vessels of the eye and the les-
sening of congestion, exudation, and intraocular pressure. Should
atropia not agree with the case, it may be replaced by morphia (same
strength) or cocaine, in 4 per cent, solution. Another local measure is
a blister, which can usually be applied to advantage on the side of the
nose or beneath the ear. Spanish flies may be used as for external
ophthalmia. In very severe cases the parts beneath the eye may be
shaved and three or four leeches ai^plied. Setons are sometimes bene-
ficial, and even puncture of the eye-ball, but these should be reserved
for professional hands.

The diet throughout should be easily digestible and moderate in
quantity — bran mashes, middlings, grass, steamed hay, etc.

Even after the active infiammatiou has subsided the atropia lotion
should be continued for some weeks to keep the eye in a state of rest in
its still weak and irritable condition, and during this period the patient
should be kept in semi-darkness, or taken out only with a dark shade
over the eye. For the same reason heavy draughts and rapid paces,
which would cause congestion of the head, should be carefully avoided.

EECUREENT OPnTHALMIA — PEKIODIC OPHTHALMIA — MOONBLmD-

NESS.

This is an inflammatory affection of the interior of the eye, intimately
related to certam soils, climates, and systems, showing a strong ten-
dency to recur again and again and usually ending in blindness from
cataract or other serious injury.

Its causes may be fundamentally attributed to soil. On damp clays
and marshy grounds, on the frequently overflowed river bottoms and
deltas, on the coasts of seas and lakes alternately submerged and ex-
posed, this disease prevails extensively, and in many instances in France
(Reynal), Belgium, Alsace (Zundel Miltenberger), Germany, and Eng-
land it has very largely decreased under laud drainage and improved
methods of culture. Other influences, more or less associated with such
soil, are poteu.t causative factors. Thus damp air and a cloudy, wet

264

climate, so constantly associated with wet lauds, are universally
charged with causing the disease. These act on the animal body to
produce a lymphatic constitution with an excess of connective tissue,
bones, and muscles of coarse open texture, thick skins and gummy legs
covered with a profusion of long hair. Heuce the heavy horses of Bel-
gium and southwestern France have suffered severely from the affec-
tion, while high dry lands adjacent, like Catalonia in Spain, and Dauph-
iny, Provence, and Languedoc, in France, have in the main escaped.

The rank aqueous fodders grown on such soils are other causes, but
these again are calculated to undermine the characters of the nerv-
ous and sanguineous temperament, and to superinduce the lymphatic.
Other foods act by leading to constipation and other disorders of the
digestive organs, thus impairing the general health ; heuce in any ani-
mal predisposed to this disease, heating, starchy foods, such as maize,
wheat, and buckwheat are to be carefully avoided. It has been widely
charged that beans, peas, vetches, and other leguminosa are dangerous,
but a fuller inquiry contradicts this. If these are well grown they in-
vigorate and fortify the system, while like any other fodder if grown
rank, aqneous, and deficient in assimilable principles they tend to lower
the health and open the way for the disease.

The period of dentition and training is a fertile exciting cause, for
though the malady may appear at any time from birth to old age, yet
the great majority of victims are from two to six years old, and if a
horse escapes the affection till after six there is a reasonable hope that
he will continue to resist it. The irritation about the head during the
eruption of the teeth, and while fr.etting in the unwonted bridle and
collar, the stimulating grain diet and the close air of the stable all com-
bine to rouse the latent tendency to disease in the eye, while direct
injuries by bridle, whip, or hay-seeds are not without their influence.

In the same way local irritants like dust, severe rain and snow-
storms, smoke and acrid vapors are contributing causes.

It is evident, however, that no one of these is sufficient of itself to
produce the disease, and it has been alleged that the true cause is a
microbe, or the irritant products of a microbe, which is harbored in the
marshy soil. The prevalence of the disease on the same damp soils
which produce ague in man and anthrax in cattle has been quoted in
su])port of this doctrine, as also the fact that the malady is always
more prevalent cwteris paribus in basins surrounded by hills where
the air is still and such products are concentrated, and that a forest or
simple belt of trees will, as in ague, at times limit the area of its prev-
alence. Another argument for the same view is found in the fact that
on certain farms irrigated by town sewage this malady has become
extremely prevalent, the sewage being assumed to form a suitable
nidus for the growth of the germ. But on these sewage farms a fresh
crop may be cut every fortnight, and the product is precisely that aque-
ous material which contributes to a lymphatic structure and a low tone

265

of health. The presence in the system of a definite germ has not yet
been proven, and in the present state of our knowledge we are only
warranted in eharging the disease on the deleterious emanations from
the marshy soil in which bacterial ferments are constantly producing
them.

Heredity is one of the most potent causes. The lymphatic constitu-
tion is of course transmitted and with it the proclivity to recurring
ophthalmia. This is notorious in the case of boih parents, male and
female. The tendency appears to be stronger, however, if either parent
has already suffered. Thus a mare may have borne a number of sound
foals, and then fallen a victim to this malady, and all foals subsequently
borne have likewise suffered. So with the stallion. Reynal even
quotes the appearance of the disease in alternate generations, the
stallion offspring of blind parents remaining sound through life and yet
producing foals which furnish numerous victims of recurrent ophthal-
mia. On the contrary, the offspring of diseased parents removed to
high, dry regions and furnished with wholesome, nourishing rations, will
nearly all escape. Hence the dealers take colts that are still sound
or have had but one attack from the affected low Pyrenees (France) to
the unaffected Catalonia (Spain), with confidence that they will escai)e,
and from the Jura Valley to Dauphiny with the same result.

Yet the hereditary taint is so strong and pernicious that intelligent
horsemen everywhere refuse to breed from either horse or mare that
has once suffered from recurrent ophthalmia, and the French Govern-
ment studs not only reject all unsound stallions, but refuse service to
any mare which has suffered with her eyes. It is this avoidance of the
hereditary predisposition more than anything else that has reduced the
formerl^^ wide prevalence of this disease in the European countries gen-
erally. A consideration for the future of our horses would demand the
disuse of all sires that are unlicensed, and the refusal of a license to
any sire which has suffered from this or ouy other communicable con-
stitutional disease.

Other contributing causes deserve passing mention. Unwholesome
food and a faulty method of feeding undoubtedly predisposes to the
disease, and in the same district the carefully fed will escape in far
larger proportion than the badly fed. But it is so with every other
condition which undermines the general health. The presence of worms
in the intestines, overwork, and debilitating diseases and causes of
every kind weaken the vitality and lay the system more open to attack.
Thierry long ago showed that the improvement of close, low, dark,
damp stables, where the disease had previously prevailed, practically
banished this affection. Whatever contributes to strength and vigor
is protective — whatever contributes to weakness and poor health is
provocative of the disease in the predisposed subject.

The symptoms vary according to the severity of the attack. In some
cases there is marked fever, and in other slighter cases this may be

266

almost altogether wauting, but tliere is always a lack of vigor and en-
ergy, bespeaking general disorder. Tlie local symptoms are In the
main those of internal oj)hthalmia, with, in many cases, an increased
hardness of the eye-ball from effusion into its cavity. The contracted
pupil does not expand much in darkness, nor even under the action of
belladonna. Opacity advances from the margin, over a part or whole
of the cornea, but so long as it is transparent there may be seen the
turbid aqueous humor with or without flocculi, the dingy iris robbed
of its clear black aspect, the slightly clouded lens and a greenish yellow
reflection from the depth of the eye. From the fifth to the seventh d,iy
the flocculi precipitates in the lower part of the chamber, exposing more
clearly the iris and lens, and absorption commences so that the eye
may be cleared up in ten or fifteen days.

The characteristic of the disease is, however, its recurrence again and
again in the same eye until blindness results. The attacks may follow
each other at intervals of a month, more or less, but they show no re-
lation to any particular phase of the moon as might be inferred from
the familiar name, but are determined rather by the weather, the health,
the food, or by some periodicity of the system. From five to seven at-
tacks usually result in blindness, and then the second eye is liable to
be attacked until it also is ruined.

In the intervals between the attacks some remaining symptoms be-
tray the condition, and these become more marked after each succes-
sive access of disease. Even after the first attack there is a bluish riusr
round the margin of the transparent cornea. The eye seems smaller
than the other, at first because it is retracted in its socket, and often
after several attacks because of actual shrmkage (atrophy). The upper
eyelid, in place of presenting a uniform, continuous arch, has about
one-third from its inner angle an abruj)t bend, caused by the contrac-
tion of the levator muscle. The front of the iris has exchanged some of
its dark, clear brilliancy for a lusterless yellow, and the depth of the eye
presents more or less of the greenish yellow shade. The pupd remains
a little contracted, except in advanced and aggravated cases, when,
with opaque lens, it is widely dilated. If one eye only has suffered, as
is common, the contrast in these respects with the sound eye is all the
more characteristic. Another feature is the erect, attentive carriage of
the ear, to compensate to some extent for the waning vision.

The attacks vary greatly in severity in different cases, but the recur-
rence is characteristic, and all alike lead to cataract and intraocular
effusion, with pressure on the retina and abolition of sight.

The prevention of this disease is the great object to bo aimed at, and
this demands the most careful breeding, feeding, housing, and general
managemeutas indicated under causes. Much can also be done by migra-
tion to a high, dry location, but for this and malarious affections the im-
provement of the laud by drainage and good cultivation should be the
final aim.

267

Treatment is not satisfactory, but is larcjely the same as for common
internal ophthalmia. Some cases, like rheumatism, are benefited by
scruple doses of powdered colchicum and 2 dram doses ot salicylate of
soda twice a day. In other cases with marked hardness of the globe of
the eye from intraocular effasion, puncture of the eye, or even the exci-
sion of a portion of the iris, has helped. During recovery a course of
tonics (2 drams oxide of iron, 10 grains nux vomica, and 1 ounce sul-
phate of soda daily) is desirable to invigorate the system and help to
ward off another attack. The vulgar resort to knocking out the wolf teeth
and cutting out the haw can only be condemned. The temporary re-
covery would take place in one or two weeks though no such thiug had
been done, and the breaking of a small tooth, leaving its fang in the
jaw, only increases the irritation.

CATAEACT.

The common result of internal ophthalmia, as of the recurrent type,
maj^ be recoguized as described under the first of these diseases. Its
offensive appearance may be obviated by extraction or depression of
the lens, but as the rays of light would no longer be properly refracted,
perfect vision would not be restored, and the animal would be liable to
prove an inveterate shyer. If perfect blindness coutiuued by reason of
pressure on the nerve of sight, no shying would result.

PALSY OF THE NERVE OF SIGHT — AMAUROSIS.

The causes of this affection are tumors or other disease of the brain
implicating the roots of the optic nerve j injury to the nerve between
the brain and eye; and inflammation of the optic nerve within the eye
(retina), or undue pressure on the same from dropsical or inflammatory
effusion. It may also occur from overloaded stomach, from a profuse
bleeding, and even from the pressure of the gravid womb in gestation.

The symptoms are wide dilatation of the pupils, so as to expose fully

the interior of the globe, the expansion remaining the same inlight and

darkness. Ordinary eyes when brought to the light have the pupils

suddenly contract, aud then dilate and contract alternately until they

adapt themselves to the amount of light. The horse does not swerve

when a feint to strike is made unless the hand causes a current of air.

The ears are held erect and turn quickly toward any noise, and the

horse Kteps high to av^oid stumbling over objects which it can not
see.

Treatment is only useful when the disease is symptomatic of some re-
movable cause, like congested brain, loaded stomach, or gravid womb.
When recovery does not follow the termination of these conditions, ap-
ply a blister behind the ear and give one-half dram doses of nux vomica
daily.

268

TUMORS OF THE EYEBALL.

A variety of tumors attack the eyeball — dermoid, papillary, fatty,
cystic, and uielauotic, but perhaps the most frequent iu the horse is
encephaloid cancer. This may grow in or on the globe, the haw, the
eyelid, or the boiies of the orbit, and is only to be remedied if at all by
early and thorough excision. It may be distinguished from the less
dangerous tumors by its softness, friability, ami great vascularity,
bleeding on the slightest touch, as well as by its anatomical structure.

STAPHYLOMA.

This consists in a bulging forward of the cornea at a given point by
the saccular yielding and distension of its coats, and it may be either
transparent or opaque and vascular. In the last form the iris has
become adherent to the back of the cornea, and the whole structure
has become filled with blood-vessels. In the first form the bulgingcoruea
is attenuated ; in the last it may be thickened. The best treatment is
by excision of a portion of the iris so as to relieve the intra ocular
pressure.

PARASITES IN THE EYE.

Acari in the eye have been incidentally alluded to under inflammation
of the lids.

The Filaria lachrymalis is a white worm, one-half to 1 inch long, which
inhabits the lachrymal duct and the under side of the eyelids and haw
iu the horse, producing a verminous conjunctivitis. Tlie first step in
treatment in such cases is to remove the worm with forceps, then treat
as for external inflammation.

The Filaria papiUosa is a delicate, white, silvery-looking worm, which
I have repeatedly found 2 inches in length. It invades the aqueous
humor, where its constant active movements make it an object of great
interest, and it is frequently exhibited as a "snake iu the eye." It is
found also iu other internal cavities of the horse, to which it undoubt-
edly makes its way from the food, and especially the water swallowed,
and its prevention is therefore to be sought mainly in the supply of
IKire water from close deep wells. When present in the eye it causes
inflammation and has to be removed through an incision made with
the lancet iu the ut)per border of the cornea close to the sclerotic, the
point of the instrument being directed slightly forward to avoid injury
to the iris. Then ajiply cold water or astringent lotions.

The echinococcm, the cystic or larval stage of the echinococcus tape-
■worra of the dog, has been found in the eye of the horse and acysticer-
cus {Gysticercus Jistularis ?) is also reported.

The Pentastoma tfenioides, which inhiibits the nose of horse and dog,
has been found by Stitteu in the eye of the horse, but the case is
unique.

PLATE XIX.

Theoretical Section ol'tlie Horse's P^ye.
ccO/Jtic ner\T / b, Sclerotic; c, Choroid; d, Retina.; e, Cornea; I, In.s- ;
g,h, Ciliary circle, (orliffament j an/ri proceASCA- c/i.wn oiTt/y t/ir ciioroifl ,
(h<jii/i//i represented CIS isoLaled from it, i/i cu-der to indicate ifwir linnls
more, cleciily; i, Insertion of tfw ciliriry procesA-cs- on t/tc crystnltine le/L,Si
j,Cryslitlline len.S; k,tayst.<diinc capsule ; t,l7treoiuv body; ?7ij/i,Anleru>r
and posterior ctianibers ; o,Theorettca.l indiccUion of the memtrcute of
the acpieous hii/nour; p,p,Tarsi ; (/,q,Fibron.A- menidra/ie of t/w eyelids;
r, ElevcUor nauscle oft/ie upper eyelid; s,,s;OrbieulnriA- muA-clc oft/ie
eyelids; t,t,Shiri oftioC' eyelidji; a, ConJurLcfiA-TC ; v, Ji^pidermic Layer of
this meml}rcui.e covering the Cornea ; or, Poste/^ivr j^eetus muscle ;
y.Saporivr rectus muscle; xjnfetior rectus muscle ; ir, Fibrous
shcutft of the orbit (or orbital membrane i .

C>('o. Marx. del. idler DArboval.p, 371 .

DL\GRAMATIC \^RTICAI. SECTION TliROLTGH E\^E.

LAMENESS.-ITS CAUSES AND TREATMENT.

By Prof. A. LIAUTARD, M. D., V. M.,

Principal of the American Veterinary College, New York.

The consideration of the usefulness and consequently of the value
to their human masters of those of the inferior animals which are
classed as beasts of burden ultimately aud naturally resolves itselt into
an inquiry into the condition of that special portion of their organism
which controls the function of locomotion, for it is only as living, or-
ganized locomotive machines that the horse, the camel, the ox, and their
burden-bearing companions are of practical value to man. This is
especially true in regard to the members of the equine family, the most
numerous and valuable of them all, and it naturally follows that with
the horse for a subject of discussion the special topic and leading theme
of inquiry will, by an easy lapse, become an inquest into the condition
and efficiency of his power for usefulness as a carrier or traveler. There
is a large amount of abstract interest in the study of thatendowmentof
the animal economy which enables its possessor to change his place at
will and convey himself whithersoever his needs or his moods may in-
cline him; but how much greater the interest that attaches to the sub-
ject when it becomes a practical and economic question aud includes
within its purview the various related topics which belong to the do-
mains of physiology, pathology, therapeutics, and the entire round of
scientific investigation into which it is finally merged as a subject for
medical and surgical consideration, in a word, of actual disease and
its treatment. It is not surprising that the intricate and complicated
apparatus of locomotion, with its symmetry aud harmony of move-
ment and the perfection and beauty of its details and adjuncts, should
be admiringly denominated by students of creative design and atten-
tive observers of nature and her marvelous contrivances aud adapta-
tions a living machine.

The horse in a state of domesticity is of all the animal tribe the larg-
est sharer with his master in his liability to the accidents and dangers
which are among the incidents of civilized life. From his exposure to
the missiles of war on the battle-field to his chance of picking up a nail
from the city pavement there is no hour when he is not in danger of

269

270

incnrriiig injuries which may demaud the best skill of the veterina-
rian practitioner to repair. And this is not alone true of casualties
which belong to the class of external and traumatic cases, but includes
as well those of a kind perhaps more numerous, which may result in
lesions of internal parts, frequently the most serious and obscure of all
in their nature and effects.

The horse is too important a factor in the practical details of human
life and fills too large a place in the business and pleasure of the world
to justify any indifference to his needs and his physical comfort or neg-
lect in respect to the preservation of his peculiar powers for usefulness.
In this connection it is hardly necessary to allude to sentimental con-
siderations of " humanity," so called — a word which too often becomes
a wretched misnomer when one recalls the neglects, the mistreatment,
the overtasking and other cruelties, in many instances tortures, of
which he becomes the helpless victim. In entering somewhat largely,
therefore, upon a review of the subject, and treating in detail of the
causes, the symptoms, the progress, the treatment, the results, and the
consequences of lameness in the horse, we are performing a duty which
needs no word of apology or justification. The subject explains and
justifies itself, and is its own vindication and illustration if any are
needed.

The function of locomotion is performed by the action of two princi-
pal systems of organs, known in anatomical and i)hysiological termin-
ology as ^^assu'c and ac^ii'e, the WMScZes performing the active and the
bones the passive portion of the movement, the necessary connection
between the co operating organism being effected by means of a vital
contact by which the muscle is attached to the bone at certain determi-
nate points on the surface of the latter. These points of attachment
appear in the form of sometimes an eminence, sometimes a depression,
sometimes a border or an angle, or again as a mere roughness, but
each perfectly fulfilling its purpose, while the necessary motion is
provided for by the formation of the ends of the long bones into the
requisite articulations, joints, or hinges. Every motion is the product
of the contraction of one or more of the muscles, which, as it acts
upon the bony levers, gives rise to a movement of extension or flexion,
abduction or adduction, rotation or circumduction. The movement
of abduction is that which passes from and that of adduction that
which passes towards the median line, or the center of the body. The
movements of flexion and extension are too well understood to need
defining. It is the combination and rapid alternations of these m-ove-
ments which produce the different postures and various gaits of the
living animal, and it is their interruption and derangement, from what-
soever cause, which constitutes the pathological condition of lameness.

A concise examination of the general anatomy of these organs, how.
ever, must precede the consideration of the pathological questions per-
taining to the subject. A statement such as we have just given, con-

271

taining only the briefest bint of matters wbicb, tbongb not necessarily
in tbeir ultimate scientific miniitia?, must be clearly comprebended in
order to acquire a symmetrical and satisfactory view of tbe tbemo as a
practical collation of facts to be remembered, analyzed, applied, and
utilized.

It was tbe great Bacon wbo wrote: "Tbe buman body may be com-
l)ared, from its complex and delicate organization, to a musical instru-
ment of tbe most perfect construction, but exceedingly liable to de-
rangement." In its degree tbe remark is equally applicable to tbe equine
body, and if we would keep it in tune and i^rofit by its barmouious
action we must at least acquaint ourselves witb tbe relations of its parts
and tbe mode of tbeir co-operation.

ANATOMY.

Tbe bones, tben, are tbe bard organs wbicb in tbeir connection and
totalit}' constitute tbe skeleton of an animal. Tbey are of various
forms, of wbicb tbree — tbe long, tbe flat, and tbe small — are recognized
in tbe extremities. Tbese are more or less regular in tbeir form, but
present upon tbeir surfaces a variety of aspects, exbibitiug in turn,
according to tbe requirement of eacb case, a rougbened or smootb sur-
face, variously marked witb grooves, crests, eminences and depressions,
for tbe necessary muscular attacbments, and, as before mentioned, are
connected by articulations and joints, of wbicb some are immovable and
otbers of a movable kind.

Tbe substance of tbe bones is composed of a mass of combined eartby
aud animal matter, surrounded by a fine, fibrous enveloping membrane
(tbe i^eriosteum) wbicb is intimately adberent to tbe external surface of
tbe bone, and is, in fact, tbe secreting membrane of tbe bony structure.
Tbe bony tissue i)roper is of two consistences, tbe external portion be-
ing bard and "compact," and called by tbe latter term, wbile tbe inter-
nal, known as tbe " spongy tissue" or " areolar," is also of a consistency
corresponding witb tbese descriptive terms. Tboseof tbe bones wbicb
possess tbis latter consistency contain also, in tbeir spongy portion, tbe
medullary substance kuown as marroic, wbicb is deposited in large
quantities in tbe interior of tbe long bones, and especially wbere a cen-
tral cavity exists, called, for tbat reason, tbe medullary cavity. Tbe
nourisbment of tbe bones is effected by means of wbat is known as tbe
nutrient foramen, wbicb is an opening establisbed for tbe passage of
tbe blood vessels wbicb convey tbe necessary nourisbment to tbe interior
of tbe organ. Tbere are otber minutia) concerning tbe nourisbment of
tbe skeleton, sucb as tbe venous arrangement and tbe classification of
tbeir arterial vessels into several orders, wbicb, tbougb of interest as
an abstract study, are not of sufiBcient practical value to refer to bere.

Tbe active organs of locomotion, tbe muscles, form, speaking gener-
ally, tbe flesby covering of tbe external part of tbe skeleton aud sur-

272

round the bones of the extremities. They vary greatly in shape and
size, being flat, triangular, long, short, or broad, and are variously and
capriciously named, some from their shape, some from their situation,
and others from their use, and thus we have abductors and adductors,
the pyramidal and orbicular, the digastricus, the vastus, and the rest.
Those which are under the control of the will, known as the voluntary
muscles, appear in the form of fleshy structures, red in color, and with
fibers of various degrees of fineness, and are composed of '■'• fasciculi ^^^
or bundles of fibers, united by connective or cellular tissue, each fasci-
culus being composed of smaller ones, less in size, but united in a simi-
lar manner to compose the larger formations, each of which is enveloped
by a structure of similar nature known as the sarcolemma. Many of
the muscles are united to the bones by the direct contact of their fleshy
fibers, but, in other instances, the body of the muscle is more or less
gradually transformed into a cordy or membranous structure known
as the tendon or sinew, and the attachment is made by very short
fibrous threads through the medium of a long tendinous band, which,
passing from a single one to several other of the bones, effects its object
at a point fiir distant from its original attachment. In thus carrying
its action from one bone to another, or from one region of a limb to
another, these tendons must necessarily have smooth surfaces over
which to glide, either upon the bones themselves or formed at their
articulations, and this need is supplied by the secretion of the synovial
fluid, a yellowish, unctuous substance, furnished by a peculiar tendin-
ous synovial sac, designed for the purpose.

Illustrations in point of the agency of the synovial fluMd in assisting
the sliding movements of the tendons may be found under their various
forms at the shoulder joint, at the upper part of the bone of the arm,
at the posterior part of the kneejoiut, and also at the fetlocks, on their
posterior part.

As the tendons, whether singly or in company with others, pass over
these natural puUies they are retained in place by strong fibrous bands
or sheaths, which are by no means exempt from danger of injury, as
will be readily inferred from a consideration of their important special
use as supports and reenforcements of the tendons themselves, with
which they must necessarily share the stress of whatever force or strain
is br>)Ught to bear upon both or either.

We have referred to that special formation of the external surface of
a bone by which it is adapted to form a joint or articulation, either mov-
able or fixed, and a concise examination of the formation and structure
of the movable articulations will here be in place. These are formed
generally by the extremities of the long, or they may exist on the sur-
faces of the short bones ; the points or regions where the contact oc-
curs being denominated the articular surface, which assumes from this
circumstance a considerable variety of aspect and form, being in one
case comparatively flat and at another elevated ; or as forming a pro-

273

trading head or knob, with a distinct convexity; and again presenting
a corresponding depression or cavity, accurately adapted to complete,
by their coaptation, the ball and socket joint. The articulation of the
arm and shoulder is an example of the first kind, while that of the
hip with the thigh bone is a perfect exhibition of the latter.

The structure, whose oiiice is the retention of the articulation in
place, is the ligament. This is a white, inelastic, or yellowish texture,
possessing in some degree the opposite quality. In some instances it
is of a corded or funicular shape, but consists in others of a broad
membrane, in the first form serving to bind the bones more firmly to-
gether, and in the latter surrounding or inclosing, in whole or in part,
the broad articulations, aud calculated rather for the protection of the
cavity from intrusion by the air than for other security. These latter
are usually found in connection with those of the joints which possess a
free and extended movement, butare also found accompanying the funic-
ular ligaments either surronnding and inclosing the joints or occupy-
ing the interior of their structure, as inter articuJar, in which situation
they secure the union of the several bones more firmly and effectively
than would be possible for the capsular ligament unassisted.

The universal need which pertains to all mechanical contrivances of
motion has not been forgotten while providing for the perfect working
of the interesting piece of living machinery which performs the func-
tion of locomotion, as we are contemplating it, and nature has conse-
quently i)rovided for obviating the evils of attrition and friction, and
insuring the easy play and smooth movement of its parts, by the estab-
lishment of the secretion of the synovia, the vital lubricant of which wo
have before spoken, as a yellow, oily, or rather glairy secretion, which
performs the indispensable ofiSce of facilitating the play of the tendons
over the joints and certain given points of the bones. This fluid,
which is deposited in a containing sac, the lining (serous) membrane of
which forms the secreting organ, is of an excessively sensitive nature,
and while it lines the inner face of the ligaments, both capsular aud
fascicular, is attached only upon the edges of the bones without extend-
ing upon their length or between the layers of cartilage which lie be-
tween the bones and their articular surfaces.

Our object in thus partially aud concisely reviewing the structure
and condition of the essential organs of locomotion has been rather to
outline a sketch which may serve as a reference chart of the general
features of the subject, than to offer a minute description of the parts
referred to. Other points of interest will receive due attention as wo
proceed with the illustration of our subject and examine the matters
which it most concerns us to bring under consideration. The founda-
tion of facts which we have thus far prepared will be found sufficiently
broad, we trust, to include whatever may be necessary to insure a ready
comprehension of the essential matters which are to follow, as our re-
view is carried forward to completion. What we have said touching
11035 IS

274

these elementary truths will probably be sufficient to facilitate a clear
uuderstauding of the requirements essential to the perfection and reg-
ularity which characterize the normal performance of the various move-
ments which result in the accomplishment of the action of locomotion.
So long as the bones, the muscles and tbeir tendons, the joints with
their cartilages, their ligaments and their synovial structure; the
nerves and the controlling influences which they exercise over all, with
the blood vessels which distribute to every part, however minute, the
vitalizing fluid which sustains the whole fabric in being and activity —
so loug as these various constituents and adjuncts of animal life pre-
serve their normal exemption from disease, traumatism and patholog-
ical change, the function of locomotion will continue to be performed
with perfection and efficiency.

But on the other hand, let any element of disease become implanted
in one or several of the parts destined for combined action, any change
or irregularity of form, dimensions, location or action occur in any por-
tion of the apparatus — any obstruction or misdirection of vital power
take place, any interference with the order of the phenomena of normal
nature, any loss of liarmony and lack of balance be betrayed, and we
have in the result the condition of lameness.

DEFINITION OF LAMENESS.

P/i?/,9«o?o5ri/.— Comprehensively and universally considered, then, the
term lameness signifies any irregularity or derangement of the function
of locomotion irrespective of the cause which produced it or the de-
gree of its manifestation. However slightly or severely it may be ex-
hibited, it is all the same. The nicest observation may be demanded
for its detection, and it may need the most thoroughly trained powers
of discernment to identify and locate it, as in cases where the animal
is said to he fainting, tender, or to go sore. Or the patient may be so far
affected as to refuse utterly to use an injured leg, and under compulsory
motion keep it raised from the ground, and prefer to travel on three
legs rather than to bear any portion of his weight upon the afflicted
member. In these two extremes, and in all the intermediate degrees,
the patient is simply lame — pathognomonic minutiai being considered
and settled in a place of their own.

These last two classifications of the condition of disabled function, of
simple lameness and lameness on three legs, are very easy of detection,
but the first or mere tenderness, or soreness, may be very difficult to
identify, and at times very serious results have followed from the ob-
scurity which has enveloped the early stages of the malady. For it
may easily occur that in the absence of the treatment which an early
correct diagnosis would have indicated, an insidious ailment may so take
advantage of the lapse of time as to root itself too deeply into the
economy to b ^ subverted, and become transformed into a disabling
chronic case, or possibly one that is incurable and fatal. Uence the im-

275

policy of depreciating early symtoms because they are unaccompanied
bydistinct and pronounced characteristics, and from a lack of threaten-
ing appearances inferring the absence of danger. The possibilities of
an ambush can never be safely ignored. An extra caution costs nothing,
even if wasted. The fulfillment of the first duty of a practitioner,
when introduced to a case, is not always an easy task, though it is too
frequently expected that the diagnosis or " what is the matter" verdict
will be reached by the quickest and surest kind of an "instantaneous
j)rocess," and a sure prognosis, or " how will it end" guessed at instanter.

Usually the discovery that the animal is becoming lame is compara-
tively an easy matter to a careful observer. Such a person will readily
note the changes of movement which will have taken place in the ani-
mal he has been accustomed to drive or ride, unless they are indeed
slight and limited to the last degree. But what is not always easy is
the detection, after discovering the fact of an existing irregularity, of
the locality of its point of origin, and whether its seat be in the near or
oif leg, or in the fore or the hind part of the body. These are questions
too often wrongly answered, notwithstanding the fact that with a little
careful scrutiny the point may be easily settled. The error, which is
too often committed, of pronouncing the leg upon which the animal
travels soundly as the seat of the lameness, is the result of amisinter-
j)ertation of the i)hysiology of locomotion in the crippled animal. Much
depends upon the gait with which the animal moves while under exam-
ination. The act of "walking is unfavorable for accurate observation,
though, if the animal walks on three legs, the decision is easy to reach.
The action of galloping will often, by the lapidity of the muscular move-
ments and their quick succession, interfere with a nice study of their
rhythm, and it is only under some peculiar circumstances that the ex-
amination can be safely conducted while the animal is moving with that
gait. It is while the animal is trotting that the investigation is made
with the best chances of an intelligent decision, and it is while moving
with that gait, therefore, that the points should be looked for which
must form the elements of the diagnosis.

Our first consideration should be the physiology of normal or healthy
locomotion, that from thence we may the more easily reach our conclu-
sions touching that which is abnormal, otherwise lameness, and by this
process we ought to succeed in obtaining a clew to the solution of the
first ])roblem, to wit: in tchich leg is the seat of the lameness ?

A word of definition is here necessary, in order to render that which
follows more easily intelligible. In veterinary nomenclature eacli two
of the legs, as referred to in pairs, arc denominated a biped. The four
points occupied by the feet of the animal while standing at rest, form-
ing a square, the two fore legs are known as the anterior biped; the
two hinder, t\iQ posterior ; the two on one side, the lateral ; and one of
either the front or hind biped with the opposite \id^ of the hind or front
biped will form the diagonal biped.

276

Considering, as it is proper to do, that in a condition of health each
separate biped and each individual leg is required to perform an equal
and uniform function and to carry an even or equal portion of the weight
of the body, it will be readily appreciated that the result of this equal
distribution will be a regular, evenly balanced, and smooth displace-
ment of the body thus supported by the four legs, and that therefore,
according to the rapidity of the motion in different gaits, each single
leg will be required at certain successive moments to bear the weight
which had rested upon its congener while it was itself in the air, in the
act of moving ; or, again, two different legs of a biped may be called
upon to bear the weight of the two legs of the opposite biped while
also in the air in the act of moving.

To simplify the matter by an illustration, the weight of an animal
may be placed at 1,000, of which each leg, in a normal and healthy con-
dition, supports while at rest 250. When one of the fore legs is in ac-
tion, or in the air, and carrying no weight, its 250 share of the weight
will be thrown upon its congener or partner to sustain. If the two legs
of a biped are both in action and raised from the ground, their congeners
still resting in inaction, will carry the total weight of the other two, or
500. And as the succession of movements continues, and the change
from one leg to another or from one biped to anothei-, as may be re-
quired by the gait, proceeds, there will result a smooth, even, and equal
balancing of active movements, shifting the weight from one leg or one
biped to another, with symmetrical precision, and we shall be presented
with an interesting example of the play of vital mechanics in a healthy
organization.

Much may be learned from the accurate study of the action of a
single leg. Normally, its movements will be without variation or fail-
ure. When at rest it will easily sustain the weight assigned to it, with-
out showing hesitancy or betraying pain, and when it is raised from
the ground in order to transfer the weight to its mate, it will perform
the act in such a manner that when it is again placed upon the ground
to rest it will be with a firm tread, indicative of its ability to receive
again the burden to be thrown back upon it. In planting it upon the
ground or raising it up again for the forward movement while in action,
and again replanting it upon the earth, each movement will be the
same for each leg and for each biped, whether the act be that of walk-
ing or trotting, or even of galloping. In short, the regular play of
every part of the apparatus will testify to the existence of that condi-
tion of orderly soundness and efficient activity which is eloquently sug-
gestive of the condition of vital integrity, which is simply but compre-
hensively expressed by the terms health and soundness.

But let some change, though slight and obscure, occur among the
elements of the case, some invisible agency of evil intrude among the
harmonizing processes going forward; any disorder occur in the rela-

277

tious of cooperating parts; anythingappear to neutralize the efificiency
of vitalizing forces; any disability of a limb to accept and to throw-
back upon its mate the portion of the weight which belongs to it to sus-
tain, whether as the effect of traumatic accidents or otherwise ; in short,
whatever tends to defeat the purpose of nature in organizing the loco-
motive apparatus may be looked upon as a cause of lameness. And it is
not the least of the facts which it is important to remember that it is
not sufficient to look for the manifestation of an existing discordance
in the action of the affected limb alone, but that it is shared by the
sound one, and must be searched for in that as well as the haltinsr
member, if the hazard of an error is to be avoided. The mode of action
of the leg, which is the seat of the lameness, will vary greatly from
that which it exhibited when in a healthy condition, and the sound leg
will also offer important modifications in the same three particulars
before alluded to, to wit, that of resting on the ground, that of its ele-
vation and forward motion, and that of striking the ground again when
the full action of stepping is accomplished. Inability in the lame leg
to sustain weight will imply excessive exertion by the sound one, and
lack of facility or disposition to rest the lame member on the ground
will necessitate a longer continuance of that action on the sound side.
UJiauges in the act of elevating the leg, or of carrying it forward, in
both, will present, however, entirely opposite conditions between the
two. The lame member will be elevated rapidly, moved carefully for-
ward, and returned to the ground with caution and hesitancy, and the
contact with the earth will be effected as lightly as possible, while the
sound limb will rest longer on the ground, move boldly and rapidly
forward, and strike the ground promptly and forcibly. All this is due
to the fact that the sound member carries more than its normal, healthy
share of the weight of the body, a share which may be in excess from
1 to 250, and thus bring its burden to a figure varying from 251 to 500,
all depending upon the degree of the existing lameness, whether it is
simply a slight tenderness or soreness, or whether the trouble has
reached a stage which compels the patient to the awkwardness of travel-
ing on three legs.

That all this is not mere theory, but rests on a foundation of fact may
be established by observing the manifestations attending a single al-
teration in the balancing of the body. In health, the support and
equilibrium of that mass of the body which is borne by the fore legs is
equalized, and passes by regular alternations from the right to the left
side, and vice versa. But if the left leg becoming disabled, relieves
itself by leaning, as it were, on the right, the latter becomes, conse-
quently, practically heavier, and the mass of the body will incline or
settle upon that side. Lameness of the left side, therefore, means drop-
ping or settling on the right, and vice versa. We emphasize this state-
ment and insist upon it, the more from the frequency of the instances

278

of error wbich have come under our notice, in which parties have in-
sisted upon their view that the leg which is the seat of the lameness is
that upon which he drops, and which the animal is usually supposed to
favor.

HOW TO DETECT THE SEAT OF LAMENESS.

Properly appreciating the remarks which have preceded, and fully
comprehending the modtis operandi and the true pathology of lameness,
but little remains to be done in order to reach an answer to the ques-
tion as to which side of the animal the lameness is seated, except to ex-
amine the patient while in action. We have already stated our reasons
for preferring the movement of trotting for this purpose. In conduct-
ing such an examination the animal should be unblanketed, and held
by a plain halter in the hands of a man who knows how to manage his
paces, and preference should be given to a hard road for the trial. He
is to be examined from various positions — from before, from behind, and
from each side. Watching him as he approaches, as he recedes, and as
he passes by, the observer should oarefully study that important action
which we have spoken of as the dropping of the body upon one extremity
or the other, and this can readily be detected by attending closely to
the motions of the head and of the hip. The head drops on the same
side on which the mass of the body will fall, dropping towards the
right when the lameness is in the left fore-leg, and the hip dropping in
posterior lameness, also on the sound leg, the reversal of the conditions,
of course, producing reversed effects. In other words, when the animal
in trotting exhibits signs of irregularity of action, or lameness, and this
irregularity is accompanied by dropping or nodding the head, or de-
pressing the hip on the right side of the body, at the time the feet of
the right side strike the ground, the horse is lame on the left side. If the
dropping and nodding are on the near side the lameness is on the ofl' side.

But in a majority of cases the answer to the first question relating to
the lameness of a horse is, after all, not a very difficult task. There are
two other problems in the case more difficult of solution and which often
require the exercise of a closer scrutiny, and draw upon all the resources
of the experienced practitioner to settle satisfactorily. That a horse is
lame in a given leg may be easily determined, but when it becomes
necessary to pronounce upon the query as to what part, Avhat region,
what structure, is affected, the easy part of the task is over, and the
more difficult and important, because more obscure portion of the in-
vestigation has commenced— except, of course, in cases of which the
features are too distinctly evident to the senses to admit of error. It
is true that by carefully noting the manner in which a lame leg is per-
forming its functions, and closely scrutinizing the motions of the whole
extremity, and especially of the various joints which enter into its
structure; by minutely examining every part of the limb; by observing
the outlines ; by testing the change, if any, in temperature and the state

279

of the sensibility— all these investigations may guide the surgeon to a
correct localization of the seat of trouble, but he must carefully refrain
from the adoption of a hasty conclusion, and above all, assure himself
that he has not fiiiled to make the foot, of all the organs of the horse the
most liable to injury and lesion, the subject of the most thorough and
minute examination of all the parts which compose the suffering ex-
tremity.

The greater liability of the foot than of any other part of the ex-
tremities to injury from casualties, natural to its situation and nse,
should always suggest (he beginning of an inquiry, especially in an ob-
scure case of lameness at that point. Indeed the lameness may have
an apparent location elsewhere, when that is the true seat of the trouble,
and the surgeon who, while examining his lame patient, discovers a
ringbone, and satisfying himself that he has encountered the cause of
the disordered action suspends his investigation without subjecting the
foot to a close scrutiny, may deeply regret his neglect and inadvertence
at a later day, when regrets will avail nothing towards remedying the
irreparable injury which has ensued upon his partial method of explora-
tion. But, as in human pathological experience, there are instances
when inscrutable diseases will deliver their fatal messages, while leaving
no mark and making no sign by which they might be identified and
classified, so it will happen that in the humbler animals the onset and
progress of mysterious and unrecognizable ailments will at times baffle
the best veterinarian skill, and leave our burden-bearing servants to
succumb to the inevitable, and suffer and perish in unrelieved distress.

DISEASES OF BONES.

PERIOSTITIS— OSTITIS — EXOSTOSIS.

From the closeness and intimacy of the connection existing between
the two principal elements of the bony structure while in health, it fre-
quently becomes exceedingly difficult, when a state of disease has super-
vened, to discriminate accurately as to the part primarily affected,
and to determine positively whether the periosteum or the body of tbe
bone is originally implicated. Yet a knowledge of the fact is often of
the first importance, in order to secure a favorable result from the
treatment to be instituted. It is, however, quite evident that in a
majority of instances the bony growths which so frequently appear on
the surface of their structure, to which the general term of exostosis is
applied, have had their origin in an inflammation of the periosteum, or
enveloping membrane, and known as penostitis. However this may be
we have as a frequent result, sometimes on the length of the bone,
sometimes at the extremities, and sometimes involving the articulation
itself, certain bony growths, or exostoses, known otherwise by the
term sjyllntj ringbone and .sj)ari/i, all of which, in an important sense,
may be finally referred to the periosteum as their nutrient source and

280

support, at least after their formation, if not for their incipient exist-
ence. It is certain that inflammation of the periosteum is frequently
referable to wounds and bruises caused by external agencies, and it is
also true that it may possibly result from the spreading inflammation
of surrounding diseased tissues, but in any case the result is uniformly
seen in the deposit of a bony growth, more or less difl'use, sometimes of
irregular outline, and at others projecting distinctly from the surface
from which it springs, as so commonly presented in the ringbone and
the spavin. This condition of periostitis is often difficult to determine.
The signs of inflammation are so obscure, the swelling of the parts so
insignificant, an}' increase of heat so imperceptible, and the soreness so
slight, that even the most acute observer may fail to locate the point of
its existence, and it is often long after the discovery of the disease itself
that its location is positively revealed by the visible presence of the exos-
tosis. Yet the first question had been resolved, in discovering the fact
of the lameness, while the second and third remained unanswered, and
the identification of the affected limb and the point of origin of the
trouble remained unknown until their palpable revelation to the senses.
When, by careful scrutiny the ailment has been located, a resort to treat-
ment must be had at once, in order to prevent, if j^ossible, any further
deposit of the calcareous structure and increase of the exostotic growth.
With this view the application of water, either warm or cold, rendered
astringent by the addition of alum or sugar of lead, will be beneficial.
The tendency to the formation of the bony growth, and the increase of
its development after its actual formation, may often be checked by the
application of a severe blister of Spanish fly. The failure of these means
and the establishment of the diseased process in the form of chronic
periostitis causes various changes in the bone covered by the disordered
membrane, and the result may be softening, degeneration, or necrosis,
but more usually it is followed by the formation of the bony growths
referred to, on the cannon bone, the coronet, the hock, etc.

SPLINTS.

We first turn our attention to the splint, as certain bony enlargements
which aredeveloped on the cannon bone, between the knee or thehock and
the fetlock joint, are called. They are found on the inside of the leg,
from the knee, near to which they are to be found, downward to about the
lower third of the principal cannon bone. They are of various dimen-
sions, and are readily perceptible both to the eye and to the touch.
They vary considerably in size, ranging from that of a large nut down-
ward to very small proportions. In searching for them they may be
readily detected by the hand if they have attained sufficient develop-
ment in their usual situation, but must be distinguished from a small
bony enlargement which may be felt at the lower third of the cannon
bone, and is not a splint nor a pathological formation of any kind, but
merely the normal development of the small cannon bone.

281

We have said that splints are to be found on the inside of the leg.
This is true as a general statement, but it is not invariably so, and they
occasionally appear on the outside. It is also true that they appear
most commonly on the fore legs, but this is not exclusively the case, and
they may at times be found on both the inside and outside of the hind
legs. Usually a splint forms only a true exostosis, or a single bony
growth, with a somewhat diffuse base, but neither is this invariably the
case. In some instances they assume more important dimensions, and
pass from the inside to the outside of the bone, on its posterior face,
between that and the suspensory ligament. This form is termed the
pegged splint, and constitutes a serious and permanent deformity, in con-
sequence of its interference with the play of the fibrous cord which
passes behind it, becoming thus a source of continual irritation and con
sequently of permanent lameness.

A splint may thus frequently become a cause of lameness though not
necessarily in every instance ; but it is a lameness i^ossessing features
peculiar to itself. It is not always continuous, but at times assumes
an intermittent character, and is more marked when the animal is warm
than when he is cool. If the lameness is near the knee-joint, it is very
apt to become aggravated when the animal is put to work, and the gait
acquires then a peculiar character, arising from the manner in which
the limb is carried outward from the knees downwards, which is done
by a kind of abduction of the lower part of the leg. Other symptoms,
however, than the lameness and the presence of the splint, which is its
cause, may be looked for in the same connection as those which have
been mentioned as jiertainiug to certain evidences of periostitis, in the
increase of the temperature of the part, with swelling and probably
pain on pressure. This last symptom is of no little importance, since
its iiresence or absence has in many cases formed the determining point
in deciding a question of diflficult diagnosis,

A splint being one of the results of periostitis, and the latter one of
the effects of external hurts, it naturally follows that the jjarts which
are most exposed to blows and collisions will be those on which the
splint will most commonly be found, and it may not be improper, there-
fore, to refer to hurts from without as among the common causes of the
lesion. But other causes may also be productive of the evil, and among
these may be mentioned the overstraining of an immature organism by
the imposition of excessive labor upon a young animal at a too early
period of his life. The bones which enter into the formation of the
cannon are three in number, one large and two smaller, which, during
the youth of the animal, are more or less articulated, with a limited
amount of mobility, but which become in maturity firmly joined by a
rigid union and ossification of their inter-articular surface. If the im-
mature animal be compelled, then, to perform exacting tasks beyond
his strength the inevitable result will follow in the muscular straining,
and perhaps tearing asunder of the fibers which unite the bones at their

282

points of juncture, and it is difficult to understand how the natural
consequeuces of such a local irritation developing in inflammation or
periostitis can be avoided. If the result were deliberately and intelli-
gently designed it could hardly be more effectunlly accomplished.

The splint is an object of the commonest occurrence, so common,
indeed, that in large cities a horse which can not exhibit one or more
specimens upon some portion of his extremities is one of the rarest
of spectacles. Though it is in some instances a cause of lameness
and its discovery and cure are sometimes beyond the ability of the
shrewdest and most experienced veterinarian, yet as a source of vital
danger to the general equine organization, or even of functional dis-
turbance, or of practical inconvenience, aside from the rare exceptional
cases which exist as mere samples of possibility, it can not be consid-
ered to belong to the category of serious lesions. The worst stigma
that attaches to it is that in general estimation it is ranked among eye-
sores, and continues indefinitely to be that and nothing less or better.
The inflammation in which they originated, acute at first, either sub-
sides or assumes the chronic form, and the bony growth becomes a per-
manence, more or less established, it is true, but doing no positive harm,
and not hindering the animal from continuing his daily routine of labor.
All this, however, requires a i^roviso against the occurrence of a subse-
quent acute attack, when, as with other exostoses, a fresh access of
acute symptoms may be followed by a new pathological activity which
shall again develop as a natural result a reappearance of the lameness.

It is of course the consideration of the comparative harmlessness of
splints that suggests and justifies the policy of non-interference, except
as they become a positive cause of lameness. And a more positive
argument for such non-interference consists in the fact that any active
and irritating treatment may so excite the parts as to bring about a
renewed pathological activity, which may result in a reduplication of
the phenomena, with a second edition if not a second and enlarged vol-
ume of the whole story. For our part our faith is firm in the impolicy
of interference, and this faith is founded on an experience of many
years, during which our practice has been that of abstention.

Of course there will bo exceptional conditions which will at times
indicate a difl'erent course. These will become evident when the occa-
sions present themselves, and extraordinary forms and effects of inflam-
mation and growth in the tumors offer special indications. But our
conviction remains unshaken that surgical treatment of the operative
kind is usually useless, if not dangerous. We have little faith in the
method of extirpation except under very special conditions, among
which that of diminutive size has been named, which seems in itself to
constitute a sufficient negative argument. But even in such a case a
resort to the knife or the gouge could scarcely find ajustification, since
no operative procedure is ever without a degree of hazard, to say

283

nothing' of the considerations which are always forcibly negative in any
question of the intiictiou of pain and the unnecessary use of the knife.

If an acute periostitis of the cannon bone has been readily discovered,
the treatment we have already suggested for that ailment is at once
indicated, and the astringent lotions may be relied upon to bring about
beneficial results. Sometimes, however, preference may be given to a
lotion possessing a somewhat diifereut quality, the alterative consisting
of tincture of iodine applied to the inflamed spot several times daily.
If the lameness persists under this mild course of treatment it must of
course be attacked by other methods, and we must resort to the can-
tharidal ointment or Spanish-fly blister, as we have before recommended.
Besides this, and producing an analogous effect, the compounds of
biniodide of mercury are favored by some. It is prepared in tlie form
of an ointment, consisting of 1 dram of the biniodide to 1 ounce of
either lard or vaseline. It forms an excellent blistering and alterative
application, and is of special advantage in newly formed or recently
discovered exostosis.

It remains a pertinent query, however, and one which seems to be
easily answered, whether a tumor so diminutive in size that it can only
be detected by diligent search, and which is neither a disfigurement nor
an obstruction to the motion of the limb, need receive any recognition
whatever. Other modes of treatment for siilints are recommended and
practiced which belong strictly to the domain of operative veterinary
surgery. Among these are to be reckoned actual cauterization, or the
application of the fire-iron and the operation of periosteotom}'. These
are frequently indicated in the treatment of splints which have resisted
milder means.

The mode of the development of their growth ; their intimacy, greater
or less, with both the large and the small cannon bones ; the possibility
of their extending to the back of these bones under the suspensory
ligament 5 the dangerous complications which may follow the rough
handling of the parts ; with also a possibility, and indeed a probability,
of their return after removal, these are the considerations which have
influenced our judgment in discarding from our practice and our ap-
proval the method of removal by the saw or the chisel, as recommended
by certain European veterinarians.

RIXGBONES.

This peculiar term forms the designation of the exostosis which is
found on the coronet, ia the digital, and also in the phalangeal region,
probably because it extends quite around the coronet, which it encircles
in the manner of a ring, or perhaps because it often forms upon the
back of that bone a regular osseous circlet, through which the back
tendons obtain a passage. The dimensions which may be attained by
these tumors and the places where they are usually developed have

284

caused tbeir subdivision and classification into tliree varieties, with the
designations of high, middle, and loiv, though much can not be said as
to the importance of such distinction. It is true that the ringbone or
phaLangeal exostosis may be found at various i)oints on the coronet, in
one case forming a large bunch on the upper part and quite close to the
fetlock joint; then appearing on the very lower portion around the upper
border of the foot; seen again on the extreme front of the coronet; or
perhaps discovered on the very back of it. The shape in which they
commonly appear is favorable to their easy discovery, their form when
near the fetlock usually varying too much from the natural outlines of
the part when compared with those of the opposite side to admit of
error in the matter.

A ringbone when in front of the coronet, even when not very largely
developed, assumes the form of a diffused convex swelling. If situated
on the lower part, it will form a thick ring, encircling the upper porlion
of the foot ; when found on the posterior part, a small, sharp osseous
growth somewhat projecting, sometimes on the inside and sometimes
on the outside of the coronet, may comprise the entire manifestation.

As with splints, ringbones may result from severe labor in early life,
before the process of ossification has been fully perfected ; or they may
be referred to bruises, blows, sprains, or other violence; or injuries of
tendons, ligaments, or joints may be among the accountable accidents.
It is certain that they may commonly be traced to diseases and trau-
matic lesions of the foot, and their appearance may be reasonably an-
ticipated among the sequelae of an abscess of the coronet ; or the cause
maybe a severe contusion resulting from calking, or a deep punctured
wound from picking up a nail or stepping upon any hard object of suffi-
ciently irregular form to penetrate the sole.

Moreover, a ringbone may claim to possess the character of a legacy —
it may originate in heredity. This is a fact of no little importance in its
relation to questions connected with the extensive interests of the stock
breeder and purchaser. To regard a liability to transmit constitutional
idiosyncrasies by common propagation as a disease or a diathesis would
be obviously uuphilosophical ; but to recognize the fact, in view of ex-
isting evidences, in connection with the affection we are considering, is
but to render its due to the claims of honest conviction and such, a
conviction we do not hesitate to own. That it is an active tendency
in respect to diseases generally it would be absurd to claim. But
we do claim that a disposition to contract this particular form of
lesion may be transmitted from parent to offspring, though in most
cases only with sufficient vigor to impress a predispositi<ni on the
part of the latter. Yet in a smaller proportion of cases it may, in point
of fact, constitute a force sufficient to act as a secondary cause of de-
veloped disease, which may in due time become a visible ringbone.

The importance of this point when considered in reference to the
policy which should be observed in the selection of breeding stock, is

285

obvious, and a-s the whole matter is within the control of the owners
and breeders it will be their own fault if the unchecked transmission
of ringbones from one equine generation to another shall be allowed to
continue. It is our belief that among the diseases which are known for
their tendency to peri)etuate and repeat themselves by individual suc-
cession, those of the bony structures stand first, and the inference from
such a fact which would exclude every animal of doubtful soundness
in its osseous apparatus from the stud list and the brood farm is too
plain for argument.

Periostitis of the phalanges is an ailment requiring careful explora-
tion and minute inspection for its discovery and is quite likely to result
in a ringbone of which lameness is the effect. The mode of its mani-
festation varies according to the state of development of the diseased
growth as aff'ected by the circumstances of its location and dimensions.
It is commonly of the kind which, in consequence of its intermittent
character, is termed lameness ichen cool, having the peculiarity of exhib-
iting itself when the animal starts from the stable and of diminishing if
not entirely disappearing after some distance of travel to return to its
original degree, if not indeed a severer one wheu he has again cooled
off" in his stable. The size of the ringbone does not indicate the degree
to which it cripples the patient, but the position may, especially when
it interferes with the free movement of the tendons which pass behind
and in front of the coronet. While a large ringbone will often inter-
fere but little with the motion of the limb, a smaller growth if situated
under the tendon, may become the cause of considerable and continued
pain.

A ringbone is doubtless a worse evil than a splint. Its growth, its
location, its tendency to increased development, its exposure to the in-
fluence of causes of renewed danger, all tend to impart an unfavorable
cast to the prognosis of a case and to emphasize the importance and the
value of an early discovery of its presence and possible growth. Even
when the discovery has been accomplished it is often the case that the
truth has come to light too late for effectual treatment. Months may
have elapsed after the first manifestation of the lameness before a dis-
covery has been made of the lesion from which it has originated, and
there is no recall for the lapsed time. And by the uncompromising seri-
ousness of the discouraging prognosis must the energy and severity of
the treatment and the promptness of its administration be measured.
The periostitis has been overlooked ; any chance that might have ex-
isted for preventing its advance to the chronic stage has been lost; the
osseous exudation is established ; the ringbone is a fixed fact, and the
indications are urgent and pressing. These include severe blistering
once or twice repeated; the application of the red iodide of mercnry,
and if these fail, firing with the hot iron, and as a last resort, ueu-
rotumy, high or low as indicated by the seat of the lesion.

286

SIDE BONES.

On eacTi side of the bone of tlio foot— the coffin-bone— tliere are nor-
mally two supplementary organs which are called the cartilages of the
foot. They are soft, and though in a degree elastic, yet somewhat re-
sisting, and are implanted on the lateral wing of the cofSn-bone. Evi-
dently their office is to assist in the elastic expansion and contraction
of the posterior part of the foot, and their healthy and normal action
doubtless contributes in an important degree to the perfect performance
of the functions of that part of the leg. These organs are, however,
liable to undergo a process of disease which results in an entire change
in their properties, if not in their shape, by which they acquire a char-
acter of hardness resulting from the deposit of earthy substance in the
intimate structure of the cartilage, and it is this change, when its con-
summation has been affected, that brings to our cognizance the diseased
growth which has received the designation of side-hones. They are
situated on one or both sides of the leg, bulging above the superior
border of the foot in the form of two hard bodies composed of ossified
cartilage, irregularly square in shape and unyielding under the pressure
of the fingers.

The side-bone may be a termination of alow inflammatory condition,
or of an acute attack as well, or may be caused by sprains, bruises, or
blows ; or they may have their rise in certain diseases affecting the foot
proper, as corns, quarter cracks, or quittor. The deposit of calcareous
matter in the cartilage is not always uniform, the base of that organ
near its line of union with the coffin-bone being in some cases its limit,
while at other times it is diffused throughout its substance, the size
and prominence of the tumors varying much in consequence. It would
naturally be inferred that the amount of interference with the proper
functions of foot which must result from such a imthological change
would be proportioned to the size of the tumor, and that as the dimen-
sions increased, the resulting lameness would be the greater in degree.
This, however, is not the fact. A small tumor, while in a condition of
acute inflammation during the formative stage, may cripple a patient
more severely than a much larger one in a later stage of the disease. In
any case the lameness is never wanting, and with its intermittent charac-
ter may usually be detected when the animal is cooled off after labor or
exercise. The class of animals in which this feature of the disease is
most frequently witnessed is that of the heavy draft horse, and others
similarly employed. There is a wide margin of difference in respect to
the degrees of severity which may characterize different cases of side-
bone. While one may be so slight as to cause no inconvenience, an-
other may develop elements of danger which may involve the necessity
of severe surgical interference.

The curative treatment should be similar to the prophylactic, and
such means should be used as would tend to prevent the deposit of
bony matters by checking the acute inflammation which causes it.

287

The means recom mended are the free use of the cold bath ; frequent
soaking of the feet, and at a later period treatment with iodine, either
by paiuting the surface with the tincture several times daily, or by ap-
plying an ointment made by mixing 1 dram of the crystals with 2 ounces
of vaseline, rubbed in once a day for several days. If this proves to be
ineffective, a Spanish fly blister, to which a few grains of biniodide of
mercury have been added, will, in a majority of cases, effect the desired
result and remove the lameness. If, finally, this treatment is resisted,
the case must be relegated to the surgeon for the operation of neurot-
omy, or the ai)plicatiou of the fire-iron, freely and deeply.

SPAVIN.

This affection, popularly termed bo)ie spavin, is an exostosis of the
hock joint. The general impression is that in a spavined hock the bony
growth should be seated on the anterior and internal part of the joint,
and this is partially correct, as such a growth will constitute a spavin
in the most correct sense of the tern). But an enlargement may appear
on the upper part of the hock also, or possibly a little below the inner
side of the lower extremity of the shank bone, forming what is known
as a high spavin; or, again, the growth may form jast on the outside
of the hock and become an outside or external spavin. And, finally,
the entire under surface may become the seat of the osseous deposit,
and involve the internal face of all the bones of the hock, and this again
is a hone spavin. There would seem, then, to bo but little difficulty in
comi)reheuding the nature of a bono spavin, and there would be none
but for the fact that there are similar affections which might confuse a
diagnosis if not very carefully and intelligently made.

But the hock may be spavined, while to all outward observation it
still retains its perfect form. With no enlargement tangible to sight
or touch the animal may be disabled by an occult spavin, an anchylosis
in fact, which has resulted from a union of several of the bones of the
joint, and it is only those who are able to realize the importance of its
action to the perfect fulfillment of the function of propulsion by the
hind leg, who can comprehend the gravity of the only prognosis which
can be justified by the facts of the case — a prognosis which is essen-
tially a sentence of serious import in respect to the future usefulness
and value of the animal. For no diseases, if we except those acute in-
flammatory attacks upon vital organs to which the patient succumbs
at once, are more destructive to the usefulness and value of a horse
than a confirmed spavin. Serious in its inception, serious in its prog-
ress, it is an ailment which, when once established, becomes a fixed
condition which there are no known means of dislodging. The perios-
titis, of which it is nearly always a termination, is usually the effect of
a traumatic cause operating upon the complicated structure of the
hock, such as a sprain which has torn a ligamentous insertion and lac-
erated some of its fibers; or a violent effort in jumping, galloping, or

288

trottiug, to which the victim has been compelled by the torture of whip
and spur while in use as a gambling implement by a sporting owner,
under the pretext of " improving his breed; "or the extra exertion of
starting an inordinately heavy load ; or an effort to recover his balance
from a misstep ; or slipping upon an icj^ surface ; or sliding with worn
shoes upon a bad pavement, and other kindred causes. And we can
repeat here what we have before said concerning bones, in respect to
heredity as a cause. As to this, our own experience is an authority —
we do know of equine families in which this condition has been
transmitted from generation to generation, and animals otherwise of
excellent comformation rendered valueless by the misfortune of a con-
genital spavin.

The evil is one of the most serious character for other reasons, among
which may be specified the slowness of their development and the in-
sidiousness of their growth. Certain indefinite phenomena and alarm-
ing changes and incidents furnish usually the only portents of ap-
proaching trouble. Among these signs may be mentioned a peculiar
posture assumed by the patient while at rest, and becoming at length
so habitual that it can not fail to suggest the action of some hidden
cause, tending to some undeterminable result. The posture is due to the
action of the adductor muscles, the lower part of the leg being carried
inward, and the heel of the shoe resting on the toe of the opposite foot.
Then an unwillingness may be noticed in the animal to move from one
side of the stall to the other. When driven he will travel, but stiffly,
and with a sort of sidelong gait between the shafts, and after finishing
his task and resting again in his stall, will pose with the toe pointing
forward, the heel raised, and the hock flexed. Some little heat and a con-
siderable amount of inflammation soon appears. The slight lameness
which appears when backing out of the stall ceases to be noticeable
after a short distance of travel.

A minute examination of the hock will then begin to reveal the exist-
ence of the lesion, in a bony enlargement which may be detected just at
the junction of the hock and the cannon bone, on the inside and a little
in front, and tangible both to sight and touch. This enlargement or
bone spavin grows rapidly and persistently and soon acquires dimen-
sions which render it impossible to doubt any longer its existence or
its nature. Once established, its development continues under con-
ditions of progress similar to those to which we have before alluded,
in speaking of other like afl:ections. The argument obtained by some
that because these bony deposits are frequently found on both hocks
they are not spavins, is fallacious. If they are discovered on both
hocks, it proves merely that they are not confined to a single joint.

The characteristic lameness of bone spavin, as it affects the motion of
of the hock joint, presents two aspects. In one class of cases it is most
pronounced when the horse is cool, in the other when he is at work.
The first is characterized by the fact that when the animal travels the

289

toe first touches the ground, and the heel descends more slowly, the mo-
tion of tlexiou at the hock taking place stiffly, and accompanied by a
dropping of the hip on the opposite side. In the other case the peculi-
arity is that the lameness increases as the horse travels ; that when he
stops he seeks to favor the lame leg, and when he resumes his work
soon after he steps much on his toe, as in the first variety.

As with sidebones, though for a somewhat different reason, the di-
mensions of the spavin and the degree of the lameness do not seem to
bear any determinate relation, the most pronounced, symptoms at times
accompanying a very diminutive growth. But the distinction between
the two varieties of cool and. tcarm may easily be determined by remem-
bering the fact that in a majority of cases the first, or cool, is due to a
simple exostosis, while the second is generally connected with disease
of the articulation, such as ulceration of the articular surface — a con-
dition which, as we proceed further, will meet our attention when we
reach the subject of springhalt.

Having thus fully considered the history of bone spavin we are pre-
pared to give due weight to the reasons which exist for the adverse
prognosis which we must usually feel compelled to pronounce when
encountering it in practice, as well as to realize the value of an early
discovery of the symptoms which denote its invasion of the organism.
It is but seldom, however, that the necessary advantage of this early
knowledge can be secured, and when the true nature of the trouble has
become apparent it is usually too late to resort to the remedial meas-
ures which, if duly forewarned, a skillful practitioner might have em-
ployed. We are fully persuaded that but for the loss of the time wasted
in the treatment of purely imaginary ailments very many cases of bone
spavin might be arrested in their incipiency and their victims preserved
for years of comfort for themselves and valuable labor to their owners.

To consider a hypothetical case: An early discovery of lameness has
been madej that is, the existence of an acute intlammation — of perios-
titis— has been detected. The increased temperature of the parts has
been observed, with the stiffened gait and the chai\acteristic pose of the
limb, and the question is proposed for solution, "What is to be donel"
Even with only these comparatively doubtful symptoms — doubtful with
the non-expert — we should direct our treatment to the hock in prefer-
ence to any other joint, since of all the joints of the hind leg it is this
which is most liable to be attacked, a natural result from its peculiari-
ties of structure and function. And in answer to the query, ''What is
the first indication?" we should answer rest — emphatically, and as an
essential condition, rest. Whether only threatened, suspected, or posi-
tively diseased, the animal must be wholly released from labor, and it
must be no partial or temporary quiet of a few days. In all stages and
conditions of the disease, whether the spavin is nothing more than a
simple exostosis, or whether accompanied by the complication of ar"
thritis, there must be a total suspension of effort until the danger is
11035 19

290

over. Less tlian a month's quiet ought not to be thought of— the longer
the better.

Good results may also be expected from local applications. The va-
rious lotions which cool the parts, the astringents which lower the ten-
sion of the blood vessels, the tepid fomentations which accelerate the
circulation in the engorged capillaries, the liniments of various compo-
sition, the stimulants, the opiate anodynes, the sedative preparations
of aconite, the alterative frictions of iodine — all these are recommended
and prescribed by one or another. We prefer counter-irritantSj for the
simple reason, among many others, that they tend by the promptness
of their action to prevent by anticipation the formation of the bony
deposits. The lameness will often yield to the blistering action of can-
tharides, in the form of ointment or liniment, and to the alterative
preparations of iodine or mercury. And if the owner of a spavined
horse really succeeds in removing the lameness, he has accomplished
all that he is justified in hoping for ; beyond this let him be well per-
suaded that a '^cure" is impossible.

For this reason, moreover, he will do well to be on his guard against
the patented ''cures" which the traveling horse doctor may urge upon
his credulity, and withhold his faith from the circular of the agent who
will deluge him with references and certificates. It is possible that
nostrums may in some exceptional instances prove serviceable, but the
greater number of them are capable of producing only injurious effects.
The removal of the bony tumor can not be accomplished by any such
means, and if a trial of these unknown compounds should be followed
by complications no worse than the establishment of one or more ugly,
hairless cicatrices, it will be well for both the horse and his owner.

Eest and counter-irritation, with the proper medicaments, constitute,
then, the prominent points in the treatment designed for the relief of
bone spavin. Yet there are cases in which all the agencies and methods
referred to seem to lack effectiveness and fail to produce satisfactory
results. Either the rest has been prematurely interrupted, or the blisters
have failed to rightly modify the serous infiltration, or the case in hand
has some undiscernible characteristics which seem to have rendered the
disease neutral to the agencies employed against it. An indication of
more energetic means is then presented, and free cauterization with the
fire-iron becomes necessary.

At this point a word of explanation in reference to this operation of
firing maybe appropriate for the satisfaction of any among our readers
who may entertain an exaggerated idea of its severity and possible
cruelty.

The operation is one of simplicity, but is nevertheless one which, in
order to secure its benefits, must be reserved for times and occasions of
which only the best knowledge and highest discretion should be allowed
to judge. It is not the mere application of a hot iron to a given part of
the body which constitutes the operation of firing. It is the methodical

291

and scientific introduction of heat into the structure with a view to a given
effect upon a diseased organ or tissue by an expert surgeon. The first
is one of the degrees of mere burning. The other is scientific cauteriza-
tion, and is a surgical manipulation which should be committed exclu-
sively to the practised hand of the veterinary surgeou.

Either firing aloue or stimulation with blisters is of great eificacy for
the relief of lameness from bone spavin. Failure to produce relief after
a few applications and after allowiuga sufficient interval of rest, should
be followed by a second, or, if needed, a third firing.

lu case of further failure there is a reserve of certain special opera
tions which have been tried and recommended, among which thosu of
tarsal tenotomy, iieriosteotomy, the division of nervous branches, etc.,
may be mentioned. These, hovrever, belong to the peculiar domain of
the veterinary practitioner, and need not now engage our attention.

FRACTURES.

In technical language a fracture is a " solution of continuity in the
structure or substance of a bone," and it ranks among the most serious
of the lesions to which the horse — or any animal — can be subject. It
is a subject of special interest to veterinarians, and to horse owners as
well, in view of the variety of forms in which it may occur, as well as
of the loss of time to which it subjects the patient, and the consequent
suspension of his earning capacits'. Though of less serious consequence
in the horse than in man, it is always a matter of grave imjiort. It is
always slow and tedious in healing, and is frequently of doubtful and
uusatisfactorj" result.

This solution of continuity may take i)lace in two principal ways. In
the most numerous instances it includes the total thickness of the bone
and IS a complete fracture. In other cases it involves a portion only of
the thickness of the bone, and for that reason is described as incomplete.
If the bone is divided into two separate portions, and the soft parts
Lave received no injury, the fracture is a simple one; or it becomes
compound if the soft parts have suflered laceration, and comminuted if
the bones have been crushed or ground into fragments, many or few.
The direction of the break also determines its further classification.
Broken at a right angle it is transverse; at a different angle it becomes
oblique, and it may be longitudinal or lengthwise. In a complete frac-
ture, especially of the oblique kind, there is a condition of great impor-
tance in respect to its effect upon the ultimate result of the treatment,
in the fact that from various causes, such as muscular contractions or
excessive motion, the bony fragments do not maintain their mutual
coaptation, but become separated at the ends, and this fact has made
it necessarv to add another descri])tive term in the words — with dis-
placement. And this term again suggests its negative, and introduces
the fracture loithout displacement, when the facts justify that descrip-
tion. Again, a fracture may be intraarticular or extraarticular, as it

292

extends within a joint or otherwise, and once more, intra-periosteal,
when the periosteum remain ititact. And, finally, there is no absolute
limit to the use of descriptive terminology in the case.

The condition of displacement is largely influential in determining
the question of treatment, and as afl'ecting the final result of a case of
fracture. This, however, is dependent upon its location or whether its
seat be in one or more of the axes of the bone, in its length, its breadtb,
its thickness, or its circumference. An incomplete fracture may also
be either simple or comminuted, the periosteum, in the latter case when
it is intact, keeping the fragments together, the fracture in that case
belonging to the intra periosteal class. At times, also, there is only a
simple fissure or split in the bone, making a condition of much difiSculty
of diagnosis.

Two varieties of originating cause may be recognized in cases of frac-
ture. They are the xjredisposing and the occasional. As to the first,
different species of animals differ in the degree of their liability. That
of the dog is greater than that of the horse, and, in horses, the various
questions of age, the mode of labor, the season of the year, the portion
of the body most exposed, and the existence of ailments, local and gen-
eral, are all to be taken into account.

Among horses, those employed in heavy draught work or that are
driven over bad roads, are more exposed than light-draught or saddle
horses, and animals of different ages are not equally liable. Dogs and
young horses, with those which have become sufficiently aged for their
bones to have acquired an enhanced degree of frangibility, are more lia-
ble than those which have not exceeded the time of their adult prime.
The season of the year is undoubtedly, though in an incidental way,
an important fiictor in the problem of the etiology of these accidents,
for though they may be observed at all times, it is during the months
when the slippery condition of the icy roads renders it difficult for both
men and beasts to keep their feet that they occur most frequently. The
long bones, those especially which belong to the extremities, are most
frequently the seat of fractures, from the circumstance of their super-
ficial position ; their exposure to contact and collision, and the violent
muscular efforts involved both in their constant rapid movement and
their labor in the shafts or at the pole of heavy and heavily laden car-
riages.

The relation between sundry idiosyncrasies and diatheses and a
liability to fractures is too constant and well established a pathological
fact to need more than a passing reference. The history of rachitis, of
melanosis, and of osteo-porosis, as related to an abnormal frangibility of
the bones, is a part of our common medical knowledge. There are few
persons who have not known of cases among their friends of frequent
and almost spontaneous fractures, or at least of such as seem to be pro-
duced by the slightest and most inadequate violence, and there is no
tangible reason for doubting an analogous condition in individuals of

293

the eqaine constitution. Among local predisposing affections mention
must not be omitted of such bony diseases as caries, tuberculosis, and
others of the same class.

Occasional or '^ efficient " causes of fracture are in most instances ex-
ternal traumatisms, as violent contacts, collisions, falls, etc., or sud-
den muscular contractions. These external accidents are various in
their character, and are usually associated with quick muscular exer-
tion. A violent, ineffectual effort to move too heavy a load ; a semi-
spasmodic bracing of the frame to avoid a fall or resist a pressure 5 a
quick jump to escape a blow •, stopping too suddenly after speeding ;
struggling to liberate a foot from a rail, perhaps to be thrown in the
effort— all these are familiar and easy examples of accidents happen-
ing hourly, by which our equine servants become sufferers. We may
add to these the fracture of the bones of the vertebra, occurring when
casting a patient for the purpose of undergoing a surgical operation,
quite as much the result of muscular contraction as of a preexisting
diseased condition of the bones. A fracture occurring nnder these cir-
cumstances may be called with propriety indirect, while one which
has resulted from a blow or a fall differently caused is of the direct kind.

We now return to the first items in our classification of the varieties
of lameness, for the purpose of bringing them in turn under an orderly
review, and our first examination will include those which belong to the
first category, or the complete kind. Irregularity in the performance of
the functions of the apparatus to which the fractured bone belongs is
a necessary consequence of the existing lesion, and this is lameness. If
the broken bone belongs to one of the extremities, the impossibility of
the performance of its natural function, in sustaining the weight of the
body and contributing to the act of locomotion, is usually complete,
though the degree of powerlessness will vary according to the kind of
fracture and the bone which is injured. For example, a fracture of the
cannon bone without displacement, or of one of the phalanges which
are surrounded and sustained by a complex fibrous structure, is, in a
certain degree, not incompatible with some amount of resting of the
foot. But on the contrary, if the shank bone, or that of the forearm
be the implicated member, it would be very difficult for the leg to exer-
cise any agency whatever in the support of the body. And in a frac-
ture of the lower jaw it would be obviously futile to expect it to con-
tribute materially to the mastication of food.

A fracture seldom occurs which is not accompanied with a degree of
deformity, greater or less, of the region or the leg affected. This is
due to the exudation of the blood into the meshes of the surrounding
tissues and to the displacement which occurs between the fragments of
the bones, with subsequently the swelling which follows the inflamma-
tion of the surrounding tissues. The character of the deformity will
mainly depend upon the manner in which the displacement occurs.

In Q, normal state of things the legs perform their movements with

294

the joints as tlieir only centers or bases of action, with no participation
of intermediate points, while with a fracture the flexibility and motion
which will bo observed at unnatural points are among the most strongly
characteristic signs of the lesion. No one need be told that when tbe
shaft of a limb is seen to bend midway between the joints, with the
lower portion swinging freely, that the leg is broken. But there are
still some conditions where the excessive mobility is not easy to detect
with certainty. Such are the cases where the fracture exists in a short
bone, near a movable joint, or in a bone of a region Vt'here several
short and small bones are united in a group, or even in a long bone
where its situation is such that the muscular covering prevents the vis-
ible manifestation of the symptom.

If the situation of a fracture precludes its discovery by means of
this abnormal flexibilitv, other detective metliods remain. And after
all there is one decisive sign which, though it may not avail in every
case, as it does not, is in cases where its testimony can be secured ab-
solute and positive beyond question. This is crepitation, or the pecu-
liar effect which is produced by the friction of the fractured surfaces
one against another. Though discerned by the organs of hearing it
can scarcely be called a sound, for the grating of the parts as the
rubbing takes place is more felt than heard, but there is no mistaking
its import in cases favorable for the application of the test. The con-
ditions in which it is not available are those of incomplete fracture, in
which the mobility of the parts is lacking, and those in which the whole
arraj' of phenomena are usually obscure. To obtain the benefit of this
pathognomonic sign requires deliberate, careful, and gentle manipula-
tion. Sometimes the slightest of movements will be sufficient for its
development, after mnch rougher handling has failed to discover it.
Perha])s the failure in the latter case is due to a sort of defensive
spasmodic rigidity caused by the pain resulting from the rude interfer-
ence.

More or less reactive fever is a usual accompaniment of a fracture,
and an ecchymosis of the parts is but a natural occurrence, more easily
discovered in animals possessing alight colored and delicate skin than
in those of the opposite character.

There are difficulties in the way of the diagnosis of an incomplete
fracture, even sometimes when there is a degree of impairment in the
function of locomotion, with evidences of pain and swelling at the seat
of lesion. There should then be a careful examination for evidences of
a blow or other violence sufficient to account for the fracture, though
very often a suspicion of its existence can only be converted into a cer-
tainty by a minute history of the patient if it can be obtained up to the
moment of the occurrence of the iniury. A diagnosis ought not to be hast-
ily pronounced, and where good ground for suspicion exists it ought not
to be rejected upon any evidence less than the best. Serious and fatal
complications are too often recorded of the results following careless con-

295

elusions in similar cases, among which we may refer to one instance of
a complete fracture manifesting itself in an animal during the act of
rising up in his stall after a decision had been i^ronounced that he had
no fracture at all.

Fractures are of course liable to complications, those especially, from
the nature of the case, which are of a traumatic character, such as ex-
tensive lacerations, tearing of tissues, punctures, contusions, etc. But
unless these are iu communication with the fracture itself the indica-
tion is to treat them simply as independent lesions upon other parts of
the body. A traumatic emphysema will at times cause trouble, and
abscesses, more or less deep and diffused, may follow. In some cases
small bony fragments from a comminuted fracture, becoming loose
and acting as foreign bodies, may give rise to troublesome fistulous
tracts. A frequent complication is hemorrhage, which often becomes of
serious consequence. A fracture in close proximity to a joint may be
accompanied by dangerous inflammations of important organs, and in-
duce an attack of pneumonia, pleurisy, arthritis, etc., as \vell as lux-
ations or dislocations, and the more so if situated nearthe chest. Gan-
grow, as a consequence of contusions or of hemorrhage or of an imped-
iment to the circulation, caused by unskillfully applied apparatus, must
not be overlooked among the occasional incidents; nor must locljaio,
which is not an uncommon occurrence. Even founder or laminitis has
been met with as the result of forced and long continued immobility
of the feet in the standing posture, as one of the involvements of uua-
voidabl3' protracted treatment.

When a simple fracture has been i^roperly treated and the broken
ends of the bone have been securely held in coaptation one of two
things will occur. Either — and this is the more common event — there
will be a union of the two ends by a solid cicatrix, the callus, or the
ends will continue separated or become only partially united by an in-
termediate fibrous structure. In the first instance the fracture is con-
solidated, or iinited, iu the second there is a false articulation, ov ijscudo-
arthrosis.

The time required for a firm union or true consolidation of a fracture
will vary with the character of the bone affected, the age and constitu-
tion of the patient, and the general conditions of the case. The union
will be perfected earlier in a young than in an adult animal, and sooner
in the latter than in the aged, and a general healthy condition is of course,
in every respect, an advantage.

The mode of cicatrization, or method of repair in lesions of the bones,
has been a subject of much study among investigators in pathology, and
has elicited various expressions of opinion from those high in authority.
But the weight of evidence and i)reponderance of opinion are about
settled in favor of the theory that the law of reparation is the same for
both the hard and the soft tissues. In one case a simple exudation of
material, with the proper organization of newly formed tissue, will

296

bring about a union by the first intention, and in another tlie work will
be accompanied by suppuration, or the union by the second intention,
a process so familiar in the repair of the soft structures by granulation.

Considering the process in its simplest form, in a case in which it
advances without intfrruption or complication to a favorable result it
may probably be correctly described in this wise :

On the occurrence of the injury an effusion of blood takes place be-
tween the ends of the bone. The coagulation of the fluid soon follows,
and this, after a few days, undergoes absorption. There is then an
excess of inflammation in the surrounding structure, which soon spreads
to the bony tissue, when a true ostitis is established, and the compact
tissue of the bone becomes the seat of a new vascular organization, and
of a certain exudation of plastic lymph, appearing between the peri-
osteum and the external surface of the bone, as well as on the inner
side of the medullary cavity. After a few days the ends of the bone
thus surrounded by this exudate become involved in it, and the lymph,
becoming vascular, is soon transformed into cartilaginous, and in due
time into bony tissue.

Thus the time required for the consolidation of the fractured seg-
ments is divisible into two distinct periods. In the first they are sur-
rounded by an external bony ring, and the medullary cavity is closed
by a bony plug or stopper, constituting the period o( the proinsional
callus. This is followed by the period of permanent callus, during which
the process is going forward of converting the cartilaginous into the
osseous form.

The restorative process is sooner completed in the carnivorous than
in the herbivorous tribes. In the former the temporary callus may at-
tain sufQcient fineness of consistency for the careful use of the limb
within four weeks, but with the latter a period of from six weeks to two
months is not too long to allow before removing the supporting appa-
ratus from the limb.

This in general terms represents the fact when the resources of na-
ture have not been thwarted by untoward accidents, such as a want of
vigor in the constitution of the patient or a lack of skill on the part of
the practitioner, and especially when, from any cause, the bouy frag-
ments have not been kept in a state of perfect immobility and the con-
stant friction has prevented the osseous union of the two i)ortions. Fail-
ures and misfortunes are always more than possible, and instead of a
solid and practicable bony union the sequel of theaccidentis sometimes
a false joint, composed of mere flexible cartilage, a poor pseudo- arthrosis.
The explanation of this appears to be that, first, the sharp edges of the
ends of the bone disaj^pear by becoming rounded at their extremeties by
friction and j)olishing against each other. Then follows an exudation
of a plastic nature which becomes transformed into a cartilaginous layer
of a rough articular aspect. In this bony nuclei soon appear, and the
lymph secreted between the segments thus transformed, instead of be-

297

coming truly ossified, is changed into a sortof fibrocartilaginous pouch
or capsular sac, in which a somewhat albuminous secretion, or pseudo-
synovia, permits the movement to take place. Most commonly, how-
ever, in our animals, the union of the bony fragments is obtained wholly
through the medium of a layer of fibrous tissue, and it is because the
union has been accomplished by a ligamentous formation only that mo-
tion becomes practicable.

The prognosis in a case of fracture in an animal is one of the gravest
vital import to the i)atieut, and therefore of serious pecuniary coucern
to his owner. The period has not long elapsed when to have received
such a hurt was quite equivalent to undergoing a sentence of death for
the suftering animal, and perhaps to-day a similar verdict is pronounced
in many cases in which the exercise of a little mechanical ingenuity,
with a due amount of careful nursing, might secure a contrary result
and insure the return of the patient to his former condition of soundness
and usefulness. Considered per se, a fracture in an animal is in fact no
less amenable to treatment than the same description of injury in any
other living being. But the question of the propriety and expediency
of treatment is dependent upon certain specific points of collateral con-
sideration.

First. The nature of the lesion itself is a point of paramount impor-
tance. A simple fracture occurring in a bone where the ends can be
firmly secured in coaptation, presents the most favorable conditions for
successful treatment. If it be that of a long bone it will be the less
serious if situated at or near the middle of its length than if it were in
close proximity to a joint, from the fact that perfect immobility can
rarely, in the latter case, be secured without incurring the risk of sub-
sequent rigidity of the joint.

A simple is always less serious than a compound fracture. A com-
minuted is always more dangerous than a simple, and a transverse
break is easier to treat than one which is oblique. The most serious are
those which are situated on parts of the body in which it is difficult to
secure perfect immobility, and especially those which are accompanied
by severe contusions and lacerations in the soft parts; the protrusion of
fragments through the skin ; the division of blood vessels by the broken
ends of the bone ; the existence of an articulation near the point to
which inflammation is likely to extend; the luxation of a fragment of
the bone ; laceration of the periosteum ; the presence of a large number
of bony particles, the result of the crushing of the bone — all these are
circumstances which discourage a favorable prognosis, and weigh against
the hope of saving the patient for future usefulness.

Fractures which may be accounted curable are those which are not
conspicuously visible, as those of the ribs, where displacements are
either very limited or do not occur, the parts being kept in situ by the
nature of their position, the shape of the bones, the articulations they
form with the vertebra, the sternum, or their cartilages of prolonga-

298

tion 5 those of transverse processes of the lumbar vertebra ; those of
theboues of the face; those of the ilium ; and that of the coffin bones.
To continue the category, they are evidently curable when their posi-
tion and the character of the patient contribute to aid the treatment.
Those of the cranium, in the absence of cerebral lesions ; those of the
jaws ; of the ribs, with displa^cement ; of the hip ; and those of the bone
of the leg in movable regions, but where their vertical position admits
of perfect coaptation.

On the contrar3^, a compound, complicated, or comminuted fracture,
in whatever region it may be situated, may be accounted incurable.

In treating fractures time is an important element and "delays are
dangerous." Those of xecent occurrence unite more easily and more
regularly than older ones.

Second. As a general rule, fractures are less serious in animals of the
smaller species than in those of more bulky dimensions. This influence
of s])ccics will be readily appreciated when we realize that the difficul-
ties involved in the treatment of the latter class have hardly any exist-
ence in connection with the former. The difference in weight aud size,
and consequent facility iu handling, and making the necessary applica-
tions of dressings and other appliances for the purpose of securing the
iudispensable immobility of the parts, aud usually a less degree of un-
easiness in the deportment of the patients are considerations iu this
connection of great weight.

Third. In respect to the utilization of the animal, the most obvious
point in estimating the gravity of the case in a fracture accident is the
certainty of the total loss of the services of the patient during treat-
ment— certainly for a considerable period of time, perhaps permanently.
For example, the fracture of the jaw of a steer just fattening for the
shambles will involve a heavier loss than a similar accident to a horse.
Usually the fracture of the bones of the extremities in a horse is a very
serious casualty, the more so proportionately as the higher region of the
limb is alfected. In working animals it is exceedingly difficult to treat
a fracture in such a manner as to restore a limb to its original perfec-
tion of movement. A fracture of a single bone of an extremity in a
breeding stallion or mare will not necessarily impair their value as
breeders. Other specifications under this head, though pertinent and
more or less interesting, may be omitted.

Fourth. Age and temper are important factors of cure. A young,
growing, robust patient, whose vis vitcv is active, is amenable to treat-
ment which one with a waning constitution aud past mature energies
would be unable to endure, and a docile, quiet disposition will act co-
operatively with remedial measures which would be neutralized by the
fractious opposition of a peevish and intractable sufferer.

The fulfillment of three indications is indispensable in all fractures.
The first is the reduction, or the replacement, of the parts as nearly as
possible in their normal position. The second is their retention iu that

299

position for a period sufficient for the formation of the provisional cal-
lus, and the third, which in fact is but an incident of the second, the
careful avoidance of any accidents or causes of miscarriage which might
disturb the curative process.

In reference to the first consideration, it must be remembered that
the accident may befall the patient at a distance from his home, and
his removal becomes the first duty to be attended to. Of course this
must be done as carefully as possible. If I:e can be treated on the spot
so much the better, though this is seldom jjracticable, and the method
of removal becomes the question calling for settlement. But two ways
present themselves — he must either walk or be carried. If the first, it
is needless to say that every caution must be observed in order to
obviate additional pain for the suffering animal, and to avoid auy
aggravation of the injury. Led slowly, and with partial support if prac-
ticable, the journey will not always involve untoward results. If he is
earned it must be by means of a wagon, a truck, or an ambulance : the
latter, being designed and adapted to the purpose, would of course be
the preferable vehicle. As a precaution which should never be over-
looked, a temporary dressing should first be applied. This may be so
done as for the time to answer all the purpose of the permanent adjust-
ment and bandaging. Without thus securing the patient, a fracture of
an inferior degree may be transformed to one of the severest kind, aud,
indeed a curable changed to an incurable injury. We recall a case in
which a fast trotting liorse, after running away in a fright caused by
the whistle of a locomotive, was found on the road limping with
excessive lameness in the off fore leg, and walked with comparative
ease some 2 miles to a stable before being seen by a surgeon. His im-
mediate removal in an ambulance was advised, but before that vehicle
could be procured the horse laid dowo, and upon being made to get
upon his feet was found with a well-marked comminuted fracture of the
OS su0"raginis, with considerable displacement. The patient, however,
after long treatment, made a comparatively good recovery aud though
with a large bonj^ deposit, a ringbone, was able to trot among the
forties.

The two obvious indications in cases of fracture are reduction, or re-
placement, and retention.

In an incomplete fracture, where there is no displacement, the neces-
sity of reduction does not exist. With the bone kept in place by an in-
tact periosteum, and the fragments secured by the uninjured fibrous and
ligamentous structure which surrounds them, there is no dislocation
to correct. It is also at times rendered imjiossible by the seat of the
fracture itself, by its dimensions alone, or by the resistance arising from
the muscular contraction excited by the surgical manipulation. This
is illustrated even in small animals, as in dogs, by the exceeding diffi-
culty encountered in bringing the ends of a broken femur or liumerua
together, the muscular contraction being even in these animals suffi-
ciently forcible to renew the displacement.

300

It Is generally, therefore, only fractnres of the long bones, and then
at points not iu close proximity to the trunk, that may be considered
to be amenable to reduction. It is true that some of the more super-
ficial bones, as those of the head, of the pelvis, and of the thoracic walls
may in some cases require special manipulations and appliances for
their retention in their normal positions, but the treatment of these and
of a fractured leg can not be the same.

The methods of accomplishing reduction vary with the features of
each case, the manipulations being necessarily modified to meet chang-
ing circumstances. If the displacement is iu the thickness of the bone,
as iu transverse fracture, the manipulation of reduction consists in
applying a steady pressure upon one of the fragments, while the other
is kept steady in its place, the object of the pressure being the rees-
tablishment of the exact coincidence of the two bony surfaces. If the
displacement has taken place at an angle it will be sufiflcieut in order
to effect the reduction to press upon the summit or apex of the angle
until its disappearance indicates that the parts have been brought into
coaptation. This method is often practiced in the treatment of a frac-
tured rib. In a longitudinal fracture, or when the fragments are
pressed together by the contraction of the muscles to which they give
insertion until they so overlap as to correspond by certain points of
their circumference, the reduction is to be accomplished by effecting
the movements of extension, coiinter-extension, and coaptation. Extension
is accomplished by making traction upon the lower portion of the limb.
Counter-extension consists in firmly holding or confining the upper or
body portion in such a manner that it shall not be affected by the trac-
tion applied to the lower; in simpler language, holding it motionless
against the force exercised in the extension. In other words, the
operator, grasping the limb below the fracture, draws it down or away
from the trunk, while he seeks, not to draw away, but simply to hold
still the upper portion until the broken ends of bone are brought to their
natural relative positions when the coaptation, which is thus affected,
has only to be made permanent by the proper dressings to perfect the
reduction.

In treating fractures iu small animals the strength of the hand is
usually sufiacient for the required manipulations. In the fracture of
the forearm of a dog, for example, while the upper segment is firmly
held by one hand, the lower may be grasped by the other and the bone
itself made to serve the purpose of a lever to bring about the desired
coaptation. In such a case that is sufficient to overcome the muscu-
lar contraction and correct the overlapping or other malposition of the
bones. If, however, the resistance can not be overcome in this mode,
the upper segment may be committed to an assistant for the manage-
ment of the counter extension, leaving to the operator the free use of
both hands for the further manipulation of the case.

But if the reduction of fractures in small animals is an easy task, it

301

is far from bein^ so when a large animal is the patient, whose mnscular
force is largely greater than that of several men combined, la such a
case resort must be had not only to superior numbers for the necessary
force, but in many cases to mechanical aids. A reference to the mode
of proceeding in a case of fracture with displacement of the fore arm of
a horse will illustrate the matter. The patient is first to bo carefully
cast, on the uninjured side, with ropes, or a broad leather strap about
18 feet long, passed under and around his body and under the axilla of
the fractured limb and secured at a point opposite to the animal and
toward his back. This will form the mechanical means of counter ex-
tension. Another rope will then be placed around the inferior part of
the leg below the point of fracture, with which to produce extension,
and this will sometimes be furnished with a block or puUies, in order
to augment the power when necessary, and there is, in fact, always an
advantage in their use, on the side of steadiness and uniformity, as well
as of increased power. It is secured around the fetlock or the coronet,
or what is better, above the knee and nearer the point of fracture, and
is committed to assistants. The traction on this should be firm, uni-
form, and slow, without relaxing or jerking, while the operator carefully
watches the process. If the bone is superficially situated he is able to
judge by the eye of any changes that may occur in the form or length
of the parts under traction, and discovering at the moment of its hap-
pening the restoration of symmetry in the disturbed region, he gently
but firmly manipulates the place until all appearance of severed con-
tinuity have vanished. Sometimes the fact and the instant of restora-
tion are indicated by a peculiar sound, or "click," as the ends of the
bone slip into contact, to await the next step of the restorative pro-
cedure.

The process is the same when the bones are covered with thick mus-
cular masses, excepting that it is attended with greater difficulties, from
the fact that the finger must be substituted for the eye, and the taxis
must take the place of the sight, and the result naturally becomes more
uncertain.

It frequently happens that perfect coaptation is prevented by the in-
terposition between the bony surfaces of substances, such as a small
fragment of detached bone or a clot of blood, and sometimes the extreme
obliquity of the fracture is the opposing cause, by permitting the bones
to slip out of place. These are difficulties which can not always be
overcome, even in small-sized animals, and still it is only when they are
mastered that a correct consolidation can be looked for. Yet without
it the continuity between the fragments will be by a deformed callus,
the union will leave a shortened, crooked or angular limb, and a disabled
animal.

If timely assistance can be obtained, and the reduction accomplished
immediately after the occurrence of the accident, that is the best time
for it. But if it can not be attended to until inflammation has become

302

established and the parts have become swollen and painful, time must
be allowed for the subsidence of these symptoms before attempting the
operation. A spasmodic muscular contraction which sometimes inter-
poses a difficulty may be easily overcome by subjecting the patient to
general anesthesia, and need not, therefore, cause any loss of time, A
tendency to this may also be overcome by the use of sedatives and anti-
phlogistic remedies.

The reduction of the fracture having been accomplished, the problem
which follows is that of retention. The parts which have been restored
to their natural position must be kept there, without disturbance or
agitation, until the perfect formation of a callus, and it is here that
ample latitude exists for the exercise of ingenuity and skill by the sur-
geon in the contrivance of the necessary apparatus. One of the most
important of the conditions which are available by the surgeon in treat-
ing human patients is denied to the veterinariau in the management of
those which belong to the animal tribes. This is position. The intel-
ligence of the human x^atient co-operates with the instructions of the
surgeon, but with the animal suiferer there is a continual antagonism
between the parties, and the forced extension and fatiguing position
which must for a considerable period be maintained as a condition of
restoration require special and efl'ective appliances to insure successful
results. To obtain complete immobility is scarcely possible, and the
surgeon must be content to reach a point as near as possible to that
which is unattainable. For this reason, as will subsequently- be seen, the
use of slings and the restraint of jjatientsin very narrow stalls is much
to be preferred to the practice sometimes recommended, of allowing en-
tire freedom of motiou by turning them loose in box stalls. Temporary
and movable apparatus are not usually of difficult use in veterinary
practice, but the restlessness of the patients and their unwillingness to
submit quietly to the changing of the dressings render it obligatory- to
have recourse to i)ermaneut and immovable bandages, which should
be retained without disturbance until the process of consolidation is
complete.

The materials composing the retaining apparatus consist of oakum,
bandages, and splints, with an agglutinating compound which forms a
species of cement by which the different constituents are blended into
a consistent mass to be spread upon the surface covering the locality
of the fracture. Its components are black pitch, rosin, and Venice tur-
pentine, blended by heat. The dressing maybe applied directly to the
skin, or a covering of thin linen may be interposed. A putty made
with powdered chalk and the white of ag^ is recommended for small
animals, though a mixtiire of sugar of lead and buint alum with the
albumen is preferred by others. Another formula is spirits of camphor,
Goulard's extract and albumen. Another recommendation is to saturate
the oakum and bandages with an adhesive solution formed with gum
arable, dextrine, flour paste, or starch. This is advised particularly

303

for small animals. Dextrine mixed, while warm, with burnt alum and
alcohol cools and solidities into a stony consistency, and is preferable to
plaster of Paris, which Is less friable and has less solidity, besides being
heavier and requiring constant additions as it becomes older. Starch
and plaster of Paris form another good compound.

In applying the dressing the leg is usually padded with a cushion of
oakum, thick and soft enough to equalize the irregularities of the sur-
face and to form a bedding for the protection of the skin from chafing.
Over this the splints are placed. The material for these is, variously,
pasteboard, thin wood, bark, laths, gutta percha, strips of thin metal,
as tin or perhaps sheet iron. These should be of sufficient length not
only to cover the region of the fracture, but to extend sufficiently
above and below to render the immobility more complete than in the
surrounding joints. The splints, again, are covered with cloth ban-
dages, linen i^referably, soaked in a glutinous moisture. These ban-
dages are to be carefully applied, with a perfect condition of lightness.
They are usually made to embrace the entire length of the leg, in order
to avoid the possibility of interference with the circulation of the ex-
tremity, as well as for the prevention of chafing. They should be rolled
from the lower part of the leg upwards, aud carefully secured against
loosening. In some instances suspensory bandages are recommended,
but excepting for small animals our experience does not justify a con-
currence in the recommendation.

These permanent dressings always need careful watching with refer-
ence to their immediate effect upon the region they cover, especially
during the first days succeeding that of their application. Any mani-
festation of pain, or any appearance of swelhng above or below, or any
odor suggestive of suppuration should excite suspicion, and a thorough
investigation should follow without delay. TLe removal of the dress-
ing should be performed with great care, aud especially so if time enough
has elapsed since its application to allow of a probability of a com-
mencement of the healing process or the existence of any points of con-
solidation. With the original dressing properly applied in its entirety
in the first instance, the entire extremity will have lost all chance of
mobility, and the repairing process may be permitted to proceed without
interference. There will be no necessity and there need be no haste for
removal or change except under such special conditions as have just
been mentioned, or when there is reason to judge that solidification has
become perfect, or for the comfort of the animal, or for its readaptatiou
in consequence of the atrophy of the limb from want of use. Owners
of animals are often tempted to remove a splint or bandage prema-
turely at the risk of in-oducing a second fracture in consequence of the
failure of the callus properly to consolidate.

The method of applying the splints which we have described refers
to the simple variety only. In a compound case the same rules must
be observed, with the modification of leaving openings through the

304

thickness of the dressing, opposite the wound, in order to permit the
escai)e of pus and to secure access to the points requiring the ai)phca-
tiou of treatment.

FRACTURE OF DIFFERENT BONES.

Of the cranial bones. — Fractures of this variety in large animals are
comparatively rare, though the records are not destitute of cases.
When they occur, it is as the result of external violence, the suiierers
being usually runaways which have come in collision with a wall or a
tree, or other obstruction; or it may occur in those which in pulling
upon the halter have broken it with a jerk and been thrown backwards,
as might occur in rearing too violently. Under these conditions we
have witnessed fractures of the parietal, of the frontal, and of the
sphenoid bones. These fractures may be of both the complete and the
incomplete kind, which indeed is usually the case with those of the flat
bones, and they are liable to be complicated with lacerations of the
skin, in consequence of which they are easily brought under observa-
tion. But when the fact is otherwise and the skin is intact, the diag-
nosis becomes diificult. The incomplete variety may be unaccompanied
by any special symptoms, but in the complete kind one of the bony
plates may be so far detached as to press upon the cerebral substance
with sufficient force to produce serious nervous complications. When
the injury occurs at the base of the cranium hemorrhage may be looked
for, with paralytic symptoms, and when these are present the usual ter^
mination is death. It may still happen, however, that the symptoms
of an apparently very severe concussion may disappear, with the result
of an early and complete recovery, and the surgeon will therefore do
well to avoid undue precipitation in venturing upon a prognosis. In
fractures of the orbital or the zygomatic bones the danger is less press-
ing than with injuries otherwise located about the head. The treatment
of cranial fractures is simple, though involving the best skill of the
experienced surgeon. When incomplete, hardly any interference is
needed ; even plain bandaging may usually be dispensed with. In the
complete variety the danger to be combated is compression of the
brain, and attention to this indication must not be delayed. The means
to be employed are the trephining of the skull over the seat of the frac-
ture, and the elevation of the depressed bone or the removal of the
portion which is causing the trouble. Fragments of bone in comminu-
ted cases, bony exfoliations, collections of fluid, or even protruding
portions of the brain substance must be carefully cleansed away, and a
simple bandage so applied as to facilitate the application of subsequent
dressings.

Fractures of the bones of the face. — In respect to their origin — usually
traumatic— these injuries rank with the preceding, and are commonly of
the incomplete variety. They may easily be overlooked and may even
sometimes escape recognition until the reparative process has been well

305

establislied and the discovery of the wound becomes due to the promi.
nence caused by the prevseuce of the provisional callus which marks its
cure. When the fracture is complete it will be marked by local de-
formity, mobility of the fragments, and crepitation. Nasal hemor-
rhage, roaring, frequent sneezing, loosening or loss of teeth, difficulty
of mastication, and inflammation of the cavities of the sinuses are
varying complications of these accidents. The object of the treatment
should be the restoration of the depressed bones as nearly as possible
to their normal position, and their retention in place by protecting
splints, which should cover the entire facial region. And special pre-
cautious should be observed to prevent the patient from disturbing the
dressing by rubbing his head against surrounding objects, such as the
stall, the manger, the rack, etc. Clots of blood in the nasal passages
must be washed out, collections of pus must be removed from the
sinuses, and if the teeth are loosened and likely to fall out, they should
be removed. If roaring is threatened, tracheotomy is indicated.

Fractures of the jjremaxillary bone. — These are mentioned by conti-
nental authors. They are usually encountered in connection with frac-
tures of the nasal bone, and may take place either in the width or the
length of the bone.

The deformity of the upper lip, which is drawn sidewise in this lesion,
renders it easy of diagnosis. The abnormal mobility and the crepita-
tion, with the pain manifested by the patient when undergoing ex-
amination, are concurrent symptoms. Looseness of the teeth, abun-
dant salivation, and entire inability to grasp the food complete the
symptomatology of these accidents. In the treatment, splints of gutta
percba or leather are sometimes used, but they are of difficult applica-
tion. Our own judgment and practice are in favor of the union of the
bones by means of metallic sutures.

The lower jaw.— A fracture here is not an injury of infrequent oc-
currence. It involves the body of the bone, at its symphysis, or back
of it, and includes one or both of its branches, either more or less for-
ward, or at the posterior part, near the temporo maxillary articulation,
at the coronoid ijrocess.

Falls, bloNVS, or other external violence, or powerful muscular con-
tractions during the use of the speculum, may be mentioned among
the causes of this lesion. The fracture of the neck and of the branches
in front of the cheeks causes the lower jaw, the true dental arch, to
drop, without the ability to raise it again to the upper, and the result
is a peculiar and characteristic physiognomy. The prehension and
mastication of food become impossible ; there is an abundant escape oi
fetid and sometimes bloody saliva, especially if the gums have been
wounded ; there is excessive mobility of the lower end of the jawbone;
and there is crepitation, and frequently paralysis of the under lip. But
although the aspect of an animal suffering with a complete and often
compound and comminuted fracture of the submaxilla presents at times
11035 20

306

a frigbtfiil spectacle, the prognosis of the case is comparatively sim-
pie, aud recovery usually only a question of time. Tlie severity of
the lesion corresponds in degree with that of the violence to which it
is due, the degree of simplicity or the amount of complication, and
with the situation of the wound. It is simple when at the symphysis,
but becomes more serious when it affects one of the branches, to be
again aggravated when both arc involved. Fractiirc of the coronoid
process becomes important principally as an evidence of the existence
of a morbid diathesis, such as osteo-porosis, or the like.

The particular seat of the injury, v/ith its special features, will of
course determine the treatment. For a simple fracture without dis-
l^lacement, provided there is no laceration of the periosteum, an ordi-
nary supporting bandage will usually be sufficient. But when there is
displacement the reduction of the fracture must first be accomplished,
and for this special splints are necessary. lu a fracture of the sym-
physis or of the branches the adjustment of the fragments by securing
them with metallic sutures is the first step necessary, to be followed by
the application of supports, consisting of splints of leather or sheets
of metal, the entire front of the head being then covered with bandages
l)repared with adhesive mixtures. During the entire course of treat-
ment a special method of feeding becomes necessary. The inability of
the patient to appreciate the situation of course necessitates a resort
to an artificial mode of introducing thenecessary food into his otomach,
and it is accomplished by forcing between the commissures of the lips,
in a liquid form, by means of a syringe, the milk or nutritive gruels
selected for his sustenance, until the consolidation is sufficiently ad-
vanced to permit the ingestion of food of a more solid consistency. The
callus will usually be sufficiently hardened in two or three weeks to al-
low of a change of diet to mashes of cut hay and scalded grain, until
the removal of the dressing restores him to his old habit of mastication-

FracUues ofvertehra\ — These are not very common, but when they do
occur the bones most frequently injured are those of the back and loins.
The ordinary causes of fracture are responsible here as elsewhere, such
as heavy blows on the spinal column, severe falls while conveying heavy
loads, and especially violent efforts in resisting the process of casting.
Although occurring more or less frequently under the latter circum-
stances, the accident is not always attributable to carelessness or error
in the management. It may, of course, sometimes result from such a
cause as a badly prepared bed, or the accidental presence of a hard
body concealed in the straw, or to a heavy fall when the movements of
the patient have not been sufficiently controlled by an effective appa-
ratus and its skillful adaptat-on, but it is quite as likely to be caused by
the violent resistance and the consequent powerful muscular contrac-
tion by the frightened patient. The simple fact of the overarching of
the vertebral column, with excessive pressure against it from the intes-
tinal mass, owing to the spasmodic action of the abdominal muscles,

307

may account for it, and so also may the struggles of the animal to
escape from the restraint of the hobbles while frantic under the pain of
an operation without auiesthesia. In these cases the fracture usually
occurs in the body or the annular part, or both, of the posterior dorsal
or the anterior lumbar vertebra. When the transverse i)rocesses of
the last-named bones are injured, it is probably iu consequence of the
heavy concussion incident to striking the ground when cast. The diag-
nosis of a fracture of the body of a vertebra is not always easy, csi^e-
ciall3" when quite recent, and more especially when there is no accom-
j)anyiug displacement. Tliere are certain peculiar signs accompanying
the occurrence of the accident ^^vhile an operation is in progress which
should at once excite the suspicion of the surgeon. In the midst of a
violent struggle the patient becomes suddenly quiet ; the movement of
a sharp instrument which at first excited his resistance fails to give
rise to any further evidence of sensation ; perhaps a general trembling,
lasting for a few minutes, will follow, succeeded by a cold, profuse per-
spiration, particularly between the hind legs, and frequently there will
be micturition and defecation. Careful examination of the vertebral
column may then detect a slight depression or irregularity iu the direc-
tion of the spine, and there may be a diminution or loss of sensation in
the posterior part of the trunk while the anterior i:)ortion continues to
be as sensitive as before. In making an attempt to get upon his feet,
however, upon the removal of the hobbles, only the fore part of the
body will respond to the effort, a degree of paraplegia being present,
and while the head, neck, and fore part of the body will be raised, the
hind quarters and hind legs will remain inert. The animal may per-
haps succeed in rising and jn^obably maj' be removed to his stall, but
the displacement of the bone will follow, converting the fracture into
one of the complete kind, either through the exertion of walking or by
a renewed attempt to rise after another fall, before reaching his stall.
By this time the i)aralysis is complete, and the extension of the menin-
gitis which has become established is a consummation soon reached.

To say that the prognosis of fracture of the body of the vertebrae is
always serious is to speak very mildly. It were better perhaps to say
that occasionally a case may recover. Fractures of the transverse pro-
cesses are less serious.

Instead of stating the indication in this class of cases, as if assuming
them to be medicable, the question naturally becomes rather a query:
"Can any treatment be recommended in a fracture of the body of a
vertebra?" The only indication iu such a case, in our opinion, is to
reach the true diagnosis in the shortest jjossible time and to act ac-
cordingly. If there is displacement, and the existence of serious le-
sions may be inferred from the nervous symptoms, the destruction of
the suffering animal appears to suggest itself as the one conclusion in
which considerations of policy, humanity, and science at once unite.

If, however, it is fairly evident that no displacement exists ; that

308

pressure upon the spinal cord is not yet present; that the animal with a
little assistance is able to rise upon his feet and to walk a short dis-
tance, it may be well to experiment upon the case to the extent of
placing the patient in the most favorable circumstances for recovery,
and allow nature to operate without further interference. This may be
accomplished by securing immobility of the whole body as much as
possible, and especially of the suspected region, by placing the patient
in slings, in a stall sufficiently narrow to preclude lateral motion, and
covering the loins with a thick coat of agglutinative mixture, watch
and wait for developments.

Fracture of the ribs. — The different regions of the chest are not equally
exposed to the violence to which fractures of tbe ribs are due, and
they are therefore either more common or more easily discovered, during
life, at some points than at others. The more exposed regions are the
middle and the posterior, while the front is largely covered and de-
fended by the shoulder. A single rib may be the seat of fracture, or a
number may be involved, and there may be injuries on both sides of
the chest at the same time. It may take place lengthwise, in any part
of the bone, though the middle, being the most exposed, is the most
frequently hurt. Incomplete fractures are usually lengthwise, involv-
ing a portion only of the thickness or one or other of tbe surfaces.
The complete kind may be either transverse or oblique, and are most
commonly denticulated. The fracture may be comminuted, and a single
bone may show one of the complete and one of the incomplete kind, at
different points. The extent of surface presented by the thoracic re-
gion, with its complete exposure at all points, explains the liability of
the ribs to suffer from all the forms of external violence.

In many instances fractures of these bones continue undiscovered,
especially the incomplete variety, without displacement, though the
evidences of local pain, a certain amount of swelling and a degree of
disturbance of the respiration, if noticed during the examination of a
patient, may suggest a suspicion of their existence. Abnormal mobility
and crepitation are difficult of detection, even when i^resenl, and they
are not always present. When there is displacement the deformity
which it occasions will betray the fact, and when such an injury exists
the surgeon will of course become vigilant in view of possible and
probable complications of thoracic trouble, and jirepare himself for an
encounter with a case of traumatic pleuritis or pneumonia. Fatal in-
juries of the heart are recorded. Subcutaneous emphysema is a com-
mon accompaniment of broken ribs, and we recall the death from this
cause of a patient of our own, which had suffered a fracture of two
ribs in the region of the withers under the cartilages of the shoulder,
and of which the diagnosis was only made after the fatal ending of
the case.

These hurts are not often of a very serious character, though the
union is never as solid and complete as in other fractures, the callus

309

being usually imperfect and of a fibrous character, with an amphiar-
throsis formation. S till, complications occur which may impart grav-
ity to the prognosis.

Fractures with but a slight or no displacement need no redaction.
All that is necessary is a simple application of a blistering nature as a
preventive of inflammation or for its subjugation when present, and in
order to excite an exudation which will tend to aid in the support and
immobilization of the parts. At times, however, a better effect is ob-
tained by the application of a bandage placed firmly around the chest,
although, while this limits the motion of the ribs, it is ai)t to render
the respiration more labored.

If there is displacement with much accompanying pain and evident
irritation of the lungs, the fracture must be reduced without delay.
The means of effecting this vary according to whether the displacement
is outwards or inwards. In the first case the bone may be straightened
by pressure from without, while in the second the end of the bone must
be raised by a lever, for the introduction of which a small incision
through the skin and intercostal spaces will be necessary. When coap-
tation has been affected it must be retained by the external application
of adhesive mixture, with splints and bandages around the chest.

Fractures of the hones of the pelvis will be considered under their sep-
arate denominations, as those of the sacrum and the os imiominata, or
hip, which includes the subdivisions of the ilium, the i)ubes, and the
ischium.

The sacrum. — Fractures of this bone are rarely met with among sol-
ipeds. Among cattle, however, it is of common occurrence, beiug at-
tributed not only to the usual varieties of violence, as blows and other
external hurts, but to the act of coition, and to violent efforts in partu-
rition. It is generally of the transverse kind, and may be recognized
by the deformity which it occasions. This is due to the dropj^ing of the
bone, with a change in its direction and a lower attachment of the tail,
which also becomes more or less paralyzed. The natural and spontane-
ous relief which usually interposes in these cases has doubtless been
observed by the extensive cattle breeders of the West, and their prac-
tice and example fully establishes the inutility of interference. Still,
cases may occur in which reduction may be indicated, and it then
becomes a matter of no difficulty. It is effected by the introduction of
a round, smooth piece of wood into the rectum as far as the fragment of
bone, and using it as a lever, resting it ujion another as a fulcrum placed
under it outside. The bone haviug been thus returned may be kex)t in
place by theordinai-y external means in use.

The OS innominata. — Fractures of the ilium may be observed either at
the angle of the hip or at the neck of the bone ; those of the pubes may
take place at the symphysis, or in the body of the bon« ; t^iose of the
ischium on the floor of the bone, or at its posterior external angle. Or,
again, the fracture may involve all three of these constituent parts of

310

thebip bone by having its situation in tbe articular cavity — tlie acetabu-
lum by which it joins the femur or thigh bone.

Some of these fractures are easily rccoguizetl, while others are diffi-
cult to identify. The ordinary deformity which characterizes a fracture
of the external angle of the ilium, its dropping and the diminution of
that side of the hip in width, unite in indicating the existence of the
condition expressed by the term '■ hipped." But an incomplete fracture,
or one that is complete without displacement, or even one with dis-
lilacement, often demands the closest scrutiny for its disoovery. The
lameness may be well marked, and an animal may show but little ap-
pearance of it while walking, but upon being urged into a trot will
manifest it more and mere, until presently he will cease to use the
crippled limb altogether, and perform his traveling entirely on three legs.
The acute character of the lameness will vary iu degree as the seat
of the lesiou approximates the acetabulum. In walking, the motion at
the hip is verj^ limited, and the leg is dragged, while at rest it is re-
lieved from bearing its share in sustaining the body. An intelligent
opinion and correct conclusion will depend largely upon a knowledge
of the history of the case, and while in some instances that will be but
a report of the common etiology of fractures, such as blows, hurts, and
other external violence, the simple fact of a fall may furnish iu a single
word a satisfactory solution of the whole matter.

"With the exception of the deformity of the ilium in a fracture of it3
external angle, and unless there have been a serious laceration of tis-
sues and infiltration of blood, or excessive displacement, there are no
very definite external symptoms in a case of a fracture of the hip bone.
There is one, however, which, in a majority of cases, will not fail — it is
crepitation. This evidence is attainable by both external and internal
examination — by manipulation of the gluteal surface and by rectal
taxis. Very often a lateral motion, or balancing of the hinder i)arts by
pressing the body from one side to the other, will be sufiQcient to ren-
der the crepitation more distinct — a slight sensation of grating, which
may be i^erceived even through the thick coating of muscle which
covers the bone— and the sensation may not only be felt, but to the ear
of the expert may even become audible. This external manifestation
is, however, not always sufficient in itself, and should always be asso-
ciated with the rectal taxis for corroboration. It is true that this may
fail to add to the evidence of fracture, but till then the simjjle testimony
aifbrded by the detection of crepitation from the surface, though a
strong confirmatory point, is scarcely sufficiently absolute to establish
more than a reasonable probability or strong suspicion in the case.

In addition to the fiict that the rectal examination brings the explor-
ing hand of the surgeon into near proximity to the desired point of
search, and to an accurate knowledge of thesituatiou of parts, both ^ro
and con as respects his own views, there is another advantage attend-
ant upon it which is well entitled to appreciation. ThiG is the facility

311

with which he can avail himself of the cooperation of an assistant, who
can aid him by manipulating the implicated limb and placing it in va-
rious positions, so far as the patient will permit, while the surgeon
himself is making explorations and studying the eflect from within.
By this method he can hardly fail to ascertain the character of the
fracture and the condition of the bony ends. By the rectal taxis, as if
with eyes in the finger cuds, he will "see" what is the extent of the
fracture of the ilium or of the neck of that bone; to what part of the
central portion of the bone (the acetabulum) it reaches; whether this
is free from disease or not, and in what location on the floor of the
pelvis the lesion is situated. We have frequently, by this method, been
able to detect a fracture at the symphysis, which from its history and
symptoms and an external examination, could only have been guessed at.

Yet, with all its advantages, the rectal examination is not always
necessary, as, for example, when tlie fracture is at the posterior and
external angle of the ischium, when by friction of the bony ends the
surgeon may discern the crepitation without it.

Every variety of complication, including muscular lacerations with
the formation of deep abscesses and injuries to the organs of the pelvic
cavity, the bladder, the rectum, and the uterus, may bo associated
with fractures of the hip bone.

The prognosis of these lesions will necessarily vary considerably. A
fracture of the most superficial part of the bone of the ilium or of the
ischium, especially where there is little displacement, will unite rapidly,
leaving a comparatively sound animal often quite free from subsequent
lameness. But if there is much displacement, only a ligamentous union
will take place, with much deformity and more or less irregularity in
the gait. Other fractures may be followed b^^ complete disability of
the patient, as, for example, when the cotyloid cavity is involved, or
when the reparatory process has left bony deposits in the pelvic cavity
at the seat of the union, which ma^^, with the female, interfere with the
steps of parturition, or induce some local paralysis by pressure upon
the nerves which govern the muscles of the hind legs. This is a con-
dition not infrequently observed when the callus has been formed on
the floor of the pelvis near the obturator foramen, pressing upon the
course or involving the obturator nerve.

The treatment of all fractures of the hip bone should, in our estima-
tion, be of the simplest kind. Rendered comparatively immovable by
the thickness of the muscles by which the region is enveloped, one es-
sential indication suggests itself, and that is, to place the animal in a
position which, as far as possible, will be fixed and jiermanent. For
the accomplishment of this purpose the best measure, as we consider it,
is to i)lace him in a stall of just sufficient width to admit him, and to
apply a set of slings snugly, but comfortably. This will fulfill the essen-
tial conditions of recovery, rest, and immobility. Blistering applica-
tions would be injurious, though the adhesive mixture might provo in
some degree beneficial.

312

The iniiiiinuin period allowable for solid union in a fractured hip is,
in our judgment, two months, and we have known cases in which that
was too short a time.

As we have before said, there may be cases in which the treatment
for fracture at the floor of the pelvis has been followed by symptoms of
l^artial paral^^sis, the animal, when lying down, being unable to regain
his feet, but moving freely when i)4aced in an upright position. This
condition is due to the interference of the callus with the functions of
the obturator nerve, which it jiresses upon or surrounds. We feel war-
ranted by our experience in similar cases in cautioning owners of horses
in this condition to exercise due patience, and to avoid a premature
sentence of condemnation against their invalid servants ; they are not
all irrecoverably paralytic. With alternations of moderate exercise, rest
in the slings, and the eflect of time while the natural process of absorp-
tion is taking effect ui^on the callus, with other elements of change that
may be so operating, the horse may in due time become able to once
more earn his subsistence and serve his master.

Fracture of the scapula. — This bone is seldom fractured, its compara-
tive exemption being due to its free mobility and the protection it re-
ceives from the superimposed soft tissues. Only direct and powerful
causes are sufiBcieut to effect the injury, and when it occurs the large
rather than the smaller animals are the subjects. The causes are heavy
blows or kicks, and violent collisions with unyielding objects. Those
which are occasioned by falls are generally at the neck of the bone, and
of the transverse and comminuted varieties.

The diagnosis is not always easy. The symptoms are inability to rest
the leg on the ground and to carry weights, and they are present in
various degrees from slight to severe The leg rests upon the toe and
seems shortened, and locomotion is performed by jumps. Moving the
leg while examining it and raising the foot for inspection seem to pro-
duce much pain and cause the animal to rear. Crepitation is readily
felt with the hand upon the shoulder when the leg is moved. If the
fracture occurs in the upper part of the bone, overlapping of the frag-
ments and displacement will be considerable.

The fracture of this bone is usually classed among the more serious
accidents, though cases may occur which are followed by recovery with-
out very serious ultimate results, especially when the seat of the injury
is at some of the upper angles of the bone, or about the acromion crest.
But if the neck and the joint are the parts involved, complications are
apt to be present which are likely to disable the animal for life.

If there is no disi)lacement a simple adhesive dressing, to strengthen
and immobilize the ijarts, will be sufficient. A coat of black pitch dis-
solved with wax and Venice turpentine, and kept in place over the
region with oakum or linen bands, will be all the treatment required,
especially if the animal is kept quiet in the slings.

Displacement cannot be remedied, and reduction is next to impos-

313

sible. Sometimes an iron plate is applied over the parts and retained
by bandages, as in the dressing of Bourgelat ; and this may be advan-
tageously replaced by a pad of thick leather. In smaller animals the
parts are retained by figure 8 bandages, embracing both the normal
and the diseased shoulders, crossing each other in the axilla and cov-
ered with a coating of adhesive mixture.

Fractures of the humerus. — These are more common in small than in
large animals, and are always the result of external traumatism. They
are generally very oblique, are often comminuted, and though more
usually involving the shaft of the bone will in some cases extend to
the upper end and into the articular head. There is ordinarily con-
siderable displacement in consequence of the overlapping of the broken
ends of the bone, and this, of course, causes more or less shortening of
the limb. There will also be swelling, with difficulty of locomotion,
and crepitation will be easy of detection. This fracture is always a
serious damage to the patient, leaving him with a permanently short-
ened limb and a remediless, lifelong lameness.

If treatment is determined on it will consist in the reduction of the
fracture by means of extension and counter extension, and in order to
accomplish this the animal must be thrown. If successful in the reduc-
tion, then follows the application and adjustment of the apparatus of
retention, which must needs be of the most perfect and efficient kind.
And finally, this, however skillfully contrived and carefully adapted,
will often fail to effect any good purpose whatever.

Fracture of the forearm.— A fracture in this region may also involve
the radius or the cubitus, the first being broken at times in its upper
portion above the radio-cubital arch at the olecranon. If the fracture
occurs at any part of the forearm from the radio-cubital arch down to
the knee, it may involve either the radius alone or the radius and the
cubitus, which are there intimately united.

Besides having the same etiology with most of the fractures, those of
the forearm are, nevertheless, more commonly due to kicks from other
animals, especially when crowded together in large numbers in insuffi-
cient space. It is a matter of observation that, under these circum-
stances, fractures of the incomplete kind are those which occur on the
inside of the leg, the bone being in that region almost entirely subcu-
taneous, while those of the complete class are either oblique or trans-
verse. The least common are the longitudinal, in the long axis of the
bone.

This variety of fracture is easily recognized by the appearance of the
leg and the different changes it undergoes. There is inability to use
the limb 5 impossibility of locomotion; mobility below the injury; the
ready detection of crepitation — in a word, the assemblage of all the
signs and symptoms which have been already considered as associated
with the history of broken bones.
The fracture of the cubitus alone, principally above the radio-cubital

314

arch, may be ascertained by the aggravated lameness, the excessive
soreness on pressure, and perhaps a certain increase of motion, with a
very slight crepitation if tested for in the usual way. Displacement
is not likely to take place except when it is well up towards the ole-
cranon or its tuberosity, the upper segment of the bone being in that
case likely to be drawn upwards. For a simple fracture of this region
there exists a fair chance of recovery, but in a case of the compound
and comminuted class there is less ground for a favorable prognosis,
especially if the elbow joint has sufi'ered injury. A fracture of the
cubitus alone is not of serious importance, except when the same con-
ditions prevail. A fracture of the olecranon is less amenable to treat-
ment, and promises little better than a ligamentous union.

Considering all the various conditions involving the nature and ex-
tent of these lesions, the position and direction of the bones of the fore-
arm are such as to render the chances for recovery from fracture as
among the best. The reduction, by extension and counter extension ;
the maintenance of the coaptation of the segments; the adaptation
of the dressing by splints, oakum, and agglutinative mixtures; in
a word, all the details of treatment may be here fulfilled with a
degree of facility and precision not attainable in any other part of
the organism. An important if not an essential point, however,
must be emphasized in regard to the splints. Whether these are of
metal, wood, or other material, they should reach from the elbow joint
to the ground, and should be placed on the posterior face and on both
sides of the leg. This is then to be so confined in a properly constructed
box as to preclude all possibility of motion, while yet it must sustain a
certain portion of the weight of the body. The iron splint (represented
in Plate XXVII) recommended by Jiourgelet is designed for fractures
of the forearm, of the knee, and of the cannon bone, and will prove to
be an appliance of great value. For small animals our preference is for
an external covering of gutta percha, embracing the entire leg. A
sheet of this substance of suitable thickness, according to the size of the
animal, softened in lukewarm water, is, when sufficiently pliable, molded
on the outside of the leg, and when suddenly hardened by the applica-
tion of cold water forms a complete casing sufficiently rigid to resist all
motion. Patients treated in this manner have been able to use the
limb freely, without pain, immediately after the application' of the
dressing. The removal of the splint is easily effected by cutting it
away, either wholly or in sections, after softening it by immersiug the
leg in a warm bath.

Fracture of the knee. — This accident, happily, is of rare occurrence,
but when it takes place is of a severe character, being of the commi-
nuted kind, and always accompanied by synovitis, with disease of the
joint, requiring for treatment therefor, besides the indication of perfect
immobility of the joint, that of open joints, synovitis, and arthritis.

Fracture of the femur. — The protection which this bone receives from

315

the large mass of mnscles in which it is enveloped does not suffice to
invest it with immunity in regard to fractures. It contributes its share
to the list of accidents of this description, sometimes in consequence of
external violence and sometimes as the result of muscular contraction ;
sometimes it takes place at the upper extremity of the bone ; sometimes
at the lower; sometimes at the head, when the condyles become impli-
cated; but it is principally found in the body or diaphysis. The frac-
ture may be of any of the ordinary forms, simple or compouud, complete
or incomplete, transverse or oblique, etc. A case of the commiuuted
variety is recorded in which eighty-five fragments of bone were counted
and removed.

The thickness of the muscular covering sometimes renders the diag-
nosis difficult by interfering with the manipulation, but the crepitation
test is readily available even when the swelling is considerable and
which is likely to be the case as the result of the interstitial hemorrhage
which naturally follows the laceration of the blood vessels of the region
involved. If the fracture is at the neck of the bone the muscles of that
region Ctho gluteal) are firmly contracted and the leg seems to h^ short-
ened in consequence. Locomotion is impossible. Crepitation may in
some cases be discerned by rectal examination, with one hand resting
over the coxofemoral (hip) articulation. Fractures of the tuberosities
of the upper end of the bone, the great trochanter, may be identified
by the deformity, the swelling, the impossibility of rotation, and the
dragging of the leg in walkiug. Fracture of the body is always accom-
panied by displacement, and as a consequence a shortening of the leg,
which is carried forward. The lameness is excessive, the foot beiug
moved, both when raising it from the ground and when setting it down,
very timidly and cautiously. The manipulations for the discovery of
crepitation always cause much pain. Lesions of the lower end of the
bone are more difficult to diagnosticate with certainty, though the
manifestation of pain while making heavy pressure upon the condyles
will be so marked that only crepitation will be needed to turn a sus-
picion into a certainty.

The question as to treatment in fractures of this description lesolves
itself into the querj- whether any treatment can be suggested that can
avail anything practically as a curative measure, whether, upon the
hyj)othesis of reduction as an accomplished fact, any permanent or effi-
cient device as a means of retention is within the scope of human
ingenuity. If the reduction were successfully iierformecl would it be
possible to keep the parts in place by any known means at our dis-
posal? At the best the most favorable result that could be anticipated
would be a reunion of the fragments, with a considerable shortening of
the bone, and a helpless, limping, crippled animal to remind us that for
human achievement there is a " thus far, and no farther."

In small animals, however, attempts at treatment are justifiable, and we
are convinced that in many cases of difficulty in the application of splints

316

and bandages a patient may be placed iu a condition of undisturbed
quiet and left to the processes of nature for " treatment " as safely and
with as good an assurance of a favorable result as if lie had been sub-
jected to the most heroic secundum artem doctoring known to science.
As a case in point, we may mention the case of a pregnant bitch which
suffered a fracture of the upper end of the femur by being run over by
a light wagon. Her " treatment" consisted in being tied up in a large
box and let alone. In due time she was delivered of a family of pup-
pies, and in three weeks she was running in the streets, limping very
slightly, and nothing the worse for her accident.

Fracture of the patella. — This, fortunately, is a rare accident and can
only result from direct violence, as a kick or other blow. The lameness
which follows it is accompanied with enormous tumefaction of the joint
and disease of the articulation. The prognosis is unavoidably adverse,
destruction being the only termination of an incurable and very pain-
ful injury.

Fractures of the tibia are probably' more frequently encountered
than any others among the class of accidents we are considering. As
with injuries of the forearm of a like character, they may be complete
or incomplete ; the former when the bone is broken in the middle or at
the extremities, and transverse, oblique, or longitudinal. The incom-
plete kind are more common in this bone than in any other.

Complete fractures are easy to recognize, either with or without dis-
placement. The animal is very lame, and the leg is either dragged or
held up clear from the ground by flexion at the stifle, while the lower
part hangs down. Carrying weight or moving backwards is impossi-
ble. There is excessive mobility below the fracture and well-marked
crepitation. If there is much displacement, as in an oblique fracture,
there will be considerable shortening of the leg.

While incomplete fractures can not be recognized in the tibia with
any greater degree of certainty than in any other bone, there are some
facts associated with them by which a diagnosis may be justified. The
hypothetical history of a case may serve as an illustration :

An animal has received an injury by a blow or a kick on the inside of
the bone, perhaps without showing any mark. Becoming very lame
immediately afterwards, he is allowed a few days' rest. Being then
taken out again, he seems to have recovered his soundness, but within
a day or two he betrays a little soreness, and this increasing he be-
comes very lame again, to be furloughed once more, with the result
of a temporary improvement, and again a return to labor and again
a relapse of the lameness; and this alternation seems to be the rule.
The leg being now carefully examined, a local periostitis is readily dis-
covered at the point of the injury, the part being warm, swollen, and
painful. What further jiroof is necessary ? Is it not evident that a
fracture has occurred, first superficial — a mere split in the bony struc-
ture which, fortunately, has been discovered betbre some extra exertion

317

or a casual misstep had developed it into one of the complete kind,
possibly with complications 1 What other inference can such a series
of symptoms thus repeated establish ?

The prognosis of fracture of the tibia must, as a rule, be unfavorable.
The difficulty of obtaining a union without shortening and consequently
without lameness, is proof of the futility of ordinary attempts at treat-
ment. But though this may be true in respect to fractures of the com-
plete kind, it is not necessarily so with the incomplete variety, and with
this class the simple treatment of the slings is all that is necessary to
secure consolidation. A few weeks of this confinement will be suffi-
cient.

With dogs and other small animals there are cases which may be
successfully treated. If the necessary dressings can be successfully ap-
plied and retained, a cure will follow.

Fractures of the lioch. — Injuries of the astragalus have been recorded
which had a fatal termination. Fractures of the os calcis have also been
observed, but never with a favorable prognosis, and attempts to induce
recovery have, as might have been anticipated, proved futile.

Fractures of the cannon hones. — Whether these occur in the fore or
hind legs they appear either in the body or near their extremities. If
in the body, as a rule the three metacarpal or metatarsal are also af-
fected, and the fracture is generally transverse and oblique, and often
compound, one of the segments protruding sharply through the skin.
Having only the skin for a covering the diagnosis is easy. There is no
displacement, but excessive mobility, crepitation, inability to sustain
weight, and the leg is kept off the ground by the flexion of the upper'

joint.

No region of the body affords better facilities for the application of
treatment, and the prognosis is, on this account, usually favorable.
We recall a case, however, which proved fatal, though under exceptional
circumstances. The patient was a valuable stallion of highly nervous
organization, with a compound fracture of one of the cannon bones, and
his unconquerable resistance to treatment, excited by the intense pain
of the wound, precluded all chance of recovery, and ultimately caused
his death from nervous fever.

The general form of treatment for these lesions will not differ from
that which has been already indicated for other fractures. Reduction,
sometimes necessitating the casting of the patient; coaptation, com-
paratively easy by reason of the subcutaneous situation of the bone ;
retention, by means of splints and bandages — applied on both sides of
the region, and reaching to the ground as in fractures of the forearm —
these are always indicated. We have obtained excellent results by the
use of a mold of thick gutta percha, composed of two sections and
made to surround the entire lower part of the leg as in an inflexible
case.

Fracture of the first phalanx. — The hinder extremity is more liable

318

than the fore to this injury. It is usually the result of a violent effort,
or of a sudden misstep or twisting of the leg, and may be transverse,
or, as has usually been the case in our experience, longitudinal, extend-
ing from the upper articular surface down to the center of the bone, and
generally oblique and often comminuted. The symptoms are the swell-
ing and tenderness of the region, possibly crepitation ; a certain abnor-
mal mobility; an excessive degree of lameness, and in some instances
a dropping back of the fetlock, with perhaps a straightened or upright
condition of the pastern.

The difficulty of reduction and coaptation in this accident, and the
probability of bony deposits, as of ringbones, resulting in lameness,
are circumstances which tend to discourage a favorable prognosis.

The treatment is that which has been recommended for all fractures,
as far as it can be applied. The iron splint which has been mentioned
gives excellent results in many instances, but if the fracture is incom-
plete and without displacement a form of treatment less energetic and
severe should be attempted. One case is within our knowledge in
which the owner of an injured horse lost his property by his refusal to
subject the animal to treatment, the x>ost mortem revealing only a simple
fracture with very slight displacement.

Fractures of the coronet. — Though these are generally of the com-
minuted kind, there are often conditions associated with them which
justify the surgeon in attempting their treatment. Though crepitation
is not always easy to detect, the excessive lameness, the soreness on
pressure, the inability to carry weight, the difficulty experienced in
raising the foot, all these suggest, as the solution of the question of
diagnosis, the fracture of the coronet, with the accompanying realiza-
tion of the fact that there is yet, by reason of the situation of the mem-
ber, immobilized as it is by its structure and its surroundings, room
left for a not unfavorable prognosis. Only a slight manipulation will
be needed in the treatment of this lesion. To render the immobility of
the region more fixed, to support the bones in their position by baud-
aging, and to establish forced immobility of the entire body with the
slings is usually all that is required. Ringbone, being a common se-
quela of the reparative process, must receive due attention subsequently.
One of the severest complications likely to be encountered is anchylosis.

Fractures of the os pedis. — Though these lesions are not of very rare
occurrence their recognition is not easy, and there is more of specula-
tion than of certainty pertaining to their diagnosis. The animal is
very lame, and, as much as possible, spares the injured foot, sometimes
resting it upon the toe alone and sometimes not at all. The foot is
very tender, and the exploring pincers of the examining surgeon causes
much pain. There is nothing to encourage a favorable prognosis, and
a not unusual termination is an anchylosis with either the navicular
bone or the coronet.

No method of treatment needs to be suggested here, the hoof i)er-

319

forming tbe office of retentiou unaided. Local treatment by batlis and
fomentations will do the rest. It may be months before there is any
mitigation of the lameness.

Fracture of the sesamoid hones. — This lesion has been considered by
veterinarians, erroneously, we think, one of rare occurrence. We be-
lieve it to be more frequent than has been supposed. Many observa.
tions and careful dissections have convinced us that fractures of these
little bones have often been mistaken for specific lesions of the numer-
ous ligaments that are implanted upon their superior and Inferior parts,
and which have been described as a " giving way " or " breaking down "
of these ligaments. In our 2^ost mortem examinations we have always
noted the fact that when the attachments of the ligaments were torn
from their bony connections minute fragments of bony structure were
also separated, though we have failed to detect any diseased process of
the fibrous tissue composing the ligamentous substance.

From whatever cause this lesioji may arise, it can hardly be consid-
ered as of a traumatic nature, no external violence having any apparent
agency in producing it, and it is our belief that it is due to a peculiar
degeneration or softening of the bones themselves, a theory which ac-
quires plausibility from the consideration of the spongy consistency of
the sesamoids. The disease is a peculiar one, and the suddenness with
which different feet are successively attacked, at short intervals and
without any obvious cause, seems to prove the existence of some latent
morbid cause which has been nnsuspectedly incubating. It is not pe-
culiar to any particular class of horses, nor to any special season of the
year, having fallen under our observation in each of the four seasons.
The general fact is reported in the history of a majority of cases that it
makes its appearance without premonition in animals which, after en-
joying a considerable period of rest, are first exercised or put to work,
though in point of fact it may manifest itself while the horse is still idle
in his stable. A hypothetical case, in illustration, will explain our
theory :

An animal which has been at rest in his stable is taken out to work
and it will be presently noticed that there is something unusual in his
movement. His gait is changed, and he travels with short, mincing
steps, without any of his accustomed ease and freedom. This may con-
tinue until his return to the stable, and then, after being placed in his
stall, he will be noticed shifting his weight from side to side and from
one leg to another, continuing the movement until rupture of the bony
structure takes place. But it may happen that the lameness in one or
more of the extremities, anterior or posterior, suddenly increases, and it
becomes evident that the rupture has taken place in consequence of a
misstep or a stumble while the horse is at work. Then, ui)on coming to
a standstill, he will be found with one or more of his toes turned up — he
is unable to place the affected foot flat on the ground. The fetlock has
dropped and the leg xests uxion this part, the skin of which may have

320

remained intact or may have been more or less extensively lacerated.
It seldom happens that more than one toe at a time will turn up, yet
still the lesion in one will be followed by its occurrence in another.
Commonly two feet of a biped, the anterior or posterior, are affected,
and we recall one case in which the two fore and one of the hind legs
were included at the same time. The accident, however, is quite as
likely to happen while the horse is at rest in his stall, and he may be
found in the morning standing on his fetlocks. One of the earliest of
the cases occurring in our own experience had been under our care for
several weeks for suspected disease of the fetlocks, the nature of which
had not been made out, when, apparently improved by the treatment
which he had undergone, the patient was taken out of the stable to be
walked a short distance into the countr3',but had little more than started
when he was called to a halt by the fracture of the sesamoids of both
fore legs.

While there are no positive premonitory symptoms known of these
fractures we believe that there are signs and symptoms which come
but little short of being so, and the appearance of which will always
iustify a strong suspicion of the truth of the case. These have been
indicated when referring to the soreness in standing, the short " mine,
iug" gait, and the tenderness betrayed when pressure is made over the
sesamoids on the sides of the fetlock, with others less tangible and
definable.

These injuries can never be accounted less than serious, and in our
judgment will never be other than fatal. If our theory of their pathol-
ogy is the correct one, and the cause of the lesions is truly the soften-
ing of the sesaraoidal bony structure and independent of any changes
in the ligamentous fibers, the possibility of a solid osseous union can
hardly be considered admissible.

In respect to the treatment to be recommended and instituted it can
only be employed with any rational hope of benefit duriug the incuba-
tion, and with th-s anticipatory purpose of prevention. It must be sug-
gested by a suspicion of the verities of the case, and applied before any
rupture has taken place. To prevent this and to antagonize the causes
which might precipitate the final catastrophe — the elevation of the
toes — resort must be had to the slings and to the application of firm
bandages or splints, perhaps of plaster of Paris, with a high shoe, as
about the only indications which science and nature are able to offer.
When the fracture is an occurred event, and the toes, one or more, are
turned up, any further resort to treatment will be futile.

DISEASES OF JOINTS.

Three classes of injury will be considered under this head. These
are, affections of the synovial sac; those of the joint structures, or of
the bones and their articular surfaces, and those forms of solution of
continuity known as dislocations or luxations.

321

Diseases of the synovial sacs. — Two forms of affection here present
themselves, one being the result of an abuornal secretion wliicli induces
a dropsical condition of the sac without any acute iuflammatory action,
while the other is characterized by excessive inflammatory symptoms,
with their modifications, constituting synovitis.

Synovial dropsies. — We have already considered in a general way tho
presence of these peculiar oil bags in the joints, and in some regions of the
legs where the passage of the tendons takes place, and have noticed the
similarity of structure and function of both the articular and the tendi-
nous biirscB, as well as the etiology of their injuries and their patholog-
ical history, and we now propose to treat of the affections of both.

Windgalls. — This name is given to the dilated bursae found at the
posterior part of the fetlock joint. They have their migin in a drop-
sical condition of the bursaj of the joint itself, and also of the tendon
which slides behind it, and are therefore further known by the desig-
nations of articular and tendinous.

They ai^pear in the form of soft and somewhat symmetrical tumors, of
varying dimensions, and generallj^ well defined in their circumference.
They are more or less tense, according to the amount of secretion they
contain, apparently becoming softer as the foot is raised and the fetlock
flexed. Usually they are painless and only cause lameness under cer-
tain conditions, as when they began to develop themselves under the
stimulus of inflammatory action, or when large enough to interfere with
the functions of the tendons, or again when they have undergone cer-
tain i)athological changes, such as calcification, which is among their
tendencies.

\Yindgalls may be attributed to external causes, such as severe labor
or strains resulting from heavy pulling, fast driving, or jumping, or
they may be among the sequela) of internal disorders and appear as re-
sultants of a pleuritic or pneumonic attack.

An unnecessary amount of anxiety is sometimes experienced respect-
ing these growths, with much questioning touching the expediency of
their removal, all of which might be spared, for while they constitute a
blemish their uusightliness will not hinder the usefulness of the animal,
and in any case they rarely fail to show themselves easily amenable to
treatm.ent.

When in their acute stage, and when the dropsical condition is not
excessive, pressure by bandages, slight alcoliolic frictions, sweating, the
use of liniments, or perhaps a stiff blister of the ordiuarj' kind will ac-
complish all that will be desired. It will subdue the inflammation and
abate the soreness, and perhaps if the animal is not too soon returned
to labor and exposed to the same causes by which they were before in-
duced, the excess of secretion will be absorbed and the walls of the sac
strengthened, and the windgall will disappear.

But if the inflammation has become chronic, and the enlargement has
been of considerable duration, the negative course will be the wiser one.
11035 21

322

If any benefit results from treatment it will be of only a transient kind,
the dilatation returning when the imtient is again subjected to labor,
and it will be a fortunate circumstance if inflammation has not super-
vened.

But notwithstanding the generally benignant nature of the tumor
there are exceptional cases, usually when it is probably undergoing cer-
tain pathological changes, which may result in lameness and disable
the animal, in which case surgical treatment will be indicated, especially
if repeated blisters have failed to improve the symptoms. Firing is
then a preeminent suggestion, and many a useful life has received a
new lease as the result of this operation timely performed. The opera-
tion, wbich consists in emptying the sac by means of punctures through
and through, made with a red-hot needle or wire, and the subsequent
injection into the cavity of certain irritating and alterative compounds,
designed to effect its closure by exciting adhesive inflammation, such
as tincture of iodine, may be commended; but they are all too active
and energetic in their effects and require too much special attention and
intelligent management to be trusted to any hands other than those of
an expert veterinarian.

Blood spavin and tJiorougJiinns.— The complicated arrangement of the
hock joint, and the powerful tendons which pass on the posterior part,
are lubricated with the product of secretion from one tendinous synovial
and several articular synovial sacs. One large articular sac contributes
to the lubrication of the shank bone (the tibia) and the bones of the
hock proper (the astragalus). The tendinous sac lies back of the artic-
ulation itself and extends upwards and downwards in the groove of that
joint through which the flexor tendons slide. The dilatation of this
articular synovial sac is what is denominated blood spavin, the term
thoroughpin being applied to the dilatation of the tendinous capsule.

The blood spavin is situated in front and a little inward of the hock;
the thoroughpin is found at the back and on the top of the hock. The
former is round, smootb, well defined, presenting on its outer surface,
running from below upwards, a vein which is more or less prominent as
the bursa is more or less dilated, and it is from this conspicuous blood
vessel that the tumor derives its name. The thoroughpin is also round
and smooth, but not so regularly formed, on each side and a little in
front of the tendons in that part of the hock known as the "hollows,"
immediately back of the posterior face of the tibia or shank bone.

In their general characteristics these tumors are similar to windgalls,
and one description of the origin, symptoms, pathological changes, and
treatment will serve for a>ll equally, except that it is possible for a blood
spavin to cause lameness, and thus to involve a verdict of unsoundness
in the patient, a circumstance which will of course justify its classifica-
tion by itself as a severer form of a single type of disease.

We have already referred to the subject of treatment and the means
emi>ioyed— rcsf, of course — with liniments, blisters, etc., and what we

323

esteem as the most active and beneficial of any, early, deep, and well-
performed cauterization. Tliere are, besides, commeikdatory reports of
a form of ti^eatment by the application of pads and peculiar bandages
upon the hocks, and it is claimed that the removal of the tumors has
been affected by their use. But our experience with this apparatus has
not been accompanied by such favorable results as would justify our
indorsement of the flattering representations which have sometimes
appeared in its behalf.

Open joints — BroJcen Icnees — Synovitis — Arthritis. — The nearness of the
relations which exist between these several affections and their apparent
connection as perhaps successive developments of a similar if not an
essentially identical origin, with the advantage to be gained by the
avoidance of frequent repetition in the details of symptoms, treatment,
etc., are our reasons for treating under a single head the ailments we
have grouped together in the present chajiter.

The great, comiireheusive, common cause whose effect is the disa-
bility, sometimes permanent and sometimes only of transient duration,
of chiefly the horse among our domestic animals, is external traumatism.
Blows, bruises, hurts by nearly every known form of violence, falls,
kicks, lacerations, punctures— we may add compulsory speed in racing
and cruel overloading of draught animals — cover the entire ground of
the diseases and injuries of the joints, now receiving our consideration.

In one case, a working horse making a misstep stumbles, and falling
on his knees receives a hurt, variously severe, from a mere abrasion of
the skin to a laceration, a division of the tegument, a slough, mortifi-
cation, and the escape of the synovial fluid with or without exposure of
the bones and their articular cartilages.

In another case an animal, from one cause or another, perhaps an im-
patient temper, has formed the habit of striking or pawing his manger
with his fore feet until inflammation of the knee-joint is induced, first as
a little swelling, diffused, painless; then as a periostitis of the bones of
the knee ;. later as bony deposits, then lameness, and finally the impli-
cation of the joint, and following all the various conditions of carpitis.

In another case a horse has received a blow with a fork from a care-
less hostler, on or near a joint, or has been kicked by a stable com-
panion, with the result of a punctured wound, at first mild-looking,
painless, apparently without inflammation, and not yet causing lame-
ness, but which, in a few hours, or it may be not until a few days, be-
comes excessively painful, grows worse; the entire joint swells, pres-
ently discharges, and at last a case of suppurative synovitis is presented,
with perhaps disease of the joint proper, and arthritis as a climax. The
symptoms of articular injuries vary not only in the degrees of the hurt,
but in the nature of the lesion.

Or. the condition of hroTcen Tcnees, resulting as we have said, may have
for its starting point a mere abrasion of the skin — a scratch apparently,
•which disappears without a resulting scar. The injury may, however.

324

have been more severe, tbe blow heavier, the fall aggravated by occur-
riug npou an irregular surface, or sharp or rough object, with tearing
or cutting of the skin, and this laceration may remain. A more serious
case than the first is now brought to our notice.

Another time, immediately following the accident, or possibly as a
sequel of the traumation, the tendinous sacs may be opened, with the
escape of the synovia; or worse, the tendons which pass in front of the
knee are torn, the inflammation has spread, the joint and leg are
swollen, the animal is becoming very lame; synovitis has set in. With
this the danger becomes verj^ great, for soon suppuration will be estab-
lished, the external coat of the articulation proper become ulcerated, if
it is not already in that state, and we find ourselves in the presence of
an openjointj with suppurative synovitis — that is, with the worst among
the conditions of diseased processes, because of the liability of the sup-
puration to become infiltrated into every part of the joint, macerating
the ligaments and irritating the cartilages, soon to be succeeded by their
ulceration, with the destruction of the aiticular surface, or the lesion
of ulcerative arthritis, one of the gravest among all the disorders known
to the animal economy.

But ulcerative arthritis and suppurative synovitis may bo developed
in other connections tlian that with open joints ; the simplest and ap-
parently most harmless i)unctures may prove to be cause sufficient
For example, a horse may be kicked, perhaps, on the inside of the
hock; there is a mark and a few drops of blood to indicate the spot;
he is put to work, apparently free from pain or lameness, and per-
forms his task with his usual ease and facility. But on the following
morning the hock is found to be a little swollen and there is some stiff-
ness. A little later on he betrays a degree of uneasiness in the leg, and
shrinks from resting his weight upon it, moving it up and down for
relief The swelling has increased and is increasing, the pain is s-evere,
and, finally, there is an oozing at the spot where the kick impinged of
an oily liquid mixed with whitish drops of suppuration. The mischief
is done and a simple, harmless punctured wound has expanded into a
case of ulcerative arthritis and suppurative synovitis.

From ever so brief and succinct description of this traumatism of the
articulations, the serious and important character of these lesions, irre-
spective of which particular joint is affected, will be readily understood.
Yet there will be modifications in the prognosis in different cases, in
accordance with the peculiarities of structure in the joint specially
involved, as for example, it is obvious that a better result may be ex-
pected from treatment when but a single joint, with only its plain artic-
ular surfaces is the place of injury, than in one which is composed of
several b(mes, united in a com[)lex formation, as in the knee or hock.
As severe a lesion as suppurative synovitis always is, and as frequently
fatal as it proves to be, still cases arise in which the inflammation, as-
suming a moditled character and at length subsidimg; the lesion termi-

325

Qpvtes fiavorably and leaves the animal with a comparatively sound and
useful joiut. There are cases, however, which terminate in no more
fiivorable a result than the union of the bones and occlusion of the
joint, to form an anchylosis, which is scarcely a condition to justify a
high degree of satisfaction, since it insures a permanent lameness with
very little capacity for usefulness.

Appreciating nOw the dangers associated with all wounds of articu-
lations, however simple and apparently slight, and how serious and
troublesome are the complications which are likely to arise during their
progress and treatment, we are prepared to understand and realize the
necessity and the value of early and prompt attention upon their dis-
covery and diagnosis.

For simple bruises, like those which appear in the form of broken
knees, or of carpitis, simple remedies, such as warm fomentations or
cold water applications and compresses of astringent mixtures, suggest
themselves at once. Injuries of a more complicated character, as lacer-
ations of the skin or tearing of soft structures, will also be benefited by
simple dressings with antiseptic mixtures, as those of the carbolic acid
order. The escape of synovia shoul d suggest the prompt use of collodion
dressings to check the flow and prevent the further escape of the fluid.
But if the discharge is abundant and heavily suppurative, little can be
done more than to put in practice the "expectant " method with warm
fomentations, repeatedly applied, and soothing mucilaginous poultices.
Improvement, if any is possible, will be but slow to manifest itself. The
most difficult of all things to do, in view of varying interests and opin-
ions—that is, in a practical sense — is to abstain from " doing" entirely,
and yet we are firmly convinced that non-interferuce, in the cases we
arc considering, is the best and wisest policy.

In cases which are carried to a successful result the discharge will by
degrees diminish, the extreme pain will gradually subside and the con-
valescent will begin timidly to rest his foot upon the ground, and pres-
ently to bear weight upon it, and perhaps, after a long and tedious
process of recuperation, ho maybe returned to his former and normal
condition of usefulness. When the discharge has wholly ceased and the
wounds are entirely healed, a blister covering the whole of the joint for
the purpose of stimulating the absorption of the exudation will be of
great service. But if, on the contrary, there is no amelioration of symp-
toms and the progress of the disease resists every attempt to check it;
if the discharge continues to flow, not only without abatement, but in
an increased volume, and not alone by a single opening but by a number
of fistulous tracts which have successively formed ; if it seems evident
that this drainage is rapidly and painfully sapping the suffering animal's
vitality, and a deficient vis vitce fails to cooperate wi^h the means of
6ure, all rational hope of recovery may be finally abandoned. Any fur-
ther waiting for chances, or time lost in experimenting, will be mere
cruelty and there need be no hesitation concerning the next step. The

326

poor beast is under sentence of death, and every consideration of inter-
est and of humanity demands an anticipation of nature's evident in-
tent in the quick and easy execution of the sentence.

One of the essentials of treatment, and probably an indispensable
condition when recovery is in any wise attainable, is the suspension of
the patient in slings. He should be continued in them as long as he can
be made to submit quietly to their restraint.

X«xa^ions.— Strength and solidity are so combined in the formation of
the joints of our large animals that dislocations or luxations are inju-
ries which are but rarely encountered. They are met with but seldom
in cattle and less so in horses, while dogs and smaller animals are more
often the sufierers.

The accident of a luxation or (its synonym) dislocation {disiilacement)
is less often encountered in the animal races than in man. This is not
because the former are less subject to occasional violence involving
powerful muscular contractions, or are less often exposed to casualties
similar to those which result in luxations in the human skeleton, but
because it requires the cooperation of conditions, anatomical, physio-
logical, and perhaps mechanical, present in one of the races and lacking
in the other, but which can not in every case be clearly defined. Per-
haps the greater relative length of the bony levers in the human for-
mation may constitute a cause of the difference.

Among the predisposing causes in* animals, caries of articular sur-
faces, articular abscesses, excessive dropsical conditions, degenerative
softening of the ligaments, and any excessive laxity of the soft struc-
tures, may be enumerated.

The symptoms of fractures and of dislocations are not always so va-
riant as to preclude the possibility of error in determining a case without
a thorough examination, but the essential difference, as it must always
exist, must always be discoverable.

In a dislocation there is one very peculiar and characteristic feature
in the impossibility of motion associated with an excessive liberty of
movement— the impossibility of active or controlled motion, and a
facility of passive movement (or movableness) at either the affected
joint or at another of the same leg near to it. In a dislocation of the
scapulo-humeral (or shoulder) joint the animal possesses no power of
motion over the limb — uo muscular contraction can avail to cause it to
perform its various functions— but in the hands of the surgeon it may
be made to describe a series of movements which would be simply
impossible with the joint in a state of integrity. Both fractures and
luxations are marked by deformity, but while in a fracture with dis-
placement there will usually be a shortening of the leg, a dislocation
may be accompanied by either a shortening or a lengthening. Swelling
of the parts is usually a well-defined feature of these injuries.

With all this similarity in the symptomatology of luxations and
fractures, there is one sign which either by its presence or its absence

327

will greatly assist in settling a case of differential diagnosis, and this is
the existence or lack of crepitation. It has no place or cause in a mere
dislocation; it belongs to a fracture, if it is a cou!i)lete one. If there is
crepitation with a dislocation then it proves that there is a fracture
also.

The prognosis of a luxation is comparatively less serious than that of
a fracture, though at times the indications of treatment may prove to
be so difiBcult to apply that complications may arise of a very severe
character.

The treatment of luxations must of course be similar to that of frac-
tures. Eeduction, naturally, will be the first indication in both cases,
and the retention of the replaced iiarts must follow. The reduction in-
volves the same steps of extension and counter-extension, performed
in the same manner, with the j)atient subdued by anesthetics.

The difference between the reduction of a dislocation and that of a
fracture consists in the fact that in the former the object is simply to
restore the bones to their true normal position, with each articular sur-
face in exact contact with its companion surface, the apparatus neces-
sary afterwards to keep them in situ being similar to that which is em-
ployed in fracture cases, and which will usually require to be retained
for a period of from forty to fifty days, if not longer, before the ruptured
retaining ligaments are sufficiently firm to be trusted to perform their
office unassisted. A variety of manii^ulations are to be employed by
the surgeon, consisting in pushing, pulling, pressing, rotating, and
indeed whatever movement may be necessary, until the bones are forced
into such relative positions that the muscular contraction, operating
in just the right directions, pulls the opposite matched ends together
in true coaptation, a head into a cavity, an articular eminence into a
trochlea, as the case may be. The "■ setting" is accorajjanied by a pe-
culiar snapping soiind, audible and significant, as well as a visible re-
turn of the surface to its normal symmetry.

Special dislocations. — While all the articulations of the body are liable
to this form of injury, there are three in the large animals which may
claim a special consideration, viz:

The slioulder joint. — We mention this displacement without intending
to imply the practicability of any ordinary attempt at treatment, which
is usually unsuccessful, the animal whose mishap it has been to become
a victim to it being disabled for life. The superior head of the arm
bone as it is received into the lower cavity of the shoulder blade is so
situated as to be liable to be forced out of place in four directions. It
may escape from its socket, according to the manner in which the vio-
lence affects it, outwards, inwards, backwards, or forwards, and the
deformity which results and the effects which follow will correspond-
ingly differ. We have said that treatment is generally unsuccessful.
It may be added that the difficulties which interpose in the way of re-
duction are nearly insurmountable, and that the application of means

328

for the retention of the parts after reduction would be next to impos-
sible. The prognosis is sufficiently grave from any point of view for
the luckless animal with a dislocated shoulder.

The hip joint— This joint partakes very much of the characteristics
of the humero-scapular articulation, but is more strongly built. The
head of the thigh bone is more separated, or prominent and rounder in
form, and the cup like cavity or socket into which it fits is much deeper,
forming together a deep, true ball-and-socket joint, which is, moreover,
reenforced by two strong cords of funicular ligaments, which unite them
together. It will be easily comprehended, from this hint of the anatomy
of the region, that a luxation of the hip joint must be an accident of
comparatively rare occurrence. And yet cases are recorded in which
the head of the bone has been affirmed to slip out of its cavity and as-
sume various positions, inwards, outwards, forwards, and backwards.

The indications of treatment are those of all cases of dislocation.
When the reduction is accom])lished the surgeon will be apprised of
the fact by the peculiar snapping sound usually heard on such occasions.

Pseuflo luxations of the imtella. — This is not a true dislocation. The
stifle bone is so peculiarly articulated with the thigh bone that the
means of union are of sufficient strength to resist the causes which
usually give rise to luxations. Yet there is sometimes discovered a
peculiar pathological state in the hind legs of animals, the effect of
which is closely to simulate the manifestation of many of the general
symptoms of dislocations. This peculiar pathological condition origin-
ates in muscular cramps, the action of which is seen in a certain change
in the coaptation of the articular surfaces of the stifle and thigh bone,
resulting in the exhibition of a sudden and alarming series of symptoms
which have suggested the phrase of " stifle out" as a descriptive term.
The animal so affected stands quietly and firmly in his stall, or perhaps
with one of his hind legs extended backwards, and resists every attempt
to move him backwards, and if urged to move forwards he will either
refuse or comply with a jump, with the toe of the disabled leg dragging
on the ground and brought forward by a second effort. There is no
flexion at the hock and no motion at the stifle, while the circular motion
of the hip is quite free. The leg appears to be much longer than the
other, owing to the straightened position of the thigh bone, which forms
almost a straight line with the tibia from the hip joint down. The
stifle joint is motionless, and the motions of all the joints belbw it are
more or less interfered with. External examination of the nmscles of
the liip and thigh discovers a certain amount of rigidity, with perhaps
some soreness, and the stifle bone may be seen projecting more or less
on the outside and upper part of the joint.

This state of things may continue for some length of time and until

treatment is applied, or it may spontaneously and suddenly terminate,

lenving everything in its normal condition, but perhaps to return again.

Pseudo dialocatiou of the patella is likely to occur under many of

329

tliG conditions whicli cause actual dislocation, and ;^ etit may often occur
in animals which have not been exposed to the ordinary causes, but
which have remained at rest in their stables. Sometimes these cases
are referred to falls in a slippery stall, or perhaps slipping when en-
deavoring to rise; sometimes to weakness in convalescing patients;
sometimes to lack of tonicity of structure and genertil debility; some-
times to relaxation of tissues from want of exercise or use.

The reduction of these displacements of the patella is not usually at-
tended with difficulty. A sudden jerk or spasmodic action will often
be all that is required to spring the patella into place, when the flexion
of the leg at the hock ends the trouble for the time. But this is not
always sufficient, and a true reduction may still be indicated. To effect
this the leg must be drawn well forward by a rope attached to the lower
end, and the patella, grasped with the hand, forcibly pushed forwards
and inwards and made to slip over the outside border of the trochlea
of the femur. The bone suddenly slips into position, the excessive rigor
of the leg ceases with a spasmodic jerk, and the animal may walk or
trot away without suspicion of lameness. But though this may end
the trouble for the time, and the restoration seem to bo perfect and per-
manent, a repetition of the entire transaction may subsequently take
place, and perhaps from the loss of some portion of tensile power which
would naturally follow the original attack in the muscles involved, the
lesion might become a habitual weakness.

Warm fomentations and douches with cold water will often j)romote
permanent recovery, and liberty in a box stall or in the field will in
many cases insure constant relief. The use of a high-heeled shoe is
recommended by European veterinarians. The use of stimulating lini-
ments, with frictions, charges or even severe blisters, may be resorted
to in order to prevent the repetition of the difficulty by strengthening
and toning up the i)arts.

DISEASES OF MUSCLES AND TENDONS.

Sprains. — This term expresses a more or less complete laceration or
yielding of the fibers of the muscles, tendons, or the sheaths surround-
ing and supporting them. The usual cause of a sprain is external vio-
lence, such as a fall or a powerful exertion of strength, with following
symptoms of soreness, heat, swelling, and a suspeusion of function.
Their termination varies from simple resolution to suppuration, and
commonly plastic exudation difficult to remove, i^oue of the muscles
or tendons of the body are exempt from liability to this lesion, though
naturally from their uses and the exposure of their situation the ex-
tremities are more liable than other regions to become their seat. The
nature of the prognosis will be determined by a consideration of the seat
of the injury a;nd the complications likely to arise. The treatment will
resolve itself into the routine of local applications, including warm
fomentations, stimulating liniments, counter irritation by blistering,

330

ancl in some cases even firing. Kest, in the stable or in a box stall, will
be of advantage by promoting the absorption of whatever plastic exu-
dation may have formed, or the absorption may be stimulated by the
careful and persevering application of iodine in the form of ointments
of various degrees of strength.

There are many conditions in which not only the muscular and tendi-
nous structures jproper are affected by a sprain, but, by contiguity of
partSj the periosteum of neighboring bones may become involved, with
a complication of periostitis and its sequelae.

Lameness ofthesJiouJder. — The frequency of the occurrence of lame-
ness in the shoulder from sprains entitled it to precedence of mention in
our present category. For, though so well covered with its muscular
envelope, it is often the seat of injuries which, from the complex struc-
ture of the region, become difficult to diagnosticate with satisfactory
precision and facility. The flat bone which forms the skeleton of that
region is articulated in a comparatively loose manner with the bone of
the arm, but the joint is, notwithstanding, rather solid, and is i)ower-
fully strengthened by tendons i)assiug outside, inside, and in front of
it. Still, shoulder lameness or sprain may exist, originating in lacera-
tions of the mucles, the tendons or the ligaments of the joint, or per-
haj)s in diseases of the bones themselves. " Slip of the shoulder " is a
phrase frequently applied to such lesions.

The identification of the particular structures involved in these
lesions is of much importance, in view of its bearing upon the question
of i^roguosis. For example, while a simple sui^erficial injury of the
spinatus muscles, or of the muscles by which the leg is attached to the
trunk, may not be of serious import and may readily yield to treatment,
or even recover spontaneously and without interference, the condition
is quite changed when a case of tearing of the flexor brachii, or of its
tendons as they pass in front of the articulation occurs, or, what is still
more serious, if there is inflammation or ulceration in the groove over
which this tendon slides, or upon the articular surfaces or their sur-
rouudiugs or jjeriostitis at any point adjacent.

The frequency of attacks of shoulder lameness is not difllcult to ac-
count for. The superficial and unprotected position of the part, and
the numerous movements of which it is capable, and which in fact it
performs, render it both subjectively and objectively preeminently lia-
ble to accident or injury. It would be difficult, nor would it materially
avail, to enumerate all the forms of violence by which the shoulder may
be crippled. A fall, accompanied by powerful concussion ^ a violent
muscular contraction in starting a heavily loaded vehicle from a stand-
still; a misstep following a quick muscular effort; ajumj) accompanied
by miscalculated results in alighting; a slip on a smooth, icy road j
balling the feet with snow; colliding with another horse or other ob-
ject— indeed, the list might be indefinitely extended, but it would be
without profit or utility. Some of the symptoms of shoulder lameness

331

aro peculiar to themselves, and yet the trouble is frequently mistaken
for other affections— navicular disease more often than any other. The
fact that in both affections there are instances when the external symp-
toms are but imperfectly defined, and that one of them especially is
very similar in both, is sufficient to mislead careless or inexperienced
observers and to occasion the error which is sometimes committed of
applying to one disease the name of the other, erring both ways in the
interchange. The true designation of pathological lesions is very far,
at times, from being of certain and easy accomplishment, and owing
to the massive structure of the parts we are considering this is espe-
cially true in the present connection. And still there are many cases
in which there is really no reasonable excuse for an error in diagnosis
by an average practitioner.

Shoulder lameness will of course manifest itself by signs and appear-
ances more or less distinct and pronounced, according to the nature of
the degree and the extent of the originating cause. We summarize
some of these signs and appearances :

The lameness is not intermittent but continued, the disturbance of
motion gauging the severity of the lesion and its extent. It is more
marked when the bones are diseased than when the muscles alone are
affected. When in motion the two upper bony levers, the shoulder
blade and the bone of the upper arm, are reduced to nearly complete
immobility and the walking is performed by the complete displacement
of the entire mass, which is dragged forward without either flexion or
extension. The action of the joint below, as a natural consequence, is
limited in its flexion. In many instances there is a certain amount of
swelling at the point of injury— at the joint, or more commonly in front
of it, or on the surface of the spinatus muscle. Again, instead of swell-
ing there will be muscular atrophy, though while this condition of loss
of muscular power may interfere with perfect locomotion, it is not in
itself usually a cause of shoulder lameness. " Swenied " shoulders are
more often due to disease below the fetlock than to affections above the
elbow.

During rest the animal often carries his leg forward, somewhat anal-
ogous to the "pointing" position of navicular disease, though in some
cases the painful member drops at the elbow in a semi-flexed position.
The backing is sometimes typical, the animal when performing it, in-
stead of flexing his shoulder, dragging the whole leg without motion in
the upper segment of the extremity. The peculiar manner in which
the leg is carried forward in the act of walking or trotting is in some
instances characteristic of injuries of the shoulder, the power of exten-
sion being limited 5 the whole leg in the act of locomotion is moved for-
ward with a circumflex, swinging motion, which distinguishes this pecu-
liar affection from others.

With the utmost scrutiny and care the vagueness and uncertainty of
the symptoms will contribute to perplex and discredit the diagnosis

332

and embarrass the surgeon, and sometimes the expedient is tried of
aggravatiug the symptoms by way of intensifying their significance,
and thus rendering them more intelligible. This has been sought by
requiring the patient to travel on soft i^lowed ground and compelling
hiiu to turn on the affected leg as a pivot, with other motions calculated
to betray the locality of the pain.

It is our conviction that lameness of the shoulder will in many cases
disappear with no other prescription than that of rest. Provided the
lesions occasioning it are not too severe time is all that is required. But
the negation of letting alone is seldom accepted as a means of doing
good, in the place of the active and the positive forms of treatment.
Tiiis is in accordance with a trait of human nature which is universal,
and is unlimited in its appliciitions. Hence th^re must he something
doue. In mild cases of shoulder lameness, then, the indications are
water, either in the cold douche or by showering, or by warm fomenta-
tions. Warm wet blankets are of great service ; and iu addition, or as
alternative, anodyne liniments, camphor, belladonna, either iu the form
of tiucture or the oils, are of benefit, and at a later period stimulating
friction with suitable mixtures, sweating liniments, blistering com-
pounds, etc., will find their place, and, finally, when necessity demands
it, the firing iron and the seton.

The duration of the treatment must be determined by its effects and
the evidence that may be offered of the results following the action of
the reparative process. But the great essential condition of cure, and
the one without v»hich the possibility of relapse will always remain as
a menace, is, as we have often reiterated iu analogous cases, rest, im-
peratively rest, irrespective of any other prescriptions with which it
may be associated.

Sprain of the elbow muscles.— This injury, which fortunately is not
very common, is mostly encountered in cities, among heavy draught
horses or rapidly driven animals which are obliged to travel, often
smooth shod, upon slippery, icy, or greasy pavements, where they are
easily liable to lose their foothold. The region of the strain is the pos-
terior part of the shoulder, and the muscles which are affected are those
which occupy the space betweeu the posterior border of the scapula
and the posterior face of the arm. It is the muscles of the olecranon
which give way.

The symptoms are easily recognized, especially when the animal is
in action. While at rest the attitude may be normal, or by close scru-
tiny a peculiarity may perhaps be detected. The leg may seem to drop ;
the elbow may appear to be lower than its fellow, with the knee and
lower part of the leg flexed and the foot resting on the toe, with the
heel raised. Such an attitude, however, may be occasionally assumed
by an animal without having any special significance. But when it be-
comes more pronounced on ])utting him in motion the fact acquires a
symptomatic value, and this is the case m the present instance. A

333

rapid gait becomes quite impossible, and tlie walk as in some few otber
diseases becoaies sufficiently characteristic to warrant a diagnosis even
when observed from a distance. An entire dropping of the anterior
part of the trunk becomes manifest, and no weight is carried on the
disabled side, in consequence of the loss of action in the suspensory
muscles. There are often heat, pain, and swelling in the muscular mass
at the elbow, though at times a hollow or depression may be observed
near the posterior border of the scapula, which is probably the seat of
injury.

These hurts are of various degrees of importance, varying from mere
minor casualties of quick recovery to lesions which are of sufficient se-
verity to render an animal useless and valueless for life.

The prime elements of treatment, which should be strictly observed,
are rest and quiet. Prescriptions of all kinds, however, of course, have
their advocates. Among them are ether, chloroform, camphor, alco-
holic frictions, warm fomentations, blisters, setons, etc. But, unless the
conclusions of experience are to be ignored, our own judgment is de-
cisive in favor of rest, judiciously applied; and our view of what con-
stitutes a judicious application of rest has been more than once presented
in these pages. There are degrees of this rest. One contemplates
simple immobility in a narrow stall. Another means the enforced mo-
bility of the slings and a narrow stall as well. Another a box stall, with
ample latitude as to i^osture and space, and option to stand up or lie
down. As wide as this range may appear to be, radical recovery has
occurred under all of these modified forms of Icttlnj our patients alone.

Hip lameness. — The etiology of injuries and diseases of the hip is one
and the same with that of the shoulder. The same causes operate and
the same results follow. The only essential change, with an important
exception, which would be necessary in passing from one region to the
other in a description of its anatomy, its pbysiology, and its pathology,
would be a substitution of a-natomical names in referring to celtain
bones, articulations, muscles, ligaments, and membranes concerned in
the injuries and diseases described. It would be only a useless repeti-
tion to cover again the ground over which we have so recently passed
in recital of the manner in which certain forms of external violence
(falls, blows, kicks, etc.) result in other certain forms of lesion (luxation,
fracture, periostitis, ostitis, etc.), and to recapitulate the items of treat-
ment and the names of the medicaments proper to use. The same rules
of diagnosis and the same indications and prognosis are applicable
equally to every portion of the organism, with only such modifications
in applying dressings and a£)paratus as may be required by differences
of conformation and other minor circumstances, which must suggest
themselves to the judg ment of every experienced observer when the oc-
casion arrives for its exercise.

There is an exception to be made, while considering the subject in
connection with the region now under advisemeut, in respect to the for-

334

midable affection known as morbus cosarius, or liipjoint disease; and
leaving the detail of other lesions to take their place under other heads,
that relating to the shoulder, for instance, we turn to the hip joint and
its ailments as the chief subject of our present consideration.

In investigating for morbus coxarius, let the observer first examine
the lame animal by scanning critically the outlines of the joint and the
region adjacent for auj difference of size or disturbance of symmetry
in the parts, any prominence or rotundity, and on both sides. The
lame side will probably be warmer, more develoi^ed and fuller, both to
the touch and to the eye. Let him then grasp the lower part of the
leg (as he would in examining a case of shoulder lameness), and en-
deavor to produce excessive i3assive motion. Tliis will probably cause
pain when the leg is made to assume a given position. Let him push
the thigh forcibly against the hip bone, and the contact will again prob-
ably cause a manifestation of x^ain. If the horse is trotted, the limited
action of the hip joint proper and the excessive dropping and rising of
the hip of the opposite side will be easily recognized. The abductivo
or circumflex motion observed in shoulder lameness is also present in
hip lameness, but under special conditions, and the test of the difficulty,
either by traveling on soft ground or making the lame leg a pivot in
turning the horse in a circle, may here also contribute to the diagnosis
as in testing for lameness in the anterior extremity.

The prognosis of hip lameness is at times quite serious, not only
on account of the long duration of treatment required to effect good
results, and because of the characters which may be assumed by the
disease, but of the permanence of the disabihty resulting from it. Ex-
ostosis and ulcerative arthritis arc sequela) which often resist every
form of treatment.

As before intimated, this is little more than a repetition of our
remarks upon the lameness of the shoulder, with slight modifications
occasioned by the muscular structure of the hip, and we are limited to
the same recommendations of treatment. The advantages of rest must
be reaffirmed with local applications, of which, however, it may be said
that they are more distinctly indicated and likely to be more effective
in their results than in shoulder lameness, and may be more freely em-
ployed, whether in the form of liniments, blisters (singly or repeated),
firing, or setoning.

Sprains of susj)cnsory ligaments and of the flexor tendons or their sheath. —
The fibrous structure situated behind the cannon bones, both in the fore
and hind legs, is often the seat of lacerations or sprains resulting from
violent efforts or sudden jerks. The injury is readily recognized by the
changed aspect of the region and the accompanying local symptoms.
The parts, which in health are well defined, with the outlines of the
tendons and ligaments well marked, become the seat of a swelling,
more or less developed, from a small spot of the middle of the back of
the tendon to a tumefaction reaching from the knee down to and even

335

involving the fetlock itself. It is always characterized by heat, and it
is variously sensitive, ranging from a mere tenderness to a degree of
soreness which shrinks from the lightest touch. The degrees of the
lameness vary, and it has a corresponding range with the soreness,
sometimes showing only a slight halting and at others the extreme of
lameness on three legs, with intermediate degrees.

It has for its cause, like all the other forms, external traumatism by
falls, blows, etc., and may be considered serious or trifling, according to
the circumstances of each case as judged by its own history. It may be
safely assumed on general principles that a leg which has received such
injuries very seldom returns to a perfect condition of efficiency and
soundness, and that as a fact a certain absolute amount of thickening
and deformity will remain in permanency, even when the lameness has
entirely disappeared.

For this reason the injured member should receive the earliest atten-
tion possible, not only when the inflammatory condition is present but
when it is subsiding, and there is only the thickening of the ligaments,
the tendons, or the sheath. Cold bathing, cold-water bandages, either
simple or with astringent solutions, do well in some cases, while in
others hot applications have the preference, with complete rest ; also,
moderate exercise j frictions with alcohol j tincture of soap ; spirits of
camphor; mild liniments; strong sweating liniments; blisters; the
cautery — these are the means by which the absorption of the exudate
must be promoted and the work of restoration effected. The prepara-
tions of iodine are often of benefit in mild cases, but there are others
in which the thickening of the tendons refuses to yield and the changed
tissues remain firmly organized, leaving them in the form of a tbick
mass resting on the back part of the cannon bone. As a consequence
the deformity remains and a new condition presents itself in the artic-
ular disposition, constituting the deformity known as theJcnucldhig fet-
locli.

By this is meant a deformity of the fetlock joint by which the natural
angle is changed from that which pertains to the healthy articulation.
The first pastern or suffraginis loses its oblique direction and assumes
another which varies from the upright to the oblique, from before back-
wards, and from above downwards ; in other words, forming an angle
with its point in front.

This condition, as we have seen, may be the result of chronic disease
producing structural changes in the tendons, and it may also occur as
the result of other affections or some peculiarity independent of this
and situated below the fetlock, such as ringbones, sidebones, or trau-
matic disease of the foot proper. Animals are sometimes predisposed
to knuckling, such, for example, as are naturally straight in their pas-
terns or animals which are compelled to labor when too young. The
hind legs are more predisposed than the fore to this deformity, in conse-
quence of the greater amount of labor they are required to perform
as the propelling levers of the body.

336

The symptoms of kuuckling aro easily recognized. Tlio clianges in
the direction of the bones vary more or less with the degree of thelesion,
sometimes assuming suck a direction that it almost becomes a true dis-
location of the pastern.

The effect of knuckling upon the gait also varies according to the
degree of the deformity. As the different degrees of the shortening of
the leg affect the motion of the fetlock the lameness may be very slight
or quite extreme. Another consequence of this shortening is such a
change in the position of the foot that the heels cease to come in con-
tact with the ground and assume a greater elevation, and the final result
of this is soon witnessed in the development of a clubfoot.

To whatever cause the knuckling may be ascribed it is always a severe
infirmity, and there is but little room for hoping to overcome it unless
it be during the very first stages of the trouble, and the hope dwindles to
still ssnaller dimensions when it is secondary to other diseases below
the fetlock. If it is caused by overworking the animal, the first indica-
tion will of course bo rest. The animal must be turned loose and left
unemployed and careful attention given to the condition of his feet and
to the manner of shoeing, while time is allowed for the tendons to be-
come restored to their normal state and the irritation caused by excess-
ive stretching has subsided. A shoe with a thick heel will contribute
to this. But if no improvement can be obtained and the tendons though
retracted have yet been relieved of much of their thickening, the case
is not a desperate one and may yet bo benefited by the operation of te-
notomy, single or double — an operative expedient which must be com-
mitted to the experienced surgron for its performance.

Sjjyung Icnees. — Though not positively the result of diseases of the ten-
dons acting upon the knees, wo venture to consider this deformity in
connection wi h that which we have just described. It consists in such
an alteration in the direction and articulation of the bones which form
the various carpal joints that instead of forming a vertical line from
the lower end of the forearm to the cannon bone they are so united that
the knee is more or less bent forward, presenting a condition due to the
retraction of two of the principal muscles by which the cannon bone is
flexed.

This flexion of tho knee may also be a congenital deformity and have
continued from the foaling of the animal. Or, like clubfoot it may be
the result of heavy labor which the animal has been compelled to per-
form at too early an ago. It may also be due to other diseases existing
iu parts below the knee joint.

This change of direction largely influences tho movement of the an-
imal by detracting from its firmness and practically weakeaing the en-
tire frame, even to tho extent of rendering him insecure on his feet, and
liable to fall. This condition of weakness is sometimes so pronounced
that he is exposed to fall even when standing at rest and unmolested,
the knees being unable even to bear tho portion of tho mere weight of

337

the frame wliich belongs to them. This results in another trouble, that
of being unable to keep permanently upright. He is apt to fall on his.
knees, and by this act becomes presently a sufferer from the lesion
known by the term of brolcen Icnees.

Whatever may be the originating cause of this imperfection it de-
tracts very largely from the usefulness and value of a horse, disqualify-
ing him for ordinary labor and wholly unfitting him for service under
the saddle without jeopardizing the safety of his rider. If, however^
the trouble is known from the start, and is not the result of congenital
deformity or weakness of the knee joint, or secondary to other diseases^
rest, with fortifying frictions, may sometimes aid in strengthening tho
joints ; and the application of blisters on the posterior part of the knee^
from a short distance above to a point a little below the joint, may h&
followed by some satisfactory results. But with this trouble, as with
knuckling fetlocks, the danger of relapse must not be ignored, but kept
in mind as a contingency always liable to occur.

Curb. — This lesion is the bulging backwards of the posterior part of
the hock, where in the normal state there should be a straight line,
extending from the upper end of the point of the hock down to the fet-
lock. The cause may be a sprain of the tendon which passes on the
posterior part of the hock, or of one of its sheaths, or of the strong^
ligament situated on the posterior border of the os calcis. This condi-
tion, if not commonly the result of malformation, is often seen in hocks
which present the peculiar condition of being curby. It often occurs,
also, as the result of violent efforts, of heavy pulling, of high jumping
or of slipping; in a word, it may result from any of the causes hereto-
fore considered as instrumental in iiroducing lacerations of muscular,
tendinous, or ligamentous struture.

A hock affected with curb will, at the outset, present a swelling more
or less diffuse on its posterior portion, with varying degrees of heat and
soreness, and these will be accompanied by lameness of a permanent
character. At a later period, however, the swelling will become better
defined, the deformity more characteristic, the prominent curved line
readily detected, and the thickness of the infiltrated tissue easily de-
termined by the fingers. At this time, also, there may be a condition
of lameness, varying in degree: while at others, again, the irregularity
of action at the hock will be so slight as to escape attention, the animal
betraying no appearance of its existence.

A curb constitutes, by a strict construction of the term, an "un-
soundness," since the hock thus affected is less able to endure severe
labor, and is more liable to give way with the slightest effort. And yet
the prognosis of a curb can not be considered to be serious, since it
generally yields to treatment, or at least the lameness it may occasion
is generally easily relieved, though the loss of contour caused by the
bulging will always constitute a blemish to the eye.

On the first appearance of a curb, when it exhibits the signs of an

11035 22

338

acute inflammation, the first indication is to subdue this by the use of
warm fomentations or other topical applications. But when these have
exhausted their effect and the swelling has assumed better defined
boundaries, and the infiltration of the tendons or of the ligaments is
all that remains of a morbid state, then every effort must be directed
to the object of effecting' its absorption and reducing its dimensions by
pressure and other methods. The medicaments most to be trusted are
blisters of cantharides and frictions with ointments of iodine, or, pref-
erably, biniodide of mercury. Mercurial agents alone, by their thera-
peutic properties, or by means of the artificial bandages which they
furnish by their incrustations when their vesicatory effects are ex-
hausted, will give good results in some instances by a single applica-
tion, and often by repeated applications. The use of the firing iron
must, however, be frequently resorted to, either to remove the lameness
or to stimulate the exudation. We believe that its early application
ought to be resorted to in preference to waiting until the exudation is
firmly organized. Deep and fine needle firing will prove as beneficial
in curb as in any other disease of a similar nature.

Lacerated tendons. — This form of injury, whether of a simi^le or of a
compound character, may become a lesion of a very serious nature,
and will usually require long and careful treatment, which may yet
prove unavailing in consequence either of the intrinsically fatal char-
acter of the wound itself or the complications which have rendered it
incurable.

Like all similar injuries, these are the result of traumatic violence,
such as contact with objects both blunt and sharp ; a curbstone in the
city J in the country a tree stump or a fence, especially one of wire.
It may easily occur to a runaway horse when he is "whipped" with
fragments of harness or " flogged " by fragments of splintered shafts
" thrashing" his legs, or by the contact of his legs with the wagon he
has overturned and shattered with his heels while disengaging himself
from its wreck.

It is not always necessary that the skin should be involved in this
form of injury. On the contrary the tegument is frequently left entirely
intact, or exhibits only some slight and superficial abrasions. Yet,
again, the skin may 'be cut through and the tendons nearly severed.
A point a little above the fetlock is usually the seat of the injury. But
irrespective of this, and whether the skin is or is not implicated, the
symptoms very much resemble those of a fracture. There is excessive
mobility, at least more than in a normal state, with more or less inabil-
ity to carry weight; there may be swelling of the parts, and on passing
the hands carefully along the tendon to the point of division the stumps
of the divided structure will be felt more or less separated^ perhaps
wholly divided. The position of the animal while at rest and standing
is peculiar aud characteristic. While the heels are well placed on the
ground, the toe is correspondingly elevated with a disposition to turn

339

up — a form of breaking down whicli we have described when speaking
of the fracture of the sesamoids. Carrying weight is done only with
considerable difficulty, but with comparatively little pain, and the ani-
mal will unconsciously continue to move the leg as if in great safiFeriug,
notwithstanding the fact that his general condition may be very good
and his appetite unimpaired.

The effect upon the general organism of compound lacerated wounds
of tendinous structures, or those which are associated with injuries of the
skin, are different. The wound becomes, in a short time, the seat of a
high degree of inflammation with abundant suppuration, filling it from
the bottom; and the tendon, whether as the result of the bruise or of
the laceration, or of maceration in the accumulated pus, undergoing a
process of softening, and necrosis and sloughing ensue. This compli-
cates the case, and probably some form of tendinous synovitis follows,
running into suppurative arthritis, to end, if close to a joint, with a
fatal result.

The prognosis of lacerated tendons should be very cautiously at-
tempted. Under the most favorable circumstances a jieriod of from six
weeks to two months will be necessary for the treatment, before the
formation of the cicatricial callus and the establishment of a firm union
between the tendinous stumps.

As with fractures, and even in a greater degree, the necessity is im-
perative, in the treatment of lacerated tendons, to secure as perfect a
state of immobility as can be obtained compatibly with the disposition
of the patient.; the natu-ral opposition of the animal, sometimes ill-
tempered and fractious at best, under the necessary restraint, causing
at times much embarrassment to the practitioner in ai^plying the nec-
essary treatment. Without the necessary immobility no close connec-
tion of the ends of the tendons can be secured. To fulfill this necessary
condition the posterior jiart of the foot and the fetlock must be sup-
ported and the traction performed by them relieved, an object which
can be attained by the use of the high-heeled and bar shoe, or possibly
better accomplished with a shoe of the same kind extending about 2 or
2^ inches back of the heels. The perfect immobility of the legs is ob-
tained in the same way as in the treatment of fracture, with splints,
bandages, iron apparatus, plasters of adhesive mixtures, and similar
'means. So long as the dressings remain in place undisturbed, and no
chafing or other evidence of jiain are present, the dressings may bo
continued without changing, the i)atient being kept in the slings for a
period sufficient to insure the perfect union of the tendons. But for a
compound lesion, when there is laceration of the skin, some special
care is necessary. The wound must be carefully watched and the
dressings removed at intervals of a few days, or as often as may be
needful, all of which additional manipulation and extra nursing, how-
ever indispensable, still adds to the gravity of the case and renders the
prognosis more and more serious. When the tendons have sloughed

340

in threads of various dimeusious, or if in the absence of this process of
mortification healthy granulations shoukl form and fill up the wound,
still very careful attention will be required, the granulating ends of the
tendons having a tendency to bulge between the edges of the skin and
to assume large dimensions, forming bulk.Y excrescences or growths of a
warty or cauliflower apiiearauce, the removal of which becomes a trouble-
some matter.

The union of the tendons will at times leave a thickening of varying
degree near the point of cicatrization, the absorption of which becomes
an object of difficult and doubtful accomplishment, but which may be
liromoted by moderate blistering and the use of alterative and absorbent
mixtures or perhaps the fire iron. A shoe with heels somewhat higher
than usual will prove a comfort to the animal and aid in moderating
and relieving the tension of the tendons.

Rupture of the flexor metatarsi. — This is a muscle of the anterior part
of the shauk. It is situated in front of the tibia, and is of peculiar for-
mation, being composed of a muscular j)ortion with a very powerful
tendon, which are at first distinct and separate, to be intimately united
lower down, and terminating at the lower end by a division into four
tendinous bands. It is a powerful muscle of the hinder shank bone,
and also acts as a strong means of support for the stifle joint, that is,
of the articulation of the thigh and shank bone, in front and outside of
which it passes. Its situation and its use cause it to be liable to severe
stretching and straining, and a rupture of some of its fibers is some-
times the consequence.

This may be the result of a violent effort of the animal in leaping
over a high obstacle; in missing his foothold and suddenly slipping
backwards while powerfully grasping the ground with the feet in striv-
ing to start a heavily loaded vehicle ; or in making a violent effort to
prevent a probable fall.

The accident is immediately followed by disability which will vary
both as to the true seat of the injury and the iieriod of its duration.
This rupture will not prevent the horse from standing perfectly and
firmly on his feet when kept at rest, and while no muscular efforts are
required from him there is no api^earance of any lesion or unsoundness.
An attempt to move him backwards, however, will cause him to throw
all his weight upon his hind quarters, and he will reluse to raise his
foot from the ground. If compelled to do so, or required to move for-
ward, the hock being no longer capable of flexion, the muscle which
effects that movement being the injured one, the opposite muscles, the
extensors, acting freely, the entire lower i^art of the leg, from the hock
down, will be suddenly, with a jerk, extended over the tibia or shauk
bone, and simultaneously with this the tendo-achilles, the cord of the
hock, the tendons of the extensors of the hock will be put in an excess-
ively relaxed condition. Examination of the fore part of the shank
from the stifle down to the hock may reveal soreness, and i)ossibly some
swelling and heat at the seat of the lesion.

341

Onr experience with injuries of this form satisfies us that, generally
speaking, they are amenable to treatment. Very few instances have
come to our knowledge in which radical recovery has not been obtained,
provided a sufficient time has been allowed for cicatrization to take
place.

In these cases, as in those already considered of simple laceration of
tendons, the indications resemble those which apply in the treatment of
fractures; as near a coaptation of the lacerated ends as possible, with
immobility, being the necessary objects to secure. The first is a matter
of very difficult accomplishment, by bandaging alone, and some have
recommended instead the application of charges or blisters. To these
we strongly object from their liability to cause irritation and to allow of
excessive movement, both circumstances being unfiivorable in their
influence and hindering the action of the reparative powers.

To secure the necessary immobility the animal should be placed in
slings snugly applied, and kept in a narrow stall. He should also be
tied short, and restrained from any backward movement by ropes or
boards, and he should moreover be kept in as quiet a temper as pos-
sible by the exclusion of all causes of irritation or excitement. Weeks
must then ekapse, not less, but frequently more thau six, often eight, be.
fore he can be considered out of danger and able to return to his labor,
which should for a time bo light and easy, and only gradually, if ever,
increased to the measure of a thoroughly sound and strong animal.

SUNDRY ADDITIONAL AFFECTIONS OF THE EXTREMITIES.

Among these there are three which will principally occupy our atten-
tion, and these may be considered as forming a single group. In some
l)arts of the legs may be found certain peculiar little structures, of a sac-
like formation, containing an oily substance designed for the lubrica-
tion of the parts upon which they are placed for the purpose of facilita-
ting the movements of the tendons which pass over them. These little
sacs or muco synovial capsules are liable under peculiar coiiditions of
traumatism to become subject to a diseased process, which consists
principally in a hyper-secretion of their contents and an increase in
dimensions, and they may undergo peculiar pathological changes of a
character to disable an animal, and in many instances to cause serious
blemishes which can not but depreciate his value. These growths,
which are known as hygromata, may result from external violence, as
blows or bruises, and may appear in the form of small, soft tumors,
painless and not inflammatory in character, but, by a repetition of the
cause or renewal of violence, likely to acquire a new severity. Severe
inflammation may supervene, with suppuration, which filling up the
cavity, the walls will become thickened and hard, and the formation of
a tumor follow, which, resisting all forms of treatment, can only be made
to disappear by subjecting them to the edge of the bistoury.

342

The elbovr, tbo kuee, anrl the hock are the principal parts of the body
where these lesions are ordinarily found, and on account of their pecu-
liar shape and the position they occupy they have received the de-
nomination of being capped. "We shall consider them in their jieculiar
aspect.

Capped elbow. — The shoe boil, commonly so called, is almost too well
known to require a definition from us. An enlargement at the point of
the elbow is the lesion, so called, which is simply the result of pressure
of the heels of the shoe upon that part. There are, of course, some
conditions necessary for the development of the shoe boil, and for the
pressure of the heels upon the spot where it occurs. Excessive length
in the shoe and a formation of the animal with a cannon bone so long
that the flexure of the knee brings the heel in contact with the elbow,
may be termed the predisposing causes, but to these must be added
another necessary- condition in the peculiar mode of resting adopted by
the affected animal, as exhibited in his manner of lying down, which is
that of the cow, by resting upon the breastbone with the legs flexed
under the body — a most eligible and natural jiosture for eff"ecting the
result which follows.

The heel just pressing against the elbow, the hard iron of the shoe in
contact with the soft skin, with the weight of the body added, forms
a combination of causes which can not well fail to i^roduce the bruise
which in fact does follow, and which soon afterwards becomes charac-
terized by a variety of sj'mptoms — for a capped elbow does not always
exhibit the same aspect. In one case, there is simply a bruise, with
symptoms of inflammation more or less marked or severe. The parts
will be swollen, sometimes enormously, with heat and pain, the swell-
ing not only covering the point of the elbow, but sometimes reaching
the axilla, and assuming such proportions that there is great difiSculty
in using the leg, the animal showing signs of lameness even to the ex-
tent of the circumflex step, as in shoulder lameness. This cedematous
condition, however, does not remain stationary. It may by degrees
subside or perhaps disappear. In the first instance it will become more
distinctly defined, with better marked boundaries, until it is reduced to
a soft, round, fluctuating tumor, with or without heat or pain. There is
then either a bloody or serous tumor or a purulent collection, and fol-
lowing the puncture of its walls with the knife there will be an escape
of blood, of serum, or of pus, as the case may be, in variable quantities.
In^ither case, but principally in that of the cystic form, the tumor will
be found to be subdivided by septums or bands running in various
directions.

Various changes will follow the opening of the tumor aud the escapo
of its contents. In a majority of cases, the process of cicatrization will
take place, and the cavity fill up by granulation, the discharge, at first
abundant, gradually diminishing and the wound closing, usually with-
out leaving any mark. At times, however, and especially if the disease

343

has several times repeated its course, there may remain a pendulous
sac, partly obliterated, which a sufficient amount of excitement or irri-
tation may soon restore to its i^revious dimensions and condition.

In other cases an entirely different process takes place. The walls of
the cavity, cyst, or abscess become ulcerated and thickened, the granu-
lations of the sac become fibrous in their structure and fill up the cav-
ity, and it assumes the character of a hard tumor on the back of the
elbow, sometimes partly and sometimes entirely covered by the skin.
It is fibrous in its nature, painless to the touch, well defined in its con-
tour, and may vary in size from that of a small lady apple to that of a
child's head.

This last form of capped elbow is the most serious of any, resisting
all known forms of mild treatment, and removable by the knife only.
The other forms, even that with the inflammatory aspect and its large
oedematus swelling which interferes with the work of the animal, may
justify a much milder prognosis, and aside from their liability to recur
may be ranked with the comparatively harmless affections.

So long as the danger of recurrence is the iDrincipal bad feature
of capped elbow, the most important cousideration is that of devis-
ing a means of its prevention by curing the animal of his habit
of resting in the cow-like posture of sternal decubitus. To prevent
the animal from lying down is evidently the simplest method of
keeping the heels and the elbow apart. But the impracticability of this
prescription is apparent, since a majority of animals are obliged to lie
down when they sleep, though it is true that a few take their sleep on
their feet. The question of shoeing here enters into the discussion.
The shortening of the inside branch of the shoe, which is the one with
which the pressure is made, may be of advantage, and especially if the
truncated end of the shoe is smooth and filed over to remove all possi-
bility of pressure and contusion upon the skin. The protection of the
skin of the elbow by interposing soft tissues between that and the shoe,
or by bandaging the heel with bags, or covering it with boots, is con-
sidered by many the best of the preventive methods, and the advantage
to be secured by resorting to it can not be overlooked when the number
of horses, which develop shoe boil whenever the use of the boot is inter-
mitted, is considered. In order to prevent the animal from assuming
the sternal decubitus, many give preference to the plan of fastening a
piece of wood across the stall at some distance from the front wall or
manger. It is a simple expedient, primitive perhaps, but nevertheless
practical and followed by good results.

The therapeutic treatment is also important. The cedematous
swelling, indicative by its external appearance and the existing inflam-
mation of the diseased condition, requires the use, without delay, of
all the means attainable for its abatement, with the accompanying pain
and the heat, with whatever may tend to accelerate the absorption of
the exudate. Warm fomentations, repeated several times daily, are then

344

indicated, tlic degree of warmth being as liigli as can be comfortably
borne. Tliey are of easy application, and often yield important relief in
a few honrs. In some cases, however, astringents are used in prefer-
ence, in the form of poultices or pastes, which are made to cover the
entire swelling and allowed to remain, drying after a short time, it is
true, and perhaps falling off, but easily renewed and reapplied. We
have often recommended for these cases (and we renew our indorse-
ment) a putty made of common chalk, i)owdered, and vinegar (acetate
of lime — an excellent astringent), and covering the whole swelling with
a thick coating of soft clay, made into a softish mass with water. It
has proved very beneficial in our experience.

These simple remedies are often all that is required. Under their use
the swelling passes off by degrees and after a short interval the animal is
remanded to his work again. But not uncommonly, instead of this a
tumor or lump develops itself, puffy, not painful, and perhaps giving a
sensation of crepitation when pressure is made on it. It is soft and
evidently contains a liquid, and when freely opened, with a good-sized
incision, discharges a certain amount of blood, jiartly liquid and partly
coagulated, and perhaps a little hemorrhage will follow. The cavity
should then be well washed out and a tent of oakum introduced leav-
ing a small portion protruding through the cut to prevent it from clos-
ing prematurely. It may be taken off the next day, and a daily cleans-
ing will then be all that is necessary. In another case the tumor be-
comes very soft in its whole extent, with evident fluctuation and a well-
defined form. The discharge of the fluid is then indicated, and a free
incision will be followed by the escape of a quantity of thin, yellowish
liquid from a single sac. The irritation of the lining membrane with the
finger nails, and the introduction of a tent of oakum, as before, but which
should be changed every two or three days, during which time the parts
should be kept free from suppuration, will inaugurate a siieedy change
and recovery will soon follow. But if the cavity is found to be subdi-
vided in its interior by numerous bands, and the cyst proves to bemul-
tilocular, the partitioning sacules should be torn out with the fingers,
and the cavity then treated in the same manner as the single or unilocu-
lar sac. Another condition is that when the tumor is warm and has
been painful, and lias been soft and fluctuating indistinctly, or onl^^ at
a given point, the evidence is of an abscess again indicating the use of
the knife for a free incision for the exit of the contents, the general
and first indication in all suppurative collections.

But cases occur when all the treatment that has been detailed has
failed to effect a full recovery, and, instead of closing properly, the cav-
ity has become the seat of granulations other than those of a healthful
and benign character, having assumed a new and peculiar form, and
appearing in that of a fibrous tumor, quite apt, if not evicted, to con-
stitute a mere eyesore, profitable and pleasing to no one. A change of
treatment is of course then in order. The inflammation, having a dis-

345

position to become chronic, will require stimulating treatment in order
to counteract that tendency by the quickened activity of the process of
absorption, and we must again draw upon the resources of experience
in the form of the blisters, the fomentations, the iodine and the mercu-
rial helps as heretofore mentioned. Good results may always be insured
from their judicious and timely administration while combatting the
aberrations of nature, but little, from them or from any of the allies of
the curative art, by their unintelligent and misdirected employment.
In applying the powerful mineral inunctions much patience and wisdom
are demanded. It should be done by carefully and perseveringly rub-
bing in small quantities daily ; it should be done softly and gently, not
with force of arms, nor with the expectation of producing an astonish-
ing effect by heavy dosing and main strength in a few hours; it should
be after the manner of a siege rather than that of a charge. The ob-
ject must be to induce the drugs to permeate the afi'ected part until the
entire mass is penetrated. Of course cases will be encountered which
resist every form of treatment but the last of all (in dealing with ex-
ternal and excessive growths). The tumor remains as a fixed fact ;
it continues to grow; it is large and pendulous at the elbow; its weight
is estimated in pounds; it is not an eyesore merely, but an uncomfort-
able, burdensome mass, excoriating all the surrounding parts and being
itself excoriated in turn ; mild treatment has failed and is no longer to
be relied on. There is no longer an alternative between the abandon-
ment of the patient and the amputation of the tumor. But there is a
choice of modes and instrumentalities, a question of preference between
the ligature, the electric cautery, and the bistoury. Each has its advo-
cates among practitioners. In a case like the present, one of the prac-
tical embarrassments arises in connection with the application and re-
tention of bandages and other dressings after the amputation has been
performed. It is a somewhat difficult problem, owing to the conforma-
tion and proportions of the body of the patient, and involves the exer-
cise of a considerable amount of practical ingenuity to adjust and retain
the appliances necessary to insure a good final result in obtaining a
proper cicatrix.

In our long description of the treatment of the varieties of capped
elbow we have thus far omitted any mention of one method which has
to some extent received the sanction of experience, and which is prac-
ticed and commended by not a few. We refer to the use of setons, in-
troduced through and through the tumor. We mention it to say that
our experience is adverse to this mode. We are led to this opinion not
only by our observation of many failures, but from the fact that in many
cases the use of the seton has been followed by the formation of large
fibrous tumors, which in our opinion have resulted from it.

Capped Jcncc. — The passage of the tendons of the extensor muscle of
the cannon, as it glides in front of the knee joint, is assisted by one
of the little bursas we have before mentioned, and when this becomes

346

the seat of a droi^sical collection a hygroma is formed and the knee is
"capped." Though somewhat analogous in its history to the capped
elbow, there are points of difference between them. Their development
may prove a source of great annoyance from the fact of the blemish
which they constitute.

The capped knee presents itself under various conditions. It is
sometimes the result of a cause nearly unique, as when it follows a
bruise or contusion, often repeated, inilicted upon himself by a horse
addicted to the habit of pawiug while in the stable and striking the
front of his stall with his knees. Another class of patients is formed
of those weak-kneed animals which are subject to falling and bruising
the front of the joint against the ground, the results not being always
of the same character.

The lesion may be a simple bruise, or it may be a severe contusion
with swelling, cedematous, hot, painful, and interfering with locomotion,
the joint becoming stiff and sometimes so rigid that the animal is unable
to Hex it, and still, nnder simple treatment, the trouble may subside
almost by spontaneous action.

Or, again, instead of altogether passing off, the cedema may diminish
in extent, becoming more defined in form and remain as a tumor more
or less developed on the front part of the knee. Eesulting from the
crushing of small blood vessels, this is essentially a bloody tumor. It
is somewhat soft, not painful, surrounded by a little swelling, round,
more or less fluctuatiug, and after a few days becomes crepitant under
the pressure of the hand.

But instead of possessing all the characteristics of a bloody tumor it
may also assume those of a serous growth, as often occurs when the vio-
lence (the bruise), though perhaps slight, has been frequently repeated.
In that case the tumor becomes better defined, generally painless, with-
out any surrounding swelling, is much softer, is iluctuating, and more
or less pendulous.

In other cases, however, this serous tumor becomes the seat of an
acute inflammation, perhaps from repetition of the original violence ; or
it may set in as the immediate result of the bruise, and a phlegmonous
inflammation may thus be established. The tumor is now surrounded
with oedema, more or less diffused, and becomes hot and painful. The
flexion of the knee can no longer take place ; walking is much inter-
fered with— a large acute abscess has been formed, and it is this that
constitutes the capped Imee.

Whatever may be the nature of the tumors, whether shown when
opened to be bloody, cystic, or purulent, or when they ulcerate as they
sometimes do, though the cavity of the abscess may fill up in a short
time, the probability is that there will always remain in front of the
knee a plastic deposit, developed in varying degrees, which will resist
all treatment and continue unabsorbed for life.

Though simi)le bruises of the knee without extensive lesions are usu-

347

ally of trifling account, a different prognosis must be pronounced when
the lesion assumes more important dimensions; and though a capped
knee may be comparatively an affair of little importance we have seen
cases where not only extensive blemishes were left to disfigure the pa-
tient, but where the animals had become worthless in consequence of
the extension of the diseased process to the various elements of struct-
ure composing the joint, and giving rise to the most complicated cases
of carpitis.

We have seen that usually the first symptom which is observed is the
cedematous swelling on the fore part of the knee, the first lesion, in
fact, and therefore requiring immediate attention. The prevention of
the inflammation, and consequently of the abscess, is the prime object
in view, and it may be realized by the use of warm water fomentations
or compresses applied over the swelling, which may be used either in
a simple form or combined with astringents, such as Goulard's extract,
alum, or sulphate of zinc. The application of warm jioultices of oil
meal or ground flaxseed, enveloping the whole joint and kept in place
by bandages, is often followed by absorption of the swelling, or, if the
abscess is in process of formation, by the active secretion of pus.
If the formation of a tumor has followed this treatment, or if it has de-
veloped from its inception, it becomes an immediate necessity to empty
it, and the mode of accomplishing this will vary with different cases. In
one it should be done by a careful incision, which will allow the escape of
the blood of the serum, or of the pus which is inclosed in the sac; in
another it may be by means of a seton, in order that the discharge may
be maintained and allowed to escape; and for another the more cau-
tious mode may be adox)ted of emptying the cavity by means of punc-
tures with small trochars or aspirators. The danger attending this last
method arises from the possible sloughing of large portions of the skin,
while that attending the first is the hazard of the possibility of the ex-
tension of the inflammation to the capsular ligament of the knee, with
the risk of an open joint in prospect.

As we have remarked, the cavity, after being emptied, may rapidly
close and leave in a short time but slight traces of its previous exist-
ence. But in many, if not in a majority, of cases there will remain
after the cicatrization is complete a thickening or organized exudation,
at one time round and well defined, at another spreading by a diffused
infiltration, to which it will be necessary to give immediate attention,
from the fact of its tendency to form into an organized and permanent
body. To stimulate inflammation in this diseased structure blisters are
recommended, but chiefly for the purpose of promoting the process of
absorption. If this treatment should fail, the use of alteratives prosier
is recommended, mercury and its compounds and iodine preparations
probably receiving a majority of suffrages. Plain mercurial or plain
iodine ointment, or both in combination as iodide of mercury, are com-
monly used, and may either be applied moderately and by gentle de-

348

grees, as we bave snggestetl, or more freely aud vigorously witli a view
to more immediate effects, which, however, will also be more sujjerficial.
The use of the firing iron applied deeply with fine points is then to bo
strongly recommended, to be followed by blisters and various liniments.
This course may generally be relied on as quite sure to be followed by
satisfactory results.

While the treatment is in progress it will of course be necessary to
secure the animal in such a manner that a recurrence of the injury will
be impossible from similar causes to those which were previously
responsible.

Capped hoclc. — A bad habit prevails among some horses of rubbing
or striking the partitions of their stalls with their hocks, with the re-
sult of an injury which shows itself on the upper point of that bone,
the summit of the os calcis. From its analogy to the condition of
capped elbow the designation of capped hock has been applied to
this condition.

A capped hock is therefore but the development of a bruise at the
point of the hock, which if many times repeated may excite an inflam-
matory iirocess, with all its usual external symi)tomsof swelling, heat,
soreness, and the rest of the uow familiar phenomena. The swelling is
at first diffused, extending more or lesson the exterior part of the hock,
and in a few instances running up along the tendons and muscles of
the back of the shank. Soon, however, unless the irritating causes
are continued and repeated, the oedema diminishes, and becoming more
defined in its external outlines, leaves the hock capped with a hygroma.
The hygroma, at the very beginning of the trouble, contains a bloody
serosity which soon becomes strictly serum, but through the influence
of an acute inflammatory action is liable to undergo a metamorphosis
which converts it into the product of the suppurative process.

The external appearance ought to be sufficient to determine the diag-
nosis, but there are a few signs which may contribute toward a nicer
identification of the lesion. The capped hock, whether under the ap-
pearance of an acute cedematous swelling, or as a sero-bloody collection,
or as a simple serous cyst, does not give rise to any remarkable local
manifestation other than such as have already passed under our survey
in considering similar cases, nor will it be likely to interfere with the
functions which belong to the member in question, unless it assumes
very large dimensions and on each side of the tendons, as well as on the
summit of the bone. But if the inflammation is quite high, if suppura-
tion is developing, if there is a true abscess, or — and this is a common
complication— especially when the kicking or rubbing of the animal is
frequently recurring, then, besides the local trouble of the cyst or of
the abscess, the bones become diseased and the periosteum inflamed ;
perhaps the superior ends of the bone and its fibrocartilage become
affected, and a simple lesion or bruise, whatever it may have been,
becomes complicated with periostitis and ostitis,, aud is naturally accom-

349

panied with lameness, developed in a greater or less degree, which in
some cases may be permanent and in others increased by work. But
these complications are not common or frequent.

Capped hocks are in many cases amenable to treatment, and yet they
often become the opprobrium of the practitioner by remaining, as they
frequently do, an eyesore on the top of the hock ; not interfering, it is
true, with the work of the horse, but fixing upon him the stigma of
what, in human estimation, and especially in that of the tribe of "prac-
tical politicians," is a most unreliable and objectionable reputation, to-
wit, that of being a habitual "kicker," and, worse than all, one that
kicks where he receives his provender.

The maxim that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"
fits the present case very neatly. A horse whose hocks have a some-
what puffy look and whose skin on the front of the hock is loose and
flabby, justly subjects himself to a suspicion of his addictedness to this
bad habit. But ho may easily be either convicted or exonerated — a lit-
tle watching will soon establish the truth. If, then, the verdict is one
of conviction, precautions should be immediately adopted against a con-
tinuance of the evil. The padding of the sides of the stall with straw
mats or mattresses and covering the posts with similar material in such
a manner that no hard surface shall be exposed with which to come in
contact, will reduce the evil to its minimum. He may jar his frame
when he kicks, but even then there will be less force in the concus-
sion than if it impinged upon the solid i)lank, and cuts and abrasions
can not be inflicted by a properly made cushion. Hobbles are also
rightly recommended with a view to the required restraint of motion,
so applied as to secure the leg with which the kicking is performed, or
even both hind legs, yet in such a manner as shall not interfere with
the movements of lying down and rising again and yet allowing that
of kicking backwards. Boots similar in i^attern to those which are
used for the prevention of shoe boil are also prescribed. These are
placed above the hock and retained by straps tightly fastened. But
we apprehend that the difficulty of retaining them in the proper
place without the danger of chafing from the tightness of the straps
might form an objection to their use. Notwithstanding all precautious,
Locks will be capped in the future as in the past, and the study of their
treatment will always be in order.

The mode of dealing with them will of course be greatly influenced
by the condition of the parts. When the inflammation is excessive and
the swelling large, hot, and painful to the touch, the application of
warm water will be very beneficial. The leg should be well fomented
several times a day, for from fifteen to twenty minutes each time, a
strong decoction of marsh-mallow leaves being added to the water, and
after each ai)plication swathed with flannel bandages soaked in the
same warm mixture. A few days of this treatment will usually effect

350

a resolution of the inflammation, if not complete, at least sufficiently so
to disclose the correct outlines of the hygroma and exhibit its pecu-
liar and specific symptoms. The expediency of its removal and the
method of accomplishing it are then to be considered, uith the question
of opening it to give exit to its contents. If the fluid is of a purulent
character the indication is in favor of its immediate discharge — no time
should be lost, and it should be by means of a small opening made with
a narrow bistoury. If, however, the fluid is a serosity, we prefer to re-
move it by punctures with a very small trochar. Our reason for special
caution in these cases is our fear of the possibility of the existence of
diseased conditions of a severe character in the T)seudo joint. For the
same reason we prefer the treatment of those growths by external ap-
l)lications. In the first stages of the disease a severe and stiff blister
entirely covering the cyst, jjerhaps not yet completely formed, when
the inflammation has subsided will be of great benefit by its stimulat-
ing effect, the absorption it may excite, and the i3ressure which when
dry it will maintain u])ou the tumor. If, however, the thickening of the
growth fails to diminish it should be treated with some of the iodine
preparations in the form of ointments, pure or in combination with po-
tassa, mercury, etc., of various streugths and in various proportions.
Our opinion of setons is not favorable, but the actual canter^', by deep
and fine firing, in points— needle cauterization — we believe to be the
best mode of treatment, and especially when applied early.

Whatever treatment may be adopted for capped hock, patience must
be one of the ingredients. In these parts absori^tion is slow and the
skin is very thick, and its return to a soft, j)liable, natural condition,
if effected at all, will only take place after weeks added to other weeks
of medical treatment and patient waiting.

Interfering — Speedy cuts. — These designations belong to certain special
injuries of the extremities, produced by similar causes, giving rise to
kindred pathological lesions with allied phenomena, requiring about
the same treatment and often followed by the same results, to- wit, a
blemish which may not only subject the animal to a suspicion of un-
soundness, but in some special circnmstances interfere with his ability
to labor. It is known as " interfering " when the location of the trouble
is the inside of the fetlock of either the fore or hind leg. It is
called "speedy cut" when it occurs on the inside of the fore leg, a little
below the knee, at the point of contact of that joint with the cannon.

It is always the result of a blow, self-inflicted, of varying severity,
and giving rise to various lesions. At times the injury is too slight to
be seriousl3'^ noticed, the hair being scarcely cut and the skin unmarked.
At other times the skin will be cut through, partly or wholly, and it
may for the time cause a sufiicient amount of pain to check the motion
of the animal and induce him to suspend his labor through his inability
to use the wounded limb, traveling meanwhile for a short space on three
legs only. Sometimes a single blow will sufiice, or again there will be

351

a repetition of lighter strokes. In the latter case the parts ivill become
much swollen, hot and so painful to the touch that the motion of the
knee or the fetlock will be sufficiently disturbed to cause lameness of a
degree of severity corresponding wi! h that of the lesion. Following the
subsidence of this diffused and (Edematous swelling is sometimes the
formation of a tumor, either at the knee or the fetlock. This may be
soft at first or become so by degrees, with fluctuation, its contents being
at first extravasated blood, and later a serosity j or, if there has been a
sufficient degree of inflammation, it may become suppurative. The re-
sult of the fault of interfering may thus be exhibited, whether at the
knee or at the fetlock, as characterized by all the pathological condi-
tions which have appeared as accompaniments of capi^ed knee or capped
hock. If, in consequence of the force of the blow or blows, the inflam-
mation has been unusually severe, a mortification of the skin may be-
come one of the consequences, a slough taking place, succeeded by a
cutaneous ulcer on the inside of the fetlock or where the greater num-
ber of the original wounds are inflicted. If the interfering has been
often repeated it may be followed by another condition, which has been
considered in our remarks upon other affections. It is a plastic exuda-
tion or thickening of the parts, which are commonly said to ha.ve be-
come " callous," and the efiect of it is to destroy the regularity of the
outlines of the joint to an extent which constitutes a serious blemish,
which will be permanent, and according to the degree of the aberration
from the natural and symmetrical lines will inevitably depreciate the
commercial value of the animal.

An animal in interfering may thus exhibit a range of symptoms
whicb, from the simplest form of a mere ''touching," may successively
assume the serious characters of an ugly cicatrix, a hard, plastic
swelling, or perhaps, as witnessed at the knee, of periostitis with its
sequela3.

If a single and constantly recurring cause — a blow — be the starting
point in interfering, we may now consider the subject of the predispo-
sition which brings such serious results upon the suffering animal, and
the conditions which lead to and accompany it. These are numerous,
but the first in frequency and importance is peculiarity of conforma-
tion in the animals addicted to it. The first class will include horses
whose chest is narrow and whose legs do not stand straight and up-
right, but are crooJied and pigeon-toed in and cut. The second class
includes those whose legs are weak, either from youth or hard labor,
or from severe attacks of sickness. Another class is made up of those
having abnormally developed feet, or which have been badly shod with
unnecessarily wide or heavy shoes. Another class consists of those
that are affected with swollen fetlocks or chronic cedematous swellinsr
of the leg. Another is formed of animals with a peculiar action, as those
whose knee action is very high, and it is these that furnish most of the
cases of speedy cut.

352

The prognosis of interfering is never a very serions one. However
violent tlie blow may bo it is rarely that subsequent complications of a
troublesome nature occur. The principal evil attending it is a liability
to be followed by a tliiclieucd or callous deposit which is not only an
eyesore and a blemish, but constitutes a new and increased predisposi-
tion. The remark that " an animal which has interfered once is always
liable to interfere," is often confirmed and sanctioned by a recurrence
of the trouble.

Another point in which there is a resemblance between this lesion
and others which we have considered is in its responsiveness to the same
treatment with them. Indeed, the prescription of warm fomentations,
soothing applications, and astringent and resolvent mixtures, in a ma-
jority of cases, is the first that occurs all through the list. If the swell-
ing assumes the character of a serous collection, pressure, cold water
and bandages will contribute to its removal. If suppuration seems to
be established, and the swelling assumes the character of a developing
abscess, the hot poultices of flaxseed or of boiled vegetables and the
embrocations of suppurative or sedative ointments, those of basilicon,
or propuleum, impregnated with xirejiarations of opium or belladonna —
all these recommend themselves by their general adaptation and the
beneficial results which have followed their administration, not less in
one case than in another. When an abscess has formed and is fluctu-
ating, it should be carefully but fully opened to evacuate the pus. If
it is a serous cyst, some care is necessary in emptying it, and the pos-
sibility of the extension of the inflammation to the joint must be taken
into consideration. When the cavities have been emptied and have
closed by filling up with granulations, or if, not being opened, the con-
tents have been reabsorbed, and there remains in either case a plastic
exudation and a tendency to the callous organization that may yet exist,
blisters under their various forms, including those of cantharides, of
mercury, and of iodine arc then indicated, principally in the early stages,
as it is then that their effects will prove most satisfiictory. The use of
the actual cautery, with fine points, penetrating deeply throughout the
enlargement, has in our hands, when employed in the very early stages
of its formation, nearly always brought on a radical recovery with com-
plete absorption of the thickening.

Stringhalt. — The characteristic symptom, if not in fact the sum of
the symptomatology of this disease, is the spasmodic flexion, more or
less violent, of the hock, sometimes to the extent of striking the abdo-
men with the fetlock of the affected leg, and at others only sufficient to
lift it a few inches from the ground, but always with the same sudden,
uncontrollable jerk. The habit is unaffected by the gait of the animal,
and whether trotting, walking, or merely turning around, it is all the
same. It does not seem to be influenced by the horse's age, young and
old being alike affected. Its first manifestations are sometimes very
slight. It has been noticed as occurring to an animal when backing

353

out of his stable and ceasing immediately after. In some animals it is
best seen when the animal is turning around on the affected leg, and is
not noticed when he moves straight forward. That this peculiar action
interferes with facility of locomotion and detracts from a horse's claim
to soundness can not for a moment be denied.

Veterinarians and pathologists are yet in doubt in respect to the
cause of this affection, as well as to its essential nature. Whether it
results from disease of the hock, of an ulcerative character; whether it
springs from a malformation ; Whether it is purely a muscular or purely
a nervous lesion, or a compound of both, it still continues, if an etiolo-
gist is bound to possess universal knowledge within the scope of his
special studies, to be his opjirobrium and his puzzle.

Various experiments in the line of treatment have been instituted,
but none have been crowned with satisfactory results. We iucliue to
the opinion that some undesignated disease of the hock is responsible
for it, and believe that in the present state of knowledge the best pre-
scription that can be devised is the safe and economical one of rest, a
long rest in a pasture, where unmolested nature shall be permitted to
bring about any necessary change that may be appropriate to the case.
Whatever other treatment it may be considered wise to undertake must
be of a widely different character, and must be determined upon by
those whose chosen and approjiriate sphere is the domain of operative
surgery.

UmboUsms. — There are certain forms of lameness which are very
peculiar in their manifestation, and which to the non-professional mind
must appear to belong rather to the domain of mystery or theory than
to be subjects of experimental and definite knowledge. Yet they are
none the less susceptible of demonstration and positive knowledge than
many facts which, plain and familiar to the general comprehension now,
were once ranked among things occult and unsearchable. An embo-
lism, considered as a cause of lameness, may find a place among these
understood mysteries.

Under certain peculiar conditions of inflammation of the blood ves-
sels, clots of blood are sometimes formed in the arteries and find their
way in the general circulation. At first, while very small, or suffi-
ciently so to pass from one vessel to another, they move from a small
vessel to a larger, and from that to one still larger, constantly increas-
ing in size until at some given point, from their inability to enter smaller
vessels, their movement is finally arrested. The artery is thus effect-
ually dammed, and the clot in a short time cuts off completely the sup-
ply of blood from the parts beyond. This is the embolism, and it often
gives rise to sudden and excessive lameness of a very i^ainful character.

Embolisms may form in any of the arteries of the body, and doubt-
less have been the cause of many cases of lameness which could never
be accounted for. If they exist in small arteries their diagnosis will
probably fail to be made out with certainty, but when situated in the
11035 23

354

larger trunks a strong suspicion of their presence may be excited. In
some cases they may even be recognized with positive accuracy, as
when the vessels which supply the posterior extremities are affected by
the blocking up of the posterior aorta or its ramifications.

The existence of embolisms of the arteries of the hind leg may always
be suspected when the following history is known : The general health
of the animal is good, but symptoms of lameness in one of the legs have
been developed, becoming more marked as he is worked, and especially
when driven at a fast gait. But the disturbance is not permanent, and
the lameness disappears almost immediately upon his being permitted
to rest. There is an increase of the difficulty, however, and, though he
may walk normally, he will, when made to trot, very soon begin to
slacken his pace and to show signs of the trouble, and if urged to in-
crease his speed will become lamer aud lamer ; an abundant perspira-
tion will break out; he will refuse to go, aud if forced he shows weak-
ness behind ; seems ready to fall, and perhaps does fall. While on his
feet the leg is kept in constant motion, up and down, and is kept from
the ground as if the contact was too painful to bear. If undisturbed
this series of symptoms will gradually subside, sometimes very soon,
and occasionally after a few hours he will return to an apparently per-
fect condition. A return to labor will lead to a renewal of the same
incidents.

A history like this suggests a strong suspicion of embolism of an
artery of the hind leg, and this suspicion will be confirmed by the ex-
ternal symptoms exhibited by the animal. The total absence of any other
disease which might account for the lameness, and a manifest diminu-
tion of heat over a part or the whole of the extremity, when compared
with the opposite side or with any other portion of the body; a sensa-
tion of cold attendant on the pain, but gradually subsiding as the pain
subsides, and the circulation, quickened by the rest, has been reestab-
lished throughout the extremity; all these are confirmatory circum-
stances. Still, it is thus far only a suspicion, and absolute certainty is
yet wanting. To establish the truth of the case the rectal taxis must
be resorted to. The hands then, well i^repared and carefully introduced
into the rectum, must explore for the truth, first feeling for the large
blood vessels which, dividing at the aorta, separate to supply the right
and left legs. These must be compared in respect to the pulsation and
other particulars. The artery which is health^' will of course exhibit
all the proper conditions of that state. On the other hand, if the vessel
appears to the feel hard, more or less cordj^, aud pulseless, or giving a
sensation of fluttering, as of a small volume of blood with a trickling
motion passing through a confined space, the difference between the
sides will make the case plain. The first will be the full flow of the cir-
culation through an unobstructed channel, the other a forced passage
of the fluid between the embolism and the coats of the artery.

355

In sucli a case tbe prognosis is necessarily a grave one. 'So form of
treatment can be advised; and tbe safferiug of a helpless and useless
animal can only be terminated by that which ends all.

Cases occur, however, where this condition of the blood-vessels exists
in a much less degree, and the diseased condition is not sufticiently pro-
nounced for final condemnation. There may even be a possibility of the
absorption of the clot, and that an increase of the circulation may be
sufiticient to supply the parts with blood. In such cases attempts may
be made looking to the possibility of relief, and the pasture, field, or the
stable, and unmolested nature must be trusted for the rest.

Sprains of the loins. — This is an affection which suggests to the mind
the idea of muscular injury, and is ditficnlt to distinguish from many
similar cases. If the animal slirinks from the slightest pressure or
pinching of the spine, in the region of the loins, he is by many pro-
nounced to be '• lame in the loins," or " sprained in the loins," or " weak
in the kidneys." This is a grave error, as in fact this simple and gentle
yielding to such a pressure is not a pathological sign, but is normal and
significant of health. Yet there are sev^eral conditions to which the
definition of " sprains of the loins" may apply which are not strictly
normal. The muscles of the back and those of the loins proper, as the
psoas, may have been injured, or again there may be trouble of a rheu-
matic nature, perhaps suggestive of lumbago. Diseases of the bones
of the vertebral column, or even those of the organs of circulation, may
give rise to an exhibition of similar symptoms. These symptoms are
characteristic of a loss of rigidity or firmness of the vertebral column,
both when the animal is at rest and in action. In the former condition,
or when at rest, there is an arched condition of the back and a con-
strained posture in standing, with the hind legs separated. In the latter
there is a lateral, balancing movement at the loins, principally noticea-
ble while the animal is in the act of trotting — a iieculiar motion, some-
times referred to as a "crick in the back," or what the French call a
"tour de bateau.'''' If, while in action, the animal is suddenly made to
halt, the act is accompanied with much pain, the back suddenly arching
or bending laterally, and perhaps the hind legs thrown under the bod}'-,
as if unable to ijerform their functions in stopping, and sometimes it is
only accomplished at the cost of a sudden and severe fall. This mani-
festation is also exhibited when the animal is called upon to back, when
a repetition of the same symptoms will also occur.

If a slight pressure on the back or the loins is followed by a moderate
yielding of the animal, it is, as we before remarked, a good sign of
health. With a sprain of the loins pressure of any kind is painful, and
will cause the animal to bend or to crouch under it more or less, accord-
ing to the weight of the pressure. Heavy loads, and even heavy har-
nessing will develop this tenderness. In lying down he seems to suffer
much discomfort, and often accompanies the act with groaning, and
wiien compelled to rise does so only with great diflQculty and seldom
succeeds without repeated efforts.

356

Sprains of muscles proper, when receut, will always be accompanied
by this series of symptoms, and the fact of tlieir exhibition, with an ex-
cessive sensibility of the parts, and possibly with a degree of swelling,
will always justify a diagnosis of acute muscular lesion ; and especially
so if accompanied by a history of violent efforts, powerful muscular I
strains, falls, heavy loading, etc., connected with the case. But if the |
symptoms have been of slow development and gradual increase, it be-
comes a more difficult task to determine whether the diagnosis points
to i^athological changes in the structure of the muscles or of the bones,
the nervous centers or the blood-vessels of the region. And yet it is
important to decide as to which particular structure is affected in ref-
erence to the question of prognosis, since the degree of the gravity of
the lesion will depend largely upon whether the disabled condition of
the animal is due to an acute or a chronic disease. The prescription
which will necessarily first of all suggest itself for sprains of the loins
is rest. An animal so affected should be immediately placed in slings
and none of his efibrts to release himself should be allowed to succeed.
Hot compresses, cold-water douches, sweating applications, stimulat-
ing frictions, strengthening charges, blistering ointments of cantharides
and the actual cautery, all have their advocates ; but in no case can
the immobility obtained by the slings be dispensed with. In many
cases electricity has also yielded good results, where the weakness of
the hind quarters was dependent on disease of the nervous centers.

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PLATh: XXVI

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Si-xt 1 'i " ■ —

[aines.dcl

Haines, del.Nos.1,2 and 3, Original.Nn 'i , after Percival ,

'T3 0NT5 SPAVIN

PJL^^TE XX\1I.

1 Brax:e for dlsLocatioix. of tlie eJ.bow rtppLi^t^d to the. fhorse.
1 a., The same brace- seen aloiie,. 2, Brax:e for cUslocation.
of fetlock 2a^, The same brace applied, to the horse.

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3, Brace for sprairted or dislocated sjioiilder-^
,3 a. The same brace applied to the shoiLlder:

laines, del.af terPeucti ai\d Toussainl

DISLOCATION OF SHOULDER AND KLBOW

Bourgelat's apparatus

PLxVTE xx^^rl

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laines, del. aftei- Hcvnders.

THE SLINTG IIST USK

DISEASES OF THE FETLOCK, ANKLE, AND FOOT.

BY A. A. HOLCOMBE, D. V. S.

ANATOMICAL REVIEW OF THE FOOT.

In a descriptiou of the foot of the horse it is customary to include
only the hoof and its contents, yet, from a zoological standpoint, the
foot includes all the leg from the knee and the hock down.

The foot of the horse is undoubtedly the most important part of the
animal, in so far as veterinary surgery is concerned, for the reason that
this member is subject to so many injuries and diseases, which, in part
or in whole, render the patient unfit for the labor demanded of him. The
old aphorism, '' no foot no horse," is as true to-day as when first ex-
pressed; in fact, domestication, coupled with the multiplied uses to
which the animal is put, aud the constant reproduction of hereditary
defects and tendencies, have largely transformed the ancient " compan-
ion of the wind" into a very common piece of machinery which is often
out of repair, and, at best, is but short-lived in its usefulness.

Since the value of the horse depends largely, or even entirely upon
his ability to labor, it is essential that his organs of locomotion should
be kept sound ; and to accomplish this end it is necessary not only to
know how to cure all diseases to which these organs are liable, but, bet-
ter still, hov\^ to prevent them.

An important prerequisite to the detection and cure of disease is a
knowledge of the construction and function of the parts which may be
involved in the diseased process 5 hence, first of all, the anatomical
structures must be understood.

The bones of the fetlock and foot constitute the skeleton on which the
other structures are built, and comprise the lower end of the cannon
bone (the metacarpus in the fore leg, the metatarsus in the hind leg), the
two sesamoids, the large pastern or suffraginis, the small pastern or
coronet, the coffin bone or os pedis, aud the small sesamoid or navicular
bone. (Plate xxxii, Fig. 3.)

The cannon hone extends from the knee or hock to the fetlock, is
cylindrical in shape and stands nearly or quite perpendicular.

The sescunoids occur in pairs, are small, shaped like a three-faced

pyramid, and are set behind the fetlock joint, at the upper end of the

suffraginis, with the base of the pyramid down.

357

358

The suffragims is a very compact bone, set in an oblique direction
downward and forward, and extends from the cannon bone to the
coronet.

The coronet is a short, cube-shaped bone, set between the suffragiuis
and coffin bone, in the same oblique direction.

The coffin hone forms the end of the foot and is shaped like the horny
box in which it is enclosed.

The navicuJar bone is short, flattened above and below, and is attached
to the coffin bone behind.

All of these bones are covered on the surfaces with a cartilage of
incrustation which goes to make up the joints, while the i)ortion8
between are covered with a fibrous membrane called the periosteum.

The joints of the legs are of especial importance, since any inter-
ference with their function very largely impairs the value of the animal
for most purposes. As the joints of the foot and ankle are at the point
of greatest concussion they are the ones most subject to injury and
disease.

There are three of these joints — the fetlock, pastern, and coffin. They
are made by the union of two or more bones, held together by ligaments
of fibrous tissue, and are lubricated by a thick viscid fluid, called syno-
via, which is secreted by a special membrane inclosing the joints.

The fetlocl^ joint is made by the union of the lower end of the cannon
and the upper end of the large pastern bones, supplemented by the two
sesamoids, so i^laced behind the upper end of the pastern that the joint
is capable of a very extensive motion. These bones are held together
by ligaments, only one of which — the suspensory — demands special
mention.

The suspensory ligament of the fetlock starts from the knee, extends
down behind the cannon, lying between the two splint bones, until near
the fetlock, where it divides and sends a branch on either side of the
joint, downward and forward, to become attached on the sides of the
extensor tendon at the lower end of the pastern bone. As it crosses the
sesamoids on the posterior borders of the fetlock it throws out fibers,
which hold it fast to these bones. (Plate xxxii. Fig. 2.)

The paster n joint \'& made by the union of the two pastern bones.

The coffin joint is made by the union of the small pastern, coffin, and
small sesamoid or navicular bones, the latter being set behind and be-
neath the joint surface of the coffin bone, in such a way as to largely
receive the weight of the small j)astern.

Three tendons sevye to move the bones of the foot one on another.
Two of these flex or bend the joints, while the other extends or straight-
ens the column of bones. (Plate xxx. Fig. 5.)

The flexor pedis r>crforans, or deep flexor of the foot, passes down be-
hind the cannon bone, lying against the suspensory ligament in front.
Crosses the fetlock joint in the groove made by the union of the two
sesamoids, and is attached to the bottom of the coffin boncj after cover-

359

h)g the navicular, by a wide expansion of its fibers. It is the function
of this tendon to flex the coffin bone and with it the horny box.

The flexor pedis perforaius^ or superficial flexor of the foot, follows
the course of the precedinf? tendon and is attached to the middleof the
anlde. The function of this tendon is to flex the foot at the fetlock.

The extensor pedis runs down in front of the leg, is attached on the
most prominent point of the coffin bone, and has for function the
straightening of the bones of the ankle and foot.

The bones, ligaments, and tendons are covered by a loose connective
tissue, which gives a symmetry to the parts by filling up and rounding
ofl", and all are protected by the skin and hoof.

The slcin of the fetlock and ankle is generally characterized by its
thickness and the length of its hairs, especially around the hind parts
of the fetlock joint in certain breeds of horses. The most important
part of this envelope is that known as the coronary band.

The coronary hand is that portion of the skin which secretes the horn
by which the wall of the hoof is made. This horn much resembles the
nail which grows on. the fingers and toes of man. It is composed of
hollow, cylindrical tubes, extending from the coronary band to the
lower border of the hoof, which are held together by a tenacious opaque
matter. (Plate xxix, Fig. 1.)

The lioof is a box of horn, consisting of a wall, sole, and frog, and
contains, besides the cofiiu, navicular and part of the small pastern
bones, the sensitive laminae, plantar cushion and the lateral cartilages.
(Plate XXX, Fig. 4.)

The sole of the foot incloses the box on the ground surface, is shaped
like the circumference of the foot, except that a V-shaped opening is
left behind for the reception of the frog, and is concave on the lower
surface. The sole is produced by the velvety tissue, a thin membrauce
covering the irlautar cushion and other soft tissues beneath the coffin
bone. The horn of the sole differs from the horn of the wall, in that
its tubes are not straight, and from the fact that it scales off in pieces
over the whole surface.

T he/ro</is a triangular shaped body, divided into two equal parts by
a deep fissure, extending from its apex in front to the base. It fills the
triangular space in the sole to which it is intimately attached by its bor-
ders. The horn of the frog is produced iu the same manner as the sole,
but it differs from both the wall and sole, in that the horn is soft, moist,
and elastic to a remarkable degree. It is the function of the frog to
destroy shock and to prevent slipping.

The sensitive htminw are thin plates of soft tissue, covering the en-
tire anterior surface of the coffin bone. They are present in great num-
bers, and by fitting into corresponding grooves on the inner surface of
the horn of the wall the union of the soft and horny tissues is made
comi)lete. (Plate xxix. Fig. 1.)

The plantar cushionis a thick pad of fibrous tissue, placed behind and
under the navicular and coffin bones, and resting on the sole and frog,

360

forthe purpose of receiving the downward pressure of the column of
bones and to destroy shock. (Plate xxix, Fig. 4.)

The lateral cartilages are attached, one on either side, to the wings of
the cofiin bone byxheir inferior borders. Tliey are thin plates of fibro-
cartilage, and their function is to assist the frog and adjacent structures
to regain their proper position after having been displaced by the weight
of the body while the foot rested on the ground. (Plate xxix, Fig. 2.)

FAULTS OF CONFORMATION.

A large percentage of the horses have feet which are not perfect in
conformation, and as a consequence of these imperfections the^^ are es-
pecially i^redisposed to certain injuries and diseases.

Flat feet is that condition in which the sole has little or no convexity.
It is a iieculiarity common to some breeds, especially heavy, lymphatic
animals raised on low, marshy soils. It is confined to the forefeet, which
are generally broad, low heeled, and with a wall less upright than is
seen in the perfect foot.

In flat-foot there can be little or no elasticity in the sole, for the rea-
son that it has no arch, and the weight of the animal is received on the
entire jilantar surface as it rests upon the ground instead of on the wall.
For these reasons such feet are i)articularly liable to briiises of the sole,
corns, i^umiced sole, and excessive suppuration when the process is once
established. Horses with flat-foot should be shod with a shoe having a
wide web, pressing on the wall only, while the heels and frog are never
to be pared. Flat-foot generally has weak walls, and as a consequence
the nails of the shoe are readily loosened and the shoe cast.

Clubfoot is a term applied to such feet as have the wall set nearly per-
pendicular. When this condition is present the heels are high, the fet-
lock joint is thrown forward, or knuckles, and the weight of the animal
is received on the toes. Many mules are clubfooted, especially behind,
where it seems to cause little or no inconvenience. Clubfoot may be
cured by cutting the tendons in severe cases, but as a rule special shoe-
ing is the only measure of relief that can be adopted. The toe should
not be pared, but the heels are to be lowered as much as possible, and
a shoe put on with a long projecting toe piece, slightly turned up, while
the heels of the shoe are to be made thin,

Croolied foot is that condition in which one side of the wall is higher
than the other. If the inside wall is the higher, the ankle is thrown
outward, so that the fetlock joints are abnormally wide apart and tlie
toes close together. Animals with this deformity are "pigeon-toed,"
and are prone to interfere, the inside toe striking the opposite fetlock.
If but one foot is affected, the other being perfect, the liability to in-
terfere is still greater, for the reason that the fetlock of the perfect leg
is more near the center iilane.

When, the outside heel is the higher the ankle is thrown in and the

361

toe turns out. Horses with such feet interfere with tlie heel. If but
one foot is so affected, the liability to interfere is less than where both
feet are affected, for the reason that the ankle of the perfect leg is not
so near to the center line. Such animals are especially liable to stum-
bling and to lameness from injury to the ligaments of the fetlock joints.
The deformity is to be overcome by such shoeing as will equalize the
disparity in length of walls, and by proper boots to protect the fetlocks
from interfering.

INTERFERING.

An animal is said to interfere when one foot strikes the opposite leg,
as it passes by, during locomotion. Tlie inner surface of the fetlock
joint is the part most subject to this injury, althougb, under certain
conditions, it may happen to any part of the ankle. It is seen more
often in the hind than in the fore legs. Interfering causes a bruise of
the skiu and deeper tissues, generally accompanied by an abrasion of
the surface. It may cause lameness, dangerous tripping, and thickening
of the injured parts.

Causers.— Faulty conformation is the most prolific cause of interfer-
ing. When the bones of the leg are so united that the toe of the foot
turns in (pigeon-toed), or when the fetlock joints are close together
and the toe turns out, when the leg is so deformed that the whole foot
and ankle turn either in or out, interfering is almost sure to follow. It
may happen, also, when the feet grow too long ; from defective shoeing;
rough or slippery roads ; from the exhaustion of labor or sickness ;
swelling of the leg ; high knee action ; fast work, and because the chest
or hips are too narrow.

^j/m^jfoms.— Generally, the evidences of interfering are easily de-
tected, for the parts are tender, swollen, and the skin broken. Buf
very often, especially in trotters, the flat surface of the hoof strikes the
fetlock without evident injury, and attention is directed to these parts
only by the occasional tripping and unsteady gait. In such cases proof
of the cause may be had by walking and trotting the animal, after first
painting the inside toe and quarter of the suspected foot with a thin
coating of chalk, charcoal, mud, or paint.

Treatment. — When the trouble is due to deformity or faulty conforma-
tion it may not be possible to overcome the defect.

In such cases, and as well in those due to exhaustion or fiitigue, the
fetlock or ankle boot must be used. In many instances interfering
may be prevented by proper shoeing. The outside heel and quarter of
the foot on the injured leg should be lowered sufficiently to change the
relative position of the fetlock joint, by bringing it further away from
the center plane of the body, thereby permitting the other foot to pass
by without striking.

A very slight change is often sufficient to effect this result. At the
same time the offending foot should be shod, that the shoe may set well

362

nnder tlie lioof at the point responsible for the injury. The shoo
should be reset every three or four weeks.

When the cause has been removed cold water bandages to the in-
jured parts will soon remove the soreness and swelling, especially in
recent cases. If, however, the fetlock has become calloused from long-
continued bruising, a Spanish fly blister over the parts, rei)eated in
two or three weeks' time if necessary, will aid in reducing the leg to its
natural condition.

KNUCKLING OR COCKED ANKLES^.

Knuckling is a partial dislocation of the fetlock joint, in which the
relative i)06ition of the pastern bone to the cannon and coronet bones
is changed, the pastern becoming more nearly perpendicular, with the
lower end of the cannon bone resting behind the center line of the
sufiraginis, while the lower end of this bone rests behind the center
line of the coronet. While knuckling is not always an unsoundness, it
nevertheless predisposes to stumbling and to fracture of the pastern.

Causes. — Young foals are quite subject to this condition, but in the
great majority of cases it is only temporary. It is largely due to the
fact that, before birth, the legs were flexed; and time is required, after
birth, for the ligaments, tendons, and muscles to adapt themselves to
the function of sustaining the weight of the body.

Horses with erect pasterns are very prone to knuckle as they grow
old, especially in the hind legs. All kinds of heavy work, particularly
in hilly districts, and fast work on hard race-tracks or roads are excit-
ing causes of knuckling. It is also commonly seen as an accompani-
ment to that faulty conformation called club-foot, in which the toe of
the wall is peri^endicular and short and the heels high, a condition
most often seen in the mule, especially the hind feet.

Lastly, knuckling is i:)roduced by disease of the suspensory ligaincnt,
or of the flexor tendons, whereby they arc shortened, and by disease
of the fetlock joints.

Treatment. — In young foals no treatment is necessary, unless there is
some deformity present, since the legs straighten up without inter-
ference in the course of a few weeks' time. When knuckling has com-
menced the indications are to relieve the tendons and ligaments by
proper shoeing. The foot is to be prepared for the shoe by shortening
the toe as much as possible, leaving the heels high; or if the foot is
IDrepared in tiie usual way the shoe should be thin in front, with thick
heels or high calks. For the hind feet a long-heeled shoe with calks
seems to do best. Of course, when j^ossible, the causes of knuckling
are to be removed, but since this can not always be done, the time may
come when the patient can no longer perform any service, particularly
in those cases where both forelegs are affected, and it becomes neces-
sary either to destroy the animal or secure relief by surgical inter-
ference. In such cases the tendons, between the fetlock and knee, may

363

be divided for the purpose of securing temporary relief. Firing and
blistering the parts responsible for the knuckling may, in some in-
stances, effect a cure; but a consideration of tbese measures properly
belongs to the treatment of the diseases in which knuckling simply
appears as a sequel.

WIND-GALLS.

Joints and tendons are furnished with sacs containing a lubricating
fluid called synovia. When these sacs are overdistended, by reason
of an excessive secretion of synovia, they are called wind-galls. They
form a soft, puffy tumor about the size of a hickory nut, and are most
often found in the foreleg, at the upper part of the fetlock joint, be-
tween the tendon and the shin-bone. When they develop in the hind
leg it is not unusual to see them reach the size of a walnut. Occasion-
ally they appear in front of the fetlock on the border of the tendon.
The majority of the horses are not subject to them after colthood is
passed.

Causes. — Wind-galls are often seen in young, overgrown horses,
■where the body seems to have outgrown the ability of the joints to sus-
tain the weight. In cart and other horses used to hard work, in trotters
with excessive knee action, in hurdle racers and hunters, and in most
cow-ponies there is a predisposition to wind-galls. Street-car horses
and others used to start heavy loads on slippery streets are the ones
most apt to develop wind-galls in the hind legs.

Spnptoms. — The tumor is more or less firm and tense when the foot
is on the ground, but is soft and compressible when the foot is off the
ground. In old horses wind-galls generally develop slowly and cause
no inconvenience. If they are caused by excessive tension of the joint
the tumor develops rapidly, is tense, hot, and painful, and the animal
is exceedingly lame. The patient stands with the joint flexed, walks
with short steps, the toe only being placed on the ground. When the
tumor is large and situated upon the inside of the leg it may be injured
by interfering, causing stumbling and inflammation of the sac. Rest
generally causes the tumor to diminish in size, only to fill up again after
renewed labor. In old cases the tumors are hardened, and may be-
come converted into bone by a deposit of the lime salts.

Treatment.— The Jarge, puffy joints of suckling colts, as a rule, re-
quire no treatment, for as the animal grows older the parts clean up,
and after a time the swelling entirely disappears.

When the trouble is due to an injury, entire rest is to be secured by
the use of slings and a high-heeled shoe. Cold water douches should
be used once or twice a day, followed by cold water bandages, until
the fever has subsided and the soreness is largely removed, when a
blister is to be applied.

In old wind-galls, which cause more or less stiffness, some relief may
be had by the use of cold compress bandages, elastic boots, or the red

364

iodide of mercury blisters. Opening the sacs, as recommended by some
authors, is of doubtful utility, and should only be adopted by the sur-
geon capable of treating the wound he has made. Enforced rest until
complete recovery is eifected should always be insisted on, as a too early
return to work is sure to be followed by a relapse.

SPRAIN OF THE FETLOCK.

Sprain of the fetlock joint is most common in the fore legs, and as a
rule affects but one at a time. Horses doing fast work, as trotters,
runners, steeplechasers, hunters, cow-ponies, and those that interfere,
are particularly liable to this injury.

Causes. — Horses knuckling at the fetlock, and all those with diseases
which impair the powers of locomotion, such as navicular disease, con-
tracted heels, side bones, chronic laminitis, etc., are predisposed to
sprains of the fetlock. It generally happens from a misstep, stum-
bling, or slipping, which results in the joint being extended or flexed to
excess. The same result may happen where the foot is caught in a rut,
hole in a bridge, or in a car track, and the animal falls or struggles
violently. Direct blows and punctured wounds may also set up inflam-
mation of the joint.

Symptoms. — The symptoms of sprain of the fetlock vary with the
severity of the injury. If slight there may be no lameness, but simply
a little soreness, especially when the foot strikes on uneven ground, and
the joint is twisted a little. In cases more severe the joint swells, is
hot and puffy, and the lameness may be so intense as to compel the
animal to hobble on three legs. While at rest the leg is flexed at the
joint affected, and the toe rests on the ground.

Treatment.— U the injury is slight, cold-water bandages and a few
days' rest are sufficient to effect recovery. In cases where there is in-
tense lameness, swelling, etc., the leg should be placed under a constant
stream of cold water, as described in the treatment for quitter. When
the inflammation has subsided a blister to the joint should be applied.

In some cases, especially in old horses long accustomed to fast work,
the ligaments of the joints are ruptured, in whole or in part, and the
lameness may last a long time. In these cases the joint should be kept
completely at rest; and this condition is best secured by the applica-
tion of the plaster of Paris bandages, as in cases of fracture. As a rule,
patients take kindly to this bandage, and may be given the freedom of
a roomy box or yard while wearing it. If they are disposed to tear it
off, or if sufficient rest can not otherwise be secured, the patient must
be kept in slings.

In the majority of instances the plaster bandage should remain on
from two to four weeks. If the lameness returns when the bandage
is removed, a new one should be put on. The swelling, which always
remains after the other evidences of the disease have disappeared,

365

may belar^^ely dissipated aud the joint strengthened by the use of the
firing iron and blisters.

A joint once injured by a severe sprain never entirely regains its
original strength, and is ever after particularly liable to a repetition of
the injur}'.

KUPTURE OP THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT.

Sprain, with or without rupture, of the suspensoiy ligament, may
happen in both the fore and hind legs, and is occasionally seen in horses
of all classes and at all ages. Old animals, however, and especially hunt-
ers, runners, and trotters, are the most subject to this injury, and with
these classes the seat of the trouble is nearly always in one, or both,
the fore legs. Ilorses used for heavy draught are more liable to have
the ligament of the hind legs affected.

When the strain ui)on the suspensory ligament becomes too great
one or both of the branches may be torn from their attachments to
the sesamoid bones ; one or both of the branches may be torn com-
pletely across ; or the ligament may rupture above the point of division.

Si/m2)toms. — The most common injury to the suspensory ligament is
sprain of the internal braucli in one of the fore legs. The trouble is pro-
claimed by lameness, heat, swelling and tenderness of the affected
branch, beginning just above the sesamoid bone and extending ob-
liquely downward aud forward to the front of the ankle. If the whole
ligament is involved the swelling comes on gradually, aud is found
above the fetlock and in front of the flexor tendons. The patient
stands or walks upon the too as much as possible, keeping the fetlock
joint flexed so as to relieve the ligament of tension.

When both branches are torn from their attachments to the sesa-
moids, or both are torn across, the lameness comes on suddenly and is
most intense ; the fetlock descends, the toe turns up and, as the animal
attempts to walk, the leg has the appearance of being broken off at the
fetlock. These symptoms, followed by heat, pain, and swelling of the
parts at the point of injury will enable any one to make a diagnosis.

Treatment. — Sprain of the suspensory ligament, no matter how mild
it may be, should always be treated by enforced rest of at least a month,
and the application of cold douches and cold water bandages, firmly
applied until the fever has subsidetl, when a cantharides blister should
be put on and repeated in two or three weeks' time, if necessary. When
rupture has taken place the patient should be put iu slings, and a con-
stant stream of cold water allowed to trickle over the seat of injury
uutil the fever is reduced. In the course of a week or ten days' time a
plaster of Paris splint, such as is used in fractures, is to be applied and
left on for a month or six weeks. When this is taken off blisters may
be used to remove the remaining soreness ; but it is useless to expect
a removal of all the thickening, for in the process of repair new tissue
has been formed which will always remain.

366

In old cases of sprain the firing iron may often be used v:ith good re-
sults. As a rule, severe injuries to the suspensory ligament incapaci-
tate the subject for anything but slow, light work,

OVERREACn.

An overreach is where the shoe of the hind foot stril^es and injures
the heel or quarter of the fore foot. It rarely happens except w^hen the
animal is going fast, hence is most common in trotting and running
horses. In trotters the accident generally happens when the animal
breaks from a trot- to a run. The outside heels and quarters are most
liable to the injury.

Sym])toms. — The coronet at the heel or quarter is bruised or cut, the
injury in some instances involving the horn as well. Where the hind
foot strikes well back on the heel of the forefoot— an accident known
among horsemen as "grabbing" — the shoe may be torn from the fore-
foot or the animal may fall to his knees. Horses accustomed to over-
reaching are often " bad breakers," for the reason that the pain of the
injury so excites them that they can not readily be brought back to the
trotting gait.

Treatment — If the injury is but a slight bruise cold water bandages
appliad for a few days will remove all of the soreness. If the parts are
deeply cut more or less suppuration will follow, and, as a rule, it is well
to poultice the parts for a day or two, after which cold baths may be
used, or the wounds dressed with tincture of aloes, oakum, and a roller
bandage.

When an animal is known to be subject to overreaching, he should
never be driven fast without quarter-boots, which are specially- made
for the protection of the heels ami quarters.

If there is a disposition to " grab " the forward shoes, the trouble
may be remedied by having the heels of these shoes made as short as
possible, while the toe of the hind foot should project well over the hind
shoe. When circumstances will permit of their use, the forefeet may
be shod with the tips instead of the common shoe, as described in the
treatment for contracted heels.

CALK WOUNDS.

Horses wearing shoes with sharp calks are liable to wounds of the
coronary region, either from tramping on themselves, or on each other.
These injuries are most common in heavy draught horses, especially on
rough roads and slippery streets. The fore feet are more liable than
the hind ones, and the seat of injury is commonly on the quarters. In
the hind feet the wound often results from the animal resting with the
heel of one foot set directly over the front of the other. In these cases
the injury is generally close to the horn, and often involves the coronary
band, the sensitive iamiuai, the extensor tendon, and even the coffin
bone.

367

Treatment. — Preventive measures would include the use of boots to
protect the coronet of the hind foot, and the use of a blimt calk on the
outside heel of the fore shoe, since this is generally the offending instru-
ment where the fore feet are injured. If the wound is not deep and
the soreness slight, cold-water bandages and a ligiit i)rotective dressing,
• such as carbolized cosinoline, will bs all that is needed. Where the in-
jury is deep, followed by inflammation and suppuration of the coronary
band, lateral cartilages, sensitive lauiinte, etc., active measures must be
resorted to. In these cases cold, astringent baths, made by adding two
ounces of sulphate of iron to a gallon of water, should be used, followed
by poultices if it is necessary to hasten the cleansing of the wound by
stimulating the sloughing process. Where the wound is deep between
the horn and skin, especially over the anterior tendon, the horn should
be cub away so that the injured tissues may be exposed. The subse-
quent treatment in these cases should follow the directions laid down
in the article on toe-cracks.

FROST BITES.

Excepting the ears, the feet and legs are abont the only parts of the
horse liable to become frost bitten. The cases most commonly seen are
found in cities, especially among car horses, where salt is used for the
purpose of melting the snow on curves and switches. This mixture of
snow and salt is splashed over the feet and legs, rapidly lowering the
temperature of the parts to the freezing point. In mountainous dis-
tricts where the snowfall is heavy and the cold often intense, frost bites
are not uncommon even among animals running at large.

Symiitojus. — When the frosting is slight the skin becomes pale and
bloodless, followed soon after by intense redness, heat, pain, and swell-
ing. In these cases the hair may fall out and the epidermis peel off,
but the inflammation soon subsides, the swelling disappears, and only an
increased sensitiveness to cold remains.

In cases more severe, irregular patches of skin are destroyed, and after
a few days' time slough away, leaving slow-healing ulcers behind. In
the cases produced by low temperatures and deep snow the coronary
band is the part most often aifected.

In many instances there is no destruction of the skin, but simply a
temporary suspension of the horn-producing function of the coronary
baud. The fore feet are more often affected than the hind ones, and
for some reason the heels and quarters are less often involved than the
front part of the foot. The coronary band becomes hot, swollen and
painful, and after two or three days' time the horn separates from the
band and slight suppuration follows. For a few days the animal is
lame, but as the suppuration disappears, the lameness subsides ; new
horn, often of an inferior quality, is produced by the coronary band,
and in time the cleft is grown off and complete recovery is eflected.

368

The frog is occasionally frost bitten and may slongli off, exposing tho
soft tissues beneath and causing severe lameness for a time.

Treatment. — Simple frost bites are best treated by cold fomentations
followed by applications of a 5 per cent, solution of carbolized oil.
When portions of the skiu are destroyed their early separation should
be hastened by warm fomentations and poultices. Ulcers arc to be
treated by the ai^plication of stimulating dressings such as carbolized
oil, a 1 per cent, solution of nitrate of silver or of chloride of zinc, with
pads of oakum and flannel bandages. In many of these cases recovery
is exceedingly slow. The new tissue by which the destroyed skin is
replaced always shrinks in healing, and as a consequence unsightly
scars are unavoidable. Where the coronary band is involved it is gen-
erally advisable to blister the coronet over the seat of injury as soon as
the suppuration ceases, for the purpose of stimulating the growth of
new horn. Where a crevasse is formed between the old and new horn,
no serious trouble is likely to be met with until the cleft is nearly grown
out, when the soft tissues may be exposed by a breaking off of the
partly detached horn.

But even where this accident happens final recovery is secured by
poulticing the foot until a sufficient growth of horn i>rotects the part
from injury.

QUITTOR.

Quittor is a term applied to various affections of the foot wherein the
tissues which are involved undergo a process of [degeneration that re-
sults in the formation of a slough, followed by the elimination of the
diseased structures by means of a more or less extensive suppuration.

For convenience of consideration quitters may be divided into four
classes, as suggested by Girard. (1) Cutaneous quittors, which is
known also as simple quittor, skin quittor, and carbuncle of the coronet;
(2) tendinous quittor ; (3) subhorny quittor ; and (4) cartilaginous
quittor.

CUTANEOUS QUITTOR.

Simple quittor consists in a local inflammation of the skin and of the
subcutaneous connective tissue on some part of the coronet, followed
by a slough and the formation of an ulcer, which heals by suppuration.

It is an extremely painful disease, owing to the dense character of
the tissues involved; for, in all dense structures, the swelling, which
accompanies inflammation, always produces intense pressure. This
pressure not only adds to the patient's suffering, but may, at the same
time, endanger the life of the affected parts by strangulating the blood
vessels, which alone constitute the means whereby a nutritive supply
is constantly maintained. It is held by some writers on the subject
that simple quittor is most often met with in the hind feet, but in the
author's experience more than two-thirds of the cases have developed

369

in the fore feet. While any part of the coronet may become the seat of
attacli, the heels and quarters are undoubtedly most liable.

Causes.— Bvmsen and other wounds of the coronet are often the cause
of cutaneous quittor, yet there can be no question but that in the great
majority of these cases the disease develops without any known cause.
For some reason, not yet satisfactorily explained, most cases happen in
the fall of the year. One explanation of this fact has been attempted
in the statement that the disease is due to the injurious action of cold
and mud. This claim, however, seems to lose force when it is remem-
bered that in many parts of this country the most mud, accompanied
by freezing and thawing weather, is seen in the early springtime with-
out a corresponding increase of quittor. Furthermore, the serious out-
breaks of this disease in the mountainous regions of Colorado, Wyo-
ming, and Montana are seen in the fall and winter seasons, when the
weather is the driest. It may be claimed, and i^erhaps with justice,
that during these seasons, when the water is low, animals are compelled
to wade through more mud to drink from lakes and pools than is neces-
sary at other seasons of the year, when these lakes and pools are full.
Add to these conditions the further fact that much of this mud is im-
pregnated with alkaline salts, which, like the mineral substances always
found in the mud of cities, are more or less irritating, and it seems fair
to conclude that under certain circumstances mud may become an im-
portant factor in the production of quittor.*

While this disease at times attacks any and all classes of horses, it is
the large, common breeds, with thick skins, heavy coats, and coarse
legs that are most often affected. Horses well groomed and cared for
in stables seem to be less liable to the disease than those running at
large or than those which are kept and worked under adverse circum-
stances.

Sijm2)toms. — Lameness, lasting from one to three or four days, nearly
always precedes the development of the strictly local evidences of
quittor. The next sign is the appearance of a small, tense, hot, and
painful tumor in the skin of the coronary region. If the skin of the
afi'ected foot is white the inflamed portion will present a dark red or
even a purplish appearance near the center. Within a few hours' time

*A recent outbreak of quittor near Cheyenne, Wyo., wbicli came under the author's
observation, ^Tas caused by the mud through -which the horses had to wado to reach
the watering troughs. These troughs were furnished with water by windmills, and
the mud-holes were caused by the wastewater. More than tifty cases developed in-
side of two mouths' time or during September and October. Among these fifty cases
all forms of the disease and all possible complications were i^resented. During the
rainy season at Leadville, Colo., outbreaks of quittor are common, and the disease is
so virulent that it has long been known as the " Leadville foot-rot." The soil being
rich in mineral matters is no doubt the cause of the outbreaks. In the city of Mon-
treal quittor is said to be very common in the early springtime, when the streeis are
muddy from the melting of the snow and ice.
11035 24

370

tlie ankle, or even the whole leg as high as the knee or hock, becomes
much swollen. The lameness is now so great that the patient refuses
to use the foot at all, but carries it in the air if compelled to move. As
a consequence the opposite leg is required to do the Avork of both, and
if the animal persists in standing a greater part of the time it, too, be-
comes swollen. In many of these cases the suffering is so intense
during the first few daj's as to cause general fever, dullness, loss of ap-
petite, and increased thirst. Generally tb? tumor shows signs of sup-
puration within from forty-eight to seventy-two hours after its first
appearance; the summit softens, a fluctuating fluid is felt beneath the
skin, which soon ulcerates completely through, causing the discharge
of a thick, yellow, bloody pus, containing shreds of dead tissue which
have sloughed away. The sore is now converted into an open ulcer,
generally deep, nearly or quite circular in outline, and with hardened
base and edges. In exceptional cases large patches of skin, varying
from 1 to 2i inches in diameter, slough away at once, leaving an ugly
superficial ulcer. These sores, especially when deep, suppurate freely ;
if there are no complications they tend to heal rapidly as soon as the de-
generated tissue has softened and is entirely removed. When suppura-
tion is fully established the lameness and general symptoms subside.
Where but a single tumor and abscess form, the disease progresses rap-
idly and recovery^ under i^roper treatment, may be effected in from two
to three weeks' time ; but when two or more tumors are developed at
once or where the formation of one tumor is ra])idly succeeded by
another for an indefinite time the sufterings of the patient are greatly
increased, the case is more difficult to treat, and recovery is more slow
and less certain.

This form of quittor is often complicated with the tendinous and sub-
horny quitters by an extension of the sloughing jirocess.

Treatment. — The first step in the treatment of an outbreak of quittor
should be the removal of all exciting causes. Crowding animals into
small corrals and stables, where injuries to the coronet are likely to
happen from tramping, especially among unbroken range horses, must
be avoided as much as possible.

Watering places, accessible without having to wade through mud, are
to be supplied. In towns, where the mud or dust is largely impregnated
with mineral products, it is not possible to adopt complete prophylactic
measures. Much can be done, however, by careful cleansing of the feet
and legs as soon as the animal returns from work. Warm water should
be used to remove the mud and dirt, after which the parts are to be
thoroughly dried with soft cloths.

The means which are to be adopted for the cure of cutaneous quittor
vary with the stage of the disease at the time the case is presented for
treatment. If the case is seen early, that is, before any of the signs of
suppuration have developed, the affected foot is to be placed under a

371

constant stream of cold water, Avitli the object of arresting a farther
extension of the inflammatory process. To accomplish this pat the
patient in slings in a narrow stall having a slat or open floor. Bandage
the foot and leg to the knee or hock, as the case may be, with flannel
bandages loosely applied. Set a tab or barrel filled with cold water
above the patient and by the use of a small rubber hose of sufficient
length make a siphon which will carry the water from the bottom of
the tub to the leg at the top of the bandages. The stream of water
should be quite small, and it is to be continued until the inflammation
has -entirely subsided or until the presence of pus cau be detected in
the tumor. When suppuration has commenced the process should be
aided by the use of warm baths and poultices of linseed meal or boiled
turnips. If the tumor is of rapid growth, accompanied by intense paiQj
relief is secured and sloughing largely limited by a free incision of the
parts. The incision should be vertical and deep into the tumor, care
being taken not to entirely divide the coronary band. If the tumor ia
large more than one incision may be necessary.

The foot should now be placed in a warm bath for half an hour or
longer and then poulticed. The hemorrhage produced by the cutting
and encouraged by the warm bath is generally very copious ami soon
gives relief to the overtension of the parts.

In other cases it will be found that suppuration is well under way, so
that the center of the tumor is soft when the patient is first presented
for treatment. It is always good surgery to relieve pus whenever its
presence can be detected; hence in these cases a free incision must be
made into the softened parts, the pus evacuated and the foot poulticed.
By surgical interference the tumor is now converted into an open
sore or ulcer, which, after it has been well cleaned by warm baths and
poultices applied for two or three days, needs to be protected by proper
dressings. The best of all protective dressings is made of small balls
or pledgets of oakum, carefully packed into the wound and held in
place by a roller bandage 4 yards long, from 3 to 4 inches wide, made
of common bedticking and skillfully applied. The I'cmedies which may
be used to stimulate the healing i)rocess are many, and as a rule they
are applied in the form of solution or tinctures.

In my own jiractice I prefer a solution of bichloride of mercury 1
part, water oOO parts, with a few drops of muriatic acid or a few grains
of muriate of ammonia added to cause the mercury to dissolve. The
balls of oakum are wet with this solution before they are applied to the
wound.

Among the other remedies which may be used, and perhaps with
equally as good results, will be noted the sulphate of copper, iron, and
zinc, 5 grains of either to the ounce of water ; chloride of zinc, 5 grains
to the ounce; carbolic acid, 20 drops dissolved in an equal amount of
glycerine and added to one ounce of water, and the nitrate of silver, 10
grains to the ounce of water.

372

If the woiiud is slow to beal it will be found of advantage to change
the remedies used every few days, for after a time a remedy seems to
lose its stimulating effect upon the slow-growing granulations.

If the wound is pale in color, the granulations transparent and glis-
tening, the tincture of aloes, tincture of gentian, or the spirits of cam-
phor may do best.

When the sore is red in color and healing rapidly an ointment made
of 1 part of carbolic acid to 40 parts of cosmoline or vaseline is all that
is needed.

If the granulations continue to grow until a tumor is formed, which
lirojects beyond the surrounding skin, it should be cut off with a sharp,
clean knife, the foot poulticed for twenty-four hours, after which the
wound is to be well cauterized daily with lunar caustic and the baud-
ages applied with great firmness.

The question as to how often the dressings should be renewed must
be determined by the condition of the wound, etc. If the sore is sup-
l^uratiug freely it will be necessary to renew the dressing every twenty-
four or forty-eight hours. If the discharge is small in quantity and the
patient comfortable the dressing may be left on for several days ; in
fact, the less often the wound is disturbed the better, in so long as the
healing process is healthy. When the sore commences to skin over the
edges should be lightly touched with the lunar caustic at each dressing.
The patient may now be given a little exercise tlaily, but the bandages
must be kept on until the wound is entirely healed.

TENDINOUS QUITTOR.

This form of quittor differs from the cutaneous in tbat it not only
affects the skin and subcutaneous tissues, but involves, also, the ten-
dons of the leg, the ligaments of the joints, and, in many cases, the bones
of the foot as well.

Fortunately this form of quittor is less common than the preceding;
yet any case beginning as simple cutaneous quittor may, at any time
during its course, become complicated by the death of some part of the
tendons by gangrene of the ligaments, sloughing of the coronary band,
caries of the bones, or inflammation accompanied by suppuration of
the synovial sacs and joints, thereby converting a simple quittor into
one which will, iu all probability, either destroy the patient's life or
maim him for all time.

Causes. — Tendinous quittor is caused by the same iujuries and in-
fluences that produce the simple form. Zundel believes it to be a not
infrequent accompaniment of distemper. In my own experience I have
seen nothing to verify this belief, but I am satisfied that young animals
are more liable to have tendinous quittor than older ones, and that they
are much more likely to make a good recovery.

8inni)toms. — When a case of simi^le quittor is transformed into the
tendinous variety the development of the complications is announced

373

by a sudden increase in the severity of all of tlie symptoms. On the
other hand, if the attack primarily is one of tendinous quittor, the
earliest symptom seen is a well-marked lameness in the affected leg.
In those cases due to causes other than injuries this lameness is at first
very slight, and the animal limps no more in trotting than in walking;
but later on, generally during the next forty-eight hours, the lameness
increases to such an extent that the patient often refuses to use the leg
at all. An examination made during the first two days rarely discloses
any cause for this lameness ; it may not be possible even to say, with
certainty, that the foot is the seat of the trouble. On the third or
fourth day, sometimes so late as the fifth, a doughy-feeling tumor will
be found forming on the heel or quarter. This tumor grows rapidly,
feels hot to the touch, and is extremely painful. As the tumor devel-
ops all the other symptoms increase in intensity ; the pulse is rapid
and hard, the breathing quick, the temperature elevated three or four
degrees, the appetite is gone, thirst is increased, and the lameness is so
great that the foot is carried in the air if locomotion is attempted. At
this stage of the disease the patient generally seeks relief by lying
upon the broad side, with outstretched legs, the coat bedewed with a
clammy sweat, while every respiration is accompanied by a moan. The
leg soon swells to the fetlock ; later this swelling gradually extends as
as high as to the knee or hock, and in some cases it even reaches the
body. As a rule several days elapse before the disease develops a well
defined abscess, for, owing to the dense structure of the bones, liga-
ments and tendons, the suppurative process is a slow one, and the pus
when formed is prevented from readily collecting in a mass.

Recently I made ix, post mortem examination on a typical case of this
disease, where the animal had died on the fourth day after being found
on the range slightly lame. The suffering had been intense; yet the
only external evidences of the disease consisted in the shedding of the
hoof from the right fore foot, and a limited swelling of the leg to the
knee. The sloughing of the hoof took place two or three hours before
death, and was accompanied with but little suppuration and no hemor-
rhage. The skin, from the knee to the foot, was thickened from watery
infiltration (cedema), and on the inside quarter three holes, each about
one-half of an inch in diameter, were found. All had ragged edges,
while but one had gone deep enough to perforate the coronary band.
The loose connective tissue, found beneath the skin, was distended with
a gelatinous infiltration, over the whole course of the flexor tendons,
and to the fetlock joint over the tendon in front. The soft tissues
covering the cofQn bone were loosened in patches by collections of pus
which had formed beneath the sensitive lamiure. The coffin and pastern
joints were both inflamed, as were also the coflin, navicular and coronet
bones, while the outside toe of the coffin bone had become softened
from suppuration, until it could readily be crumbled between the fin-
gers. The coronary band was largely destroyed and completely sepa-

374

rated from tlie other tissues of the foot ; the inner lateral cartilage M'as
gangrenous, as was also a small spot on the extensor tendon, near its
point of attachment on the colfin bone. Several small collections of
pus were found deep in the connective tissue of the coronary region ;
along the course of the sesamoid ligaments ; in the sheath of the flexor
tendons; under the tendon just below the fetlock joint in front, and in
the coffin joint.

But all cases of tendinous quittor are by no means so complicated as
this one was. In rare instances the swelling is slight, and, after a few
daj's' time the lameness and other symptoms subside without any dis-
charge of pus from an external opening. In most cases, however, from
one to half a dozen or more soft points arise on the skin of tbe coronet,
open, and discharge slowly a thick, yellow, fetid, and bloody matter.
In other cases the suppurative process is largely confined to the sensi-
tive lam.inae and plantar cushion ; in these cases the suftering is intense
until the pus finds an avenue of escape, which it generally does by
separating the hoof from the coronary band, at or near the heels, with-
out causing a loss of the whole horny box. When the flexor tendon is
involved deep in the foot, the discharge of pus usually takes place from
an opening in the hollow of the heel 5 if the sesamoid ligament, or the
sheath of the flexors, are affected, the opening is nearer the fetlock
joint ; although in most of these cases the suppuration spreads along
the course of the tendons until the navicular joint is involved, and ex-
tensive sloughing of the deeper i^arts follows.

Treatment. — The treatment of tendinous quittor is to be directed to-
ward the saving of the foot. First of all, an effort must be made to
prevent suppuration; and if the patient is seen at the beginning, the
cold irrigation, recommended in the treatment for cutaneous quittor, is
to be resorted to. Later on, when the tumor is forming on the coronet,
the knife must be used, and a free and deep incision made into the
swelling. Whenever openings appear from which the pus escapes they
should be carefully probed ; in all instances these fistulous tracts will
be found leading down to dead tissue which nature is trying to remove
by the process of sloughing. If a counter opening can be made, which
will enable a more ready escape of the pus, it should be done at once;
for instance, if the probe shows that the discharge originates from the
bottom of the foot the sole must be pared through, over the seat of
trouble. Whenever suppuration has commencet), the process is to be
stimulated by the use of warm baths and poultices. The pus which ac-
cumulates in the deeper i^arts, especially along the tendons, around the
joints and in the hoof, is to be removed by pressure and injections, made
with a small syringe and repeated two or three times a day. As soon
as the discharge assumes a healthy character and diminishes in quan-
tity, stimulating solutions are to be injected into the open wounds.
Where the tendons, ligaments, and other deeper parts are affected, a

375

strong solution of carbolic acid — 1 to 4 — should be used at first. Or,
strong solutions of tincture of iodine, sulphate of iron, sulphate of cop-
per, bichloride of mercury, etc., may be used in place of the carbolic;
after which the remedies and dressings, directed for use in simple quit-
tor, are to be used. In those cases where the fistulous tracts refuse to
heal, it is often necessary to burn them out with a saturated solution
of caustic soda, equal parts of muriatic acid and water, or, better still,
with along, thin iron, heated white hot.

But no matter what treatment is adopted, a large percentage of the
cases of tendinous quittor fail to make good recoveries. Where the
entire hoof sloughs away, the growth of a new, but soft and imperfect,
hoof may be secured by carefully protecting the soft and exposed tis-
sues with proper bandages. When the joints are opened by deep
sloughing, recovery may eventually take place, but the joint remains
immovable ever after. If caries of a small part of the cofiin bone takes
place, it may be removed by an operation ; but if much of the bone is
affected, or if the navicular and coronet bones are involved in the cari-
ous process, the only hope for a cure is in the amputation of the foot.
Of course, this operation would only be advisable where the animal was
valuable for breeding purposes. In all other cases where there is no
hope for recovery the patient's suffering should be relieved by death.
In tendinous quittor much thickening of the coronary region, and some-
times of the ankle and fetlock, remains after suppuration has ceased
and the fistulous tracts have healed. To stimulate the reabsorption of
tliis new and unnecessary tissue the parts should be fired with the hot
iron ; or, in its absence, repeated blistering, with the biniodide of mer-
cury ointment, may largely accomplish the same result.

SUBHORXY QUITTOR.

This is the mostcommon form of the disease. It is generally seen in but
one foot at a time, and more often in the fore feet than in the hind ones.
It nearly always attacks the inside quarter, but may affect the outside
quarter, the toe or the heel, where it is but of little consequence. It
consists in the inflammation of a small part of the coronary baud and
adjacent skin, followed by sloughing and more or less suppuration,
which in most cases extends to the neighboring sensitive laminae.

Causes. — Injuries to the coronet, such as bruises, overreaching, and
calk wounds, are considered as the common causes of this disease.
Still, cases occur in which there appears to be no exciting cause, just as
in the other forms of quittor, and it seems fair to conclude that sub-
horny quittor may also be produced by internal causes.

S>jm2)toms. — At the outset the lameness is always severe, and the
patient often refuses to use the affected foot. Swelling of the cor-
onet takes place close to the top of the hoof, causing the quarter
to protrude beyond the wall of the foot. This tumor is extremely

376

sensitive, and the whole foot is hot and i)ainfii]. After a few days'
time a small spot in the skin, over the most elevated part of the
tumor, softens and opens, or else the hoof separates from the coronary
band at the quarter or well back toward the heel. From this opening,
wherever it may be, a thin, watery, offensive discharge escapes, often
dark in color, at times mixed with blood, and always containing a con-
siderable percentage of pus.

Probing will now disclose a fistulous tract leading to the bottom of
the diseased tissues. If the opening is small there is a tendency upon
the part of the suppurative process to spread downward ; the pus grad-
ually separating the hoof from the sensitive lamiuje until the sole is
reached, and even a portion of this may also be undermined.

As a rule, the slough in this form of quittor is not deep, so that if the
case receives early and proper treatment complications are generally
avoided, but if the case is neglected, and, occasionally, even in spite of
the best of treatment, the disease spreads until the tendon in front, the
lateral cartilage, or the coffin bone and joint as well, are involved.

In all cases of subhorny quittor much relief is experienced as soon
as the slough has come away, and rapid progress toward recover^" is
made. If, however, after the lapse of a few days' time, the lameness
still remains and the wound continues to discharge a thin unhealthy
matter, the probabilities are that the disease is spreading, and that pus
is collecting in the deeper parts of the foot. In Zundel's opinion, if the
use of the probe now detects a pus cavity below the opening, a car-
tilaginous quittor is in the course of development.

Treatment. — Hot baths and poultices are to be used until the presence
of pus can be determined, when the tumor is to be opened with a knife
or sharp-pointed iron heated white hot. The hot baths and poultices
are now continued for a few days, or until the entire slough has come
away and the discharge is diminished, when the dressings recommended
in the treatment for cutaneous quittor are to be used until recovery is
completed. In cases where the discharge comes from a cleft between
the upper border of the hoof and the coronary band, always pare away
the loosened horn, so that the soft tissuea beneath are fully exposed,
care being taken not to injure the healthy j^arts. This operation per-
mits of a thorough inspection of the diseased parts, the easy removal
of all gangrenous tissue, and a better application of the necessary rem-
edies and dressings. The only objection to the operation is that the
patient is prevented from being early returned to work.

When the probe shows that pus has collected under the coffin bone,
the sole must be pared through, and if caries of the bone is present,
the dead parts must be cut away. After either of these operations tlie
wound is to be dressed with the oakum balls saturated in the bi-
chloride of mercury solution, as previously directed, and the bandages
tightly applied. Generally the discharge for the first two or three days
is so great that the dressings need to be changed every twenty-four

377

hours; but when the discharge diminishes, the dressing maybe left on
from one to two weeks. Before the patient is returned to work, a bar
shoe should be applied, since the removed quarter or heel can only be
made perfect again by a new growth from the coronary band.

Tendinous or cartilaginous complications are to be treated as directed
under these headings.

CARTILAGINOUS QUITTOn.

This form of quittor may commeuce as a primary inflammation of the
lateral cartilage, but in the great majority of cases it appears as a se-
quel to cutaneous or sub-horny quittor. It may affect either the fore
or hind feet, but is most commonly seen in the former. As a rule, it
attacks but one foot at a time, and but one of the cartilages, and that
is generally the inner one. It is always a serious affection for the rea-
son that, in many cases, it can only be cured by a surgical operation,
requiriug a thorough knowledge of the anatomy of the parts involved
and much surgical skill.

Causes. — Direct injuries to the coronet, such as tramping, pricks,
burns, and the blow of some heavy falling object which may puncture,
bruise, or crush the cartilage, are the common direct causes of cartilag-
inous quittor. Besides being a sequel to the other forms of quittor, it
sometimes develops as a complication in suppurative corn, canker,
grease, laminitis, and i)unctured wounds of the foot. Animals used for
heavy draught, and those with flat feet and low heels, are more liable
to the disease than others, for the simple reason that they are more ex-
posed to injury. Eough roads also predispose to the disease by in-
creasing liability to injury.

Sym2)fo)ns. — When the disease commences as a primary inflammation
of the cartilage, lameness develops with the formation of a swelling on
the side of the coronet over the quarter. The severity of this lameness
depends largely upon the part of the cartilage which is diseased ; if the
disease is situated in that part of the cartilage nearest the heel, where
the surrounding tissues are soft and spongy, the lameness may be very
slight, especially if the patient is required to go no faster than a walk;
but when the middle and anterior parts of the cartilage are diseased
the pain and consequent lameness are much greater, for the tissues are
less elastic and the coffin joint is more likely to become affected.

Except in the cases to be noted hereafter, one or more fistulous open-
ings finally appear in the tumor on the coronet. These openings are
surrounded by a small mass of granulations, which are elevated above
the adjacent skin and bleed readily if handled. A probe shows these
fistulous tracts to bo more or less sinuous, but always leading to one
point — the gangrenous cartilage. When cartilaginous quittor happens
as a complication of suppurative corn, or from punctured wounds of the
foot, the fistulous tract may open alone at the point of injury on the
sole.

378

Tbe discharge in tliis form of quittor is generally thin, -svatery, and con-
tains enough pus to give it a pale yellow color ; it is ofieusive to the sense
of smell, due to the detachment of small flakes of the cartilage which
have become gangrenous and are are to be seen in the discharge in the
form of small greenish-colored particles. In old cases it is not unusual
to find some of the fistulous openings heal at the surface 5 this is fol-
lowed by the gradual collection of pus in the deeper parts, forming an
abscess, which in a short time opens at a new point. The wall of the
hoof, over the affected quarter and heel, in very old cases, becomes
rough and wrinkled like the horn of a ram ; and generally it is thicker
than the correspondiug quarter, owing to the stimulating effect which
the disease has upon the coronary band.

Complications may arise by an extension of the disease to the lateral
ligament of the coflQn joint, to the joint itself, to the plantar cushion,
and by caries of the cofiin bone.

Treatment. — Before recovery can take place in these cases all of the
dead cartilage must be removed. In rare instances this is effected by
nature without assistance. Usually, however, the disease does not tend
to recovery, and active curative measures must be adopted. The best
and simj)lest treatment in a majority of cases is the injection of strong-
caustic solutions, which are intended to destroy the diseased cartilage,
and to cause its removal, along with the otlier products of suppuration.
In favorable cases these injections will secure a healing of the wound
in from two to three week's time. While the saturated solution of the
sulphate of copper, or a solution of 10 parts of bi-chloride of mercury to
100 parts of water, has given the best results in my hands, equally as
favorable success has been secured by others from the use of caustic
soda, nitrate of silver, sulphate of zinc, tincture of iodine, etc. But no
matter which one of these remedies may be selected, it must be used at
least twice a day for a time. The solution is to be injected into the
various openings with enough force to drive it to the bottom of the
wound, after which the foot is to be dressed with a pad of oakum, held
in place by a roller bandage tightly applied. T\'hile it is not always
necessary, in many cases it is of advantage to relieve the pressure on
the parts by rasping away the horn over the seat of the cartilage; the
coronary band and the laminpe should not be injured in the operation.

If the caustic injections prove successful, the discharge will become
healthy and gradually diminish, so that by the end of the second week
it will be found that the fistulous tracts are closing up, and that the
injections are made with much difficulty.

If, on the other hand, there is but little or no improvement after this
treatment has been used for three weeks, it may reasonably be con-
cluded that the operation for the removal of the lateral cartilage must
be resorted to for the cure of the trouble. As this operation can be
safely undertaken only by an expert surgeon, it will not be described in
this connection.

379

THRUSH.

Thrush is a disease characterized by an excessive secretion of un-
healthy matter from the cleft of the frog. While all classes of horses
are liable to this affection, it is more often seen in the common draft
horse than in any other breed, a fact due to the conditions of servitude
and not to the fault of the breed. Country horses are much less sub-
ject to tlie disease, except in wet, marshy districts, than are the horses
used in cities and towns.

Causes. — The most common cause of thrush is the filthy condition of
the stable in which the animal is kept. Mares are more liable to contract
the disease in the hind feet when the- cause is due to filth, while the geld-
ing and stallion are more likely to develop it in the fore feet. Hard
work, on rough and stony roads, may also induce the disease, as may a
change from dryness to excessive moisture. The latter cause is often
seen to operate in old track horses, whose feet are constantly soaked in
the bath-tub for the purpose of relieving soreness. Muddy streets and
roads, especially where mineral substances are plentiful, excite this
abnormal condition of the frog. Contracted heels, scratches, and navic-
ular disease predispose to thrush, while by some a constitutional tend-
ency is believed to exist among certain animals which otherwise j)re-
sent a i)erfect frog.

Symptoms. — At first there is simply an increased moisture in the cleft
of the frog, accompanied by an offensive smell. After a time a consider-
able discharge takes place— thin, watery, and highly offensive — chang-
ing gradually to a thicker puriform matter, which rapidly" destroys the
horn of the frog. Only in old and severe cases is the patient lame and
the foot feverish, — cases in which the whole frog is involved in the dis-
eased process.

Treatment. — Thrushes are to be treated by cleanliness, the removal
of all exciting causes, and a return of the frog to its normal condition.
As a rule, the diseased and ragged portions of horn are to be pared
awa}', and the foot poulticed for a day or two with boiled turnips, to
which may be added a few drops of carbolic acid or a handful of pow-
dered charcoal to destroy the offensive smell. The cleft of the frog and
the grooves on the edges are then to be cleaned and well filled with dry
calomel, and the foot dressed with oakum and a roller bandage. If the
discharge is profuse the dressing should be changed daily, otherwise it
may be left on for two or three days at a time. Where a constitutional
taint is supposed to exist with swelling of the legs, grease, etc., a pur-
gative followed by dram doses of sulphate of iron, repeated daily, may
be prescribed. In cases where the growth of horn seems too slow, a
Spanish fly blister applietl to the heels is often followed by good re-
sults. Feet in which the disease is readily induced may be protected
in the stable with a leather boot. If the thrush is but a sequel to other
diseases a permanent cure may not be possible.

380

CANKER.

Canker of the foot is a disease due to the rapid reproduction of a
vegetable parasite. It not only destroys the sole and frog, but by set-
ting up a chronic inflammation in the deeper tissues, prevents the
growth of a healthy horn by which the injury might be repaired.
Heavy cart horses are more often affected than those of any other class.

Causes.— The essential element in the production of cankers is of
coarse the presence of the parasite; consequently the disease may be
called contagious. But, as in all other diseases due to specific causes,
the seeds of the disorder must find a suitable soil in which to grow be-
fore they are reproduced. It may be said, then, that the conditions
which favor the preparation of the tissues for a reception of the seeds
of this disease are simply predisposing causes.

The condition most favorable to the development of cankers is damp-
ness—in fact, dampness seems indispensable to the existence and growth
of the parasite; for the disease is rarely, if ever, seen in high, dry dis-
tricts, and is much more common in rainy than in dry seasons. Filthy
stables and muddy roads have been classed among the causes of canker ;
but it is very doubtful if these conditions can do more than favor a
preparation of the foot for the reception of the disease germ.

All injuries to the feet may, by exposing the soft tissues, render the
animal susceptible to infection ; but neither the injury nor the irritation
and inflammation of the tissues which follow, are suflicient to induce the
disease.

For some unknown reason horses with lymphatic temperaments,
thick skins, flat feet, fleshy frogs, heavy hair, and particularly with
white feet and legs, are especially liable to canker.

Symptoms. — Usually, canker is confined to one foot ; but it may attack
two, three, or all of the feet at once; or, as is more commonly seen, the
disease attacks first one then another, until all may have been succes-
sively affected. When the disease follows an injury which has exposed
the soft tissues of the foot the wound shows no tendency to heal, but,
instead, there is secreted from the inflamed parts a profuse, thin, fetid,
watery discharge, which gradually undermines and destroys the sur-
rounding horn, until eventually a large part of the sole and frog is dis-
eased. The living tissues are swollen, dark-colored, and covered at cer-
tain points with particles of new, soft, yellowish, thready horn, which
are constantly undergoing maceration in the abundant liquid secretion
by which they are immersed. As this secretion escapes to the sur-
rounding parts it dries and forms small cheesy masses composed of the
partly dried horny matter, exceedingly offensive to the sense of smell.
When the disease originates independently of an injury, the first evi-
dences of the trouble are the offensive odor of the foot, the liquid secre-
tion from the cleft and sides of the frog, and the rotting away of the
horn of the frog and sole.

381

In the earlier stages of the disease there is no interference with locol
motion, but later the foot becomes sensitive, particnlarly if tiie auima-
is used on rough roads, and, finally, when the sole and frog are largely
destroyed the lameness is severe.

Treat)nent. — Since canker does not destroy the power of the tissues
to produce horn, but rather excites them to an excessive production of
an imperfect horn, the indications for treatment are to restore tlie parts
to a normal condition when healthy horn may again be secreted. In
my experience, limited though it has been, the old practice of stripping
off the entire sole and deep cauterization, witli cither the hot iron or
strong acids, is not attended with uniformly good results.

I am of the opinion that recovery can generally be effected as surely
and as speedily with measures which are less heroic and much less
painful. True, the treatment of canker is likely to exhaust the patience,
and sometimes the resources, of the attendant; but after all success
depends more on the persistent application of simple remedies and great
cleanliness than on the special virtues of any particular drug.

First, then, clean the foot with warm baths, and apply a poultice
containing powdered charcoal or carbolic acid. A handful of the char-
coal, or a tablespoonful of the acid, mixed with the poultice serves to
destroy much of the offensive odor. The diseased portions of horn are
now to be carefully removed with sharp instruments, until only healthy
horn borders the affected parts. The edges of the sound horn are to
be pared thiu, so that the swollen soft tissues may not overlap their
borders. With sharp scissors cut off all the prominent points on the
soft tissues, shorten the walls of the foot, and nail on a broad, plain
shoe. The foot is now ready for the dressings, and any of the many
stimulating and drying remedies may be used. Whichever is selected
at the outset, it will be necessary to change frequently from one to
another, until finally all may be tried.

The list from which a selection ma\' be made comprises wood tar,
gas tar, petroleum, creosote, phenic acid, sulphates of iron, copper and
zinc, chloride of zinc, bichloride of mercury, calomel, caustic soda,
nitrate of silver, chloride of lime, carbolic, nitric, and sulphuric acids.

In practice I prefer to give the newly shod foot a bath for an hour or
two in a solution of the sulphate of iron, made by adding 2 ounces of the
powdered sulphate to a gallon of cold water. When the foot is removed
it is dressed with oakum balls, dipped in a mixture made of liarbadoes
tar, 1 part ; oil of turpentine, 8 parts, to which are slowly added 2 parts
of sulphuric acid, and the mixture well stirred and cooled. The diseased
parts being well covered with the balls, a pad of oakum, sufhciently
thick to cause considerable pressure, is placed over them, and all are
held in place by pieces of heavy tin fitted to slip under the shoe. The
whole foot is now encased in a boot or folded gunny sack, and the patient
turned into a loose, dry box. The dressings are to be changed daily, or
even twice a day, at first. When they are removed all pieces of new

382

horny matter, wliich are not firmly adherent must be rubbed off with
the finger or a tent of oakum. As the secretion diminishes dry jiovrders
may prove of most advantage, such as calomel, sulphates of iron,
copper, etc. The sulphates should not be used pure, but are to be mixed
with powdered animal charcoal in the proportion of one of the former to
eight or ten of the latter. When the soft tissues are all horned over the
dressings should be continued for a time, weak solutions being used to
prevent a recurrence of the disease. If the patient is run down in con-
dition, bitter tonics, such as gentian, may be given in 2-dram doses,
twice a day, and a liberal diet of grain allowed.

CORNS

A corn is an injury to the living horn of the foot, involving at the
same time the soft tissues beneath, whereby the capillary blood vessels
are ruptured and a small amount of blood escapes, which, by permeat-
ing the horn in the immediate neighborhood, stains it a dark color. If
the injury is continuously repeated the horn becomes altered in char-
acter, the soft tissues may suppurate, causing the disease to spread, or
a horny tumor may develop. Corns always appear in that part of the
sole included in the angle between the bar and the outside wall of the
hoof. In many cases the laminre of the bar, of the wall, or of both, are
involved at the same time.

Three kinds of corns are commonly recognized — the dry, the moist,
and the suppurative, a division based solely on the character of the
conditions which follow the primary injury.

The forefeet are almost exclusively the subjects of the disease, for two
reasons: First, because they support a greater part of the body; sec-
ondly, because the heel of the fore foot during progression is first placed
upon the ground, whereby it receives much more concussion than the
heel of the hind foot, in which the toe first strikes the ground.

Causes. — It may be said that all feet are exposed to corns, and that
even the best feet may suffer from them when the conditions necessary
to the production of the peculiar injury are present. The heavier
breeds of horses generally used for heavy work on rough roads and
streets seem to be most liable to this trouble. Mules rarely have corns.

Among the causes and conditions which predispose to corns may be
named high heels, which change the natural relative position of the bones
of the foot and thereby increase the concussion to which these parts are
subject; contracted heels, which in part destroy the elasticity of the foot,
increase the pressure upon the soft tissues of the heel, and render lacer-
ations more easy ; long feet, which, by removing the frog and heels too
far from the ground, deprive them of necessary moisture, which in turn
reduces the elastic properties of the horn and diminishes the transverse
diameter of the heels ; weak feet, or those in which the horn of the wall
is too thin to resist the tendency to spread, and as a result the soft tis-
sues are easily lacerated. Wide feet with low heels are always accom-

383

pauied by a flat solo whose posterior wings either rest upon the ground
or the shoe, and as a consequence are easily braised ; at the same time
the arch of the sole is so broad and flat that it can not support the
weight of the body, and in the displacement which happens when the
foot is rested upon the ground the soft tissues are liable to become
bruised or torn.

It is universally conceded that shoeing of the foot, either as a direct
or predisposing cause, is most prolific in producing corns. One of the
most serious as well as the most common of the errors in shoeing is to
be found in the preparation of the foot for the shoe. Instead of seeking
to maintain the integrity of the arch the first thing done is to weaken
it by freely paring away the sole ; nor does the mutilation end here, for
the frog, which is nature's main support to the branches of the sole and
the heels, is also largely cut away. This not only permits of an excessive
downward movement of the contents of the horny box, but it at the
same time removes the one great means by which concussion of the foot
is destroyed. As adjuncts to the foregoing errors must be added the
ftiults in the construction of the shoe and in the way it is adjusted to
the foot. An excess of concavity in the shoe, by extending it too far
back on the heels, high calks, thin heels which permit the shoe to
spring, short heels with a calk set under the foot, and a shoe too light
for the animal wearing it or for the work required of him, are all to be
avoided as causes of corns. A shoe so set as to press upon the sole, or
one that has been on so long that the hoof has overgrown it until the
heels rest upon the sole and bars, becomes a direct cause of corns. In-
directly the shoe becomes the cause of corns when small stones, hard
dry earth, or other objects collect between the sole and shoe. Lastly,
a rapid gait and excessive knee action, especially on hard roads, predis-
pose to this disease of the feet.

Sym2)toms.—OTdman\y a corn induces sufficient pain to cause lame-
ness. It may be intense, as seen in suppurative corn, or it may be but
a slight soreness, such as that which accompanies dry corn. It is by no
means unusual to see old horses having chronic corns apparently so
accustomed to the slight pain which they suffer as not to limp at ail ;
but these animals are generally very restless; they paw their bedding
behind them at night, and in many instances they refuse to lie down
for any lengthened rest. The lameness of this disease, however, can
hardly be said to be cliaracteristic, for the reason that it varies so
greatly in intensity -, but the position of the leg while the patient is at
rest is generally the same in all cases. The foot is so advanced that it is
relieved of all weight and the fetlock is flexed until all pressure by the
contents of the hoof is removed from the heels. In suppurative corn the
lameness subsides or entirely disappears as soon as the abscess has
opened. When the injured tissues are much inflamed, as may happen
in severe and recent cases, the heel of the affected side, or even the whole
foot, is hot and tender to pressure. In dry corn, and in most chronic

384

cases, all evidences of local fever are often wanting. It is in these cases
that the patient goes well when newly shod, for the smith cuts away the
sole over the seat of injury until all pressure by the shoe is removed, and
lowers the heels so that concussion is reduced to a minimum. If a corn
is suspected the foot should be examined for increased sensibility of
the inside heel. Tapping the heel of the shoe with a hammer and
grasping the wall and bar between the jaws of a pincers, with mod-
erate pressure, will cause more or less flinching if the disease is pres-
ent. For further evidence the shoo is removed and the heel cut away
with the drawing knife. As the horn is pared out not only the sole
iu the angle is found discolored, but, in many instances, this insensible
laminffi of the bar and wall adjacent are also stained with the escaped
blood. In moist and suppurative corns this discoloration is less marked
than in dry corn and may even be entirely wanting. In these cases the
horn is soft, often white, and stringy or mealy, as seen in pumiced
solo resulting from founder. When the whole thickness of the sole is
discolored and the horn dry and brittle it is generally evidence that
the corn is an old one and that the exciting cause has existed contin-
uously. A moist corn differs from the dry corn in that the injury is
more severe, the parts affected are more or less inflamed, and the horn
of the sole iu the angle is undermined by a citron-colored fluid, which
often permeates the injured sole and lamina?, causing the horn to be-
come somewhat spongy-.

A sufjpurative corn differs from the others in that the inflammation
accompanying the injury ends in suppuration. The pus collects at the
point of injury and finally escapes by working a iiassage way between
the sensitive and insensible laminae to the top of the hoof, where an
opening is made by separation of the wall from the coronary band at
or near the heels. This is the most serious form of corns, for the reason
that it may induce gangrene of the plantar cushion, cartilaginous quit-
tor, or caries of the cofiin bone.

Treatment. — Since a diversity of opinion exists as to what measures
must be adopted for the radical cure of corns, the author will advise
the use of those which have proven most efiticient in his hands.

As in all other troubles, the cause must be discovered, if possible, and
removed. In the great majority of cases the shoeing will be at fault.
While sudden changes in the method of shoeing are not advisable, it
may be said that all errors, either in the preparation of the foot, in the
construction of the shoe, or in its application, may very properly be
corrected at any time. Circumstances may, at times, make it impera-
tive that shoes shall be worn which are not free from objections, as, for
instance, the shoe with a high calk ; but iu such cases it is considered
that the injuries liable to result from the use of calks are less serious
than those which are sure to happen for the want of them.

For a sound foot, perfectly formed, a flat shoe, with heels less thick
than the toe, and which rests evenly on the wall proper, is the best.

385

In flat feet it is often necessary to concave the shoe as much as possi-
ble on the upper surface, so that the sole may not be pressed upon. If
the heels are very low the heels of the shoe may be made thicker. If
the foot is very broad and the wall light toward the heels, a bar shoe,
resting upon the frog, will aid to prevent excessive tension upon the
soft tissues when the foot receives the weight of the body. A piece of
leather placed between the foot and the shoe serves to largely destroy
concussion, and its use is absolutely necessary on some animals in that
they may be kept at work.

Lastly, among the preventive measures, may be mentioned those
which serve to maintain the suppleness of the hoof. The dead horn
upon the surface of the sole not only retains moisture for a long time,
but protects the living horn beneath from the effects of evaporation,
and for this reason the sole should be i3ared as little as possible. Stuf-
fing the feet with flaxseed meal, wet clay, or other like substances ;
damp dirt floors or damp bedding of tan-bark, greasy hoof ointments,
etc., are all means which may be used to keep the feet from becoming
too dry and hard.

As to the curative measures which are to be adopted much will de-
pend upon the extent of the injury. If the case is one of chronic dry
corn, with but slight lameness, the foot should be ijoulticed for a day
or two and the discolored horn pared out, care being taken not to injure
the soft tissues. The heel on the affected side is to be lowered until all
pressure is removed, and, if the patient's labor is required, the foot must
be shod with a bar shoe or with one having stiff heels. Care must bo
taken to reset the shoe before the foot has grown too long, else the shoe
will no longer rest on the wall but on the sole and bar.

In moist corns we believe in cutting them out. If there is inflamma-
tion present, cold baths and poultices should bo useil ; when the horn
is well softened and the fever allayed, pare out all of the diseased horn,
lightly cauterize the soft tissues beneath, and poultice the foot for two
or three days. When the granulations look red dress the wound with
oakum balls saturated in a weak solution of tincture of aloes or spirits
of camphor, and ai)ply a roller bandage. Change the dressing every
two or three days until a firm, healthy layer of new horn covers the
wound, when the shoe may be put on, as in dry corn, and the patient
returned to work.

In suppurative corns the loosened horn must be removed so that the
pus may freely escape. If the pus has worked a passage to the coro-
nary band, and escapes from an opening between the band and hoof,
an opening must be made on the sole, and cold baths, made astringent,
with a little sulphate of iron or copper, are to be used for a day or two.
When the discharge becomes healthy the fistulous tracts may be in-
jected daily with a weak solution of bichloride of mercury, nitrate of
silver, etc., and the foot dressed as after the operation for moist corns.
When complications arise the treatment must be varied to meet the
11035 25

386

indications ; if gangrene of the lateral cartilage takes place it must be
treated as directed under tlie head of cartilaginous quittor ; if the vel-
vety tissue is gangrenous it must be cut away, and if the coffin bone is
necrosed it must be scra})ed, and the resulting wounds are to be treated
on general principles. After any of the operations for corns have been
performed, in which the soft tissues have been laid bare, it is best to
protect the foot b3" a sole of soft leather, set beneath the shoe, when the
animal is returned to work. Only in rare instances are the complica-
tions of corn so serious as to destroy the life or usefulness of the patient.
It is the wide, flat foot, with low heels and a thin wall, which is most
liable to resist all efforts toward effecting a complete cure,

BRUISE OF THE FROG.

When the frog is severely bruised the injury is followed by suppura-
tion beneath the horn, and at times by partial gangrene of the plantar
cushion.

Causes. — A bruise of the frog generally happens from the animal
stepping on a rough stone or other hard object. It is more apt to take
place when the animal is trotting, running, or jumpiug than when he is
at a slower pace. A stone wedged between the branches of the shoe
in the cleft of the frog, or between the sides of the frog and the shoe,
and remaining for a time, produces the same results. A cut through the
horny frog with some sharp instrument or a punctured wound with a
blunt pointed instrument may also cause suppuration and gangrene of
the plantar cushion. Broad, flat feet, with low heels and a fleshy frog,
are most liable to these injuries.

Symptoms. — Lameness, severe in proportion to the extent of the
bruise and the consequent suppuration, is always an early symptom.
When the animal moves the toe only is placed to the ground, or the
foot is carried in the air and the patient hobbles along on three legs.
When he is at rest the foot is set forward with the toe resting on the
ground and the leg flexed at the fetlock joint. As soon as the pus
finds its way to the surface the lameness improves. If the frog is ex-
amined early the injured spot may usually be found, and if no opening
exists the collection of pus may be detected working its way toward
the heels. The horn is felt to be loosened from the deeper tissues, and
if it is pared through, a thin, yellow, watery and offensiv^o pus escapes.
In other cases a ragged opening is found in the frog, leading down to
a mass of dead, sloughing tissues, which are x)ale green in color if gan-
grene of the plantar cushion has set in. In rare cases the colifln bone
*may be involved in the injury and a small portion of it become carious.

Treatment. — If the injury is seen at once the foot should be placed
in a bath of cold water with the object of preventing suppuration. If
suppuration has already set in the horn of the frog, and of the bars
and branches of the sole if necessary, is to be pared thin, so that all
possible pressure may be removed and the foot poulticed. As soon as

387

the pas has loosened the horn, all the detached portions are to be cut
away. If the pus is discharging from an opening near the hair the
whole frog, or one-half of it will generally be found separated from the
plantar cushion, and is to be removed with the knife. After a few
days' time the gangrenous portion of the cushion will slough off under
the stimulating effects of the poultice, and under rare circumstances
only should the dead parts be removed by surgical interference. Where
the slough is all detached the remaining wound is to be treated with
simple stimulating dressings, such as tincture of aloes or turpentine,
oakum balls, and bandages as directed in punctured wounds. The lame-
ness having subsided, and a thin layer of new horn having grown on
the exposed i^arts, the foot may be shod, the frog covered with a thick
pad of oakum, held in place by pieces of tin fitted to slide under the
shoe, and the animal returned to slow work. Where caries of the cof-
fin bone, etc., follow the injury the treatment recommended for these
complications in punctured wounds of the foot must be resorted to.

PUNCTURED WOUNDS OF THE FOOT.

Of all the injuries to which the foot of the horse is liable none are
more common than punctured wounds, and none are more serious than
these may be when involving the more important organs contained within
the hoof. A nail is the most common instrument by which the injury
is inflicted, yet wounds may happen from sharp pieces of rock, glass,
wire, knives, etc.

A wound of the foot is more serious when made by a blunt-pointed in-
strument than when the point is sharp, and the nearer the injury is to
the center of the foot the more likely are disastrous results to follow.
Wounds in the heels and in the posterior parts of the frog are attended
with but little danger, unless they are so deep as to injure the lateral
cartilages, when quittor may follow. Punctured wounds of the anterior
parts of the sole are more dangerous for the reason that the coffin bone
may be injured and the suppuration, even where the wound is not deep,
tends to spread and always gives rise to intense suffering. The most
serious of the punctured wounds are those which happen to the center
of the foot, and which involve, in proportion to their depth, the plantar
cushion, the plantar aponeurosis, the sesamoid sheath, the navicular
bone, or the coffin joint.

Punctured wounds are more likely to be deep in flat or convex feet
than in well-made feet, and, as a rule, recovery is neither so rapid nor
so certain. These wounds are less serious in animals used for heavy
draught than in those required to do faster work ; for the former may
bo useful, even if complete recovery is not effected. Lastly, punctured
wounds of the fore feet are more serious than of the hind feet, for the
reason that in the former the instrument is apt to enter the foot in a
nearly perpendicular line, and, consequently, is more likely to injure

388

the deeper structures of the foot, while in the hiud foot the iujury is
generally near the heels and the wound oblique and less deep.

Synqitoms. — A nail or other sharp instrument may penetrate the
frog and remain there for several days without causing lameness ; in
fact, in many cases of punctured wound of the frog, the first evidence
of the injury is the finding of the nail on cleaning the foot or the ap-
pearance of an opening where the skin and frog unite from which more
or less pus escapes. Even when the sole is perforated, if the injury is
not too deep, no lameness develops until suppuration is established.
In all cases of foot lameness, especially if the cause is obscure, the foot
should be examined for evidences of iujury.

The lameness from punctured wounds, accompanied by suppuration,
is generally severe, the patient often refusing to use the aflected mem-
ber at all. The pain being lancinating in character, he stands with
the injured foot at rest or constantly moves it back and forth. In
other cases the patient lies down most of the time with the feet out-
stretched ; the breathing is rapid, the pulse fast, the temperature ele-
vated, and the body covered with patches of sweat.

When the plantar aponeurosis is injured the pus escapes with diffi-
culty and the wound shows no signs of healing ; the whole foot is hot
and very painful. If the puncture involves the sesamoid sheath the
synovial fluid escapes. At first this fluid is pure, like joint-water, but
later on it becomes mixed with the products of suppuration and loses
its clear amber color. In these cases the suppuration generally ex-
tends np the course of the flexor tendon, an abscess forms in the hollow
of the heel, and finally opens somewhere below the fetlock joint. The
whole coronet is more or less swollen, the discharge is jDrofuse and often
mixed with blood, yet the suffering is greatlj^ relieved from the moment
the abscess opens.

When the wound reaches the navicular bone the lameness is intense
from the beginning ; but after all the only certain way in which to de-
termine the existence of this complication is in the nse of the probe,
and unless there is a free escape of synovia the probe should be used
with the greatest of care, else the coflBn joint may be opened.

If the coffin -joint has been i)enetrated, either by the offending in-
strument or by the process of suppuration, acute inflammation of the
joint follows, accompanied by high fever, loss of apj^etite, etc. The
ankle and coronet are now greatly swollen, and in many cases dropsy of
the leg to the knee or hock, or even to the body, follows. If the process
of suppuration continues small abscesses apT)^ar at intervals on different
parts of the coronet, the patient rapidly loses flesh, and may die from
the effects of the intense suffering and blood poisoning. In other cases
the suppuration soon disapj)ears and recovery is effected by the joint
becoming stiff (anchylosis).

When the wound is forward, near the toe, and deep enough to injure
the coffin bone, caries always results. The presence of the dead pieces

389

of bone can be determined by the use of the probe 5 the bone feels rough
and gritt^'. Furthermore, there is no disposition upon the part of the
wound to heal.

Besides the compilcatious above mentioned others, equally as serious,
may be met with. The tendons may soften and rupture, the hoof may
slough off, quittors develop, or sidebones and ringbones grow. Finally
laminitis of the opposite foot may happen if the imtient persists in
standing most of the time, or lockjaw may cause early death.

Treatment. — In all cases of punctured wound of the foot the horn
around the seat of injury should be thinned down, a free opening made
for the escape of the products of suppuration, and the foot placed in a
poultice. If the injury is not serious recovery takes place in a few days'
time. Where the wound is deeper it is better to put the foot in a cold
bath or under a stream of cold water, as advised in the treatment for
quittor.

If the bone is injured cold baths, containing about 2 ounces each of
sulphate of copper and sulphate of iron, may be used until the dead
bone is well softened, when it should be removed by an operation. The
animal must be ca«t for this operation, the sole pared away until the
diseased bone is exposed, when all the dead particles are to be removed
with a drawing-knife and the wound dressed with a 5 i^er cent, solution
of carbolic acid, oakum balls, and a roller bandage.

Wounds of the bone which are made by a blunt-pointed instrument,
like the square-pointed cut nail, in which a portion of the surface is
driven into the deeper parts of the bone, always progress slowly, and
should be operated upon as soon as the conditions are favorable. Even
wounds of the navicular bone, accompanied b}^ caries, may be operated
on and the life of the patient saved ; but the most skillful surgery is
required in these cases and only the experienced operator should
undertake their treatment.

If there is an escape of pure synovial fluid from a wound of the sole,
without injury to the bone, a small pencil of corrosive sublimate should
be introduced to the bottom of the wound and the foot dressed as
directed above.

The ether complications are to be treated as directed under their
proper headings.

After healing of the wounds has been effected, lameness, with more
or less swelling of the coronary region, may remain. In these cases the
coronet should be blistered, or even fired with the actual cautery, and
the patient turned to pasture. If the lameness still persists, and is not
due to a stiff joint, unnerving may be resorted to, and in many cases
with very good results. If the joint is anchylosed of course no treat-
ment can relieve it, and the patient must either be put to very slow
work or kept for breeding purposes only.

" Prick in shoeing " is an injury which should be considered under
the head of punctured wounds of the foot. The nails by which the

390

shoe is fastened to the hoof may produce an injury followed by iuflam-
mation and suppuration in two days, either by penetrating the soft tis-
sues directly or by being driven so deep that the inner layers of the
horu of the wall are pressed against the soft tissues with such force as
to crush them. In either case the animal generally goes lame soon
after shoeing unless the injury is at the toe, when the first evidence of
the trouble may be the discharge of pus at the coronet. When lame-
ness follows close upon tbe setting of the shoes, without other appre-
ciable canse, each nail should be lightly struck with a hammer when
the one at fault will be detected by the flinching of the animal.

The treatment consists in drawing the nail, and if the soft tissues
have been penetrated, or if suppuration has commenced the horn must
be pared away until the diseased parts are exposed. The foot is now
to be poulticed for a day or two, or until the lameness and suppuration
have ceased. If the discharge of pus from the coronet is the first evi-
dence of the disease the offending nail must be found and removed,
the parts pared out, and a weak solution of carbolic acid injected at the
coronet until the fistulous tract has healed.

CONTRACTED HEELS.

Contracted heels, or hoof-bound as it is sometimes called, is a common
disease, especially among horses kept on hard floors in dry stables, and
in such as are subject to much saddle work. It consists in an atrophy or
shrinking of the tissues of the foot, whereby the lateral diameter of the
heels in particular is diminished. It affects the fore feet principally,
but is seen occasionally in the hind feet, where it is of less importance
for the reason that the hind foot first strikes the ground with the toe, and,
consequently, less expansion of the heels is necessary than in the fore
feet where the weight is first received on the heels, and any interference
with the expansibility of this part of the foot interferes with locomotion
and ultimately gives rise to lameness. Usually but one foot is affected
at a time, but when both are diseased the change is greater in one than
in the other. Occasionally but one heel, and that the inner one, is
contracted ; in these cases there is less likely to be lameness and per-
manent impairment of the animal's usefulness. According to the opin-
ion of some of the French veterinarians, hoof- bound should be divided
into two classes — total contraction^ in which the whole foot is shrunken
in size, and contraction of the heels, when the trouble extends only from
the quarters backward. (Plate xxxiv, Figs 4 and 7.)

Causes. — Animals raised in wet or marshy districts, when taken to
towns and kept on dry floors, are liable to have contracted heels, not
alone because the horn becomes dry but because fever of the feet and
■wasting away of the soft tissues result from the change. Another com-
mon cause of contracted heels is to be found in faulty shoeing, such as
rasping the wall, cutting away the frog, heels, and bars ; high calks and
the use of nails too near the heels. Contracted heels may happen also

391

as one of the results of other diseases of the foot ; for instance, it often
accompanies thrush, side bones, ring bones, canker, navicular disease,
corns, sprains of the flexor tendons, of the sesamoid and suspensory lig-
aments, and from excessive knuckling of the fetlock joints.

Synipto7ns. — In contraction of the heels the foot has lost its circular
shape, and the walls from the quarters backward approach to a straight
line. The ground surface of the foot is now smaller than the coronary
circumference ; the frog is pinched between the inclosing heels, is much
shrunken, and at times is affected with thrush. The sole is more con-
cave than natural, the heels are higher, and the bars are long and nearly
perpendicular. The whole hoof is dry, and so hard that it can scarcely
be cut ; the parts toward the heels are scaly and often ridged like the
horns of a ram, while fissures, more or less deep, may be seen at the
quarters and heels following the direction of the horn fibers. (Plate
XXXIII, Fig. 10.) When the disease is well advanced lameness is pres-
ent; in the earlier stages there is only an uneasiness evinced by fre-
quent shifting of the affected foot or feet. Stumbling is common, espe-
cially on hard or rough roads. In most cases the animal comes out of
the stable stiff and inclined to walk on the toe, but after exercise he
may go free again. He wears his shoes off at the toe in a short time,
no matter whether he works or remains in the stable. If the shoe is
removed and the foot pared, in old cases a dry, mealy horn will be found
where the sole and wall unite, extending upward in a narrow line toward
the quarters.

Treatment. — First of all, the preventive measures must be considered.
The feet must be kept moist and the horn be prevented from drying out
by the use of moist sawdust or other damp bedding; by occasional
poultices of boiled turnips, linseed meal, etc., and the use of greasy
hoof ointments to both the sole and walls of the feet. The wall of the
foot should be spared from the abuse of the rasp ; the frog, heels, and
bars are not to be mutilated with the knife, nor should calks be used
on the shoe except when absolutely necessary. The shoes should be
reset at least once a month, to prevent the feet from becoming too long,
and daily exercise must be insisted on.

As to curative measures a diversity of opinion exists. A number of
kinds of special shoes have been invented, having ior an object the
spreading of the heels, and perhaps any of these, if properly used,
would eventually effect the desired result. But a serious objection to
most of these shoes is that they are expensive and often diSicnlt of
make and application. The method of treatment which I have adopted
in these cases is not only attended with good results, but is inexpen-
sive, if the loss of the patient's services for a time is not considered
a part of the question. It consists, first, in the use of poultices or
baths of cold water for a few days until the horn is thoroughly soft-
ened. The foot is now prepared for the shoe in the usual way, ex-
cept that the heels are lowered a little, the frog remaining untouched.
A shoe called a " tip " is made by cutting off both branches at the cen-

392

ter of the foot aud drawing the ends down to an edge. The tapering
of the branches should begin at the toe, and the shoe should be of
the usual width, with both the upper and lower surfaces flat. This
tip is to be fastened on with six or eight small nails, all set well for-
ward, two being in the toe. With a common foot rasp begin at the
heels, close to the coronet, and cut away the horn of the wall until only
a thin layer covers the soft tissues beneath. Cut forward until the
new surface meets the same 2^ or 3 inches from the heel. The same
sloping shape is to be observed in cutting downward toward the bot-
tom of the foot, at which point the wall is to retain its normal thickness.
The foot is now blistered all around the coronet with Spanish fly oint-
ment, and when this is well set the patient is to be turned to pasture
in a damp field or meadow. The blister should be repeated in three or
four weeks, aud, as a rule, the patient can be returned to work in two
or three mouths' time. The object of the tip is to throw the weight on
the frog and heels, which are readily si)read after tlie horn has been cut
away on the sides of the wall. The internal structures of the foot at
the heels, being relieved of excessive pressure, regain their normal con-
dition if the disease is not of too long standing. The blister not only
tends to relieve any inflammation which may be present, but it also
stimulates a rapid growth of healthy horn, which, in most cases, ulti-
mately forms a wide aud normal heel. In old chronic cases, with a
shrunken frog and increased concavity of the sole, accompanied by ex-
cessive wasting of all the internal tissues of the foot, of course satis-
factory results can not be expected and are rarely secured. Still much
relief, if not an entire cure, may be affected by these measures.

When thrush is present as a complication its cure must be sought by
such measures as are directed in a consideration of this disease under
its proper heading. If sidebones, ringbones, navicular disease, con-
tracted tendons, or other diseases have been the cause of contracted
heels, of course treatment of the result will be useless until the cause
is removed.

SAND- (BRACKS.

A sand-crack is a solution of continuity or fissure in the horn of the
wall of the foot. These fissures are quite narrow, and as a general rule
they follow the direction of the horny fibers. They may happen on any
part of the wall, but ordinarily they are only seen directly in front,
when they are called toe-cracks ; and on the lateral parts of the wall,
when they are known as qtwrter-cracJcs. (Plate xxxiii.)

Toe-cracks are most common in the hind feet, while quarter- cracks
nearly always affect the fore feet. The inside quarter is more liable to
the injury than the outside one, for the reason that this quarter is not
only the thinner, but during locomotion receives a greater part of the
weight of the body. A sand-crack may be sui»erficial, involving only

393

the outer parts of the wall, or it may be deep, involving the whole
thickness of the wall aud the soft tissues beneath.

The toecrack is most likely to be complete — that is extending from
the coronary band to the sole — while the quarter- crack is nearly al-
ways incomplete, at least when of comparatively recent origin. Sand-
cracks are most serious when they involve the coronary band in the
injury. They may be complicated at any time by hemorrhage, inflam-
mation of the laminse, suppuration, gangrene of the lateral cartilage
and of the extensor tendon, caries of the coffin bone, or the growth of
a horny tumor known as a keraphyllocele.

Causes. — Relative dryness of the horn is the principal predisposing
cause of sand-cracks. Excessive dr^mess is perhaps not a more prolific
cause of cracks in the horn than alternate changes from damp to dry.
It is even claimed that these injuries are more common in animals
working on wet roads than in those working on roads that are rough
and dry; at least these injuries are not common in mountainous coun-
tries. Animals used to running at pasture when trausferj^-ed to stables
with, hard, dry floors are more liable, especially to quarter-cracks, than
those accustomed to stables. Small feet, with thick, hard hoofs, and
feet which are excessively large, are more susceptible to sand-cracks
than those of better proportion. A predisposition to quarter crack ex-
ists in contracted feet, and in those where the toe turns out or the inside
quarter turns under.

Heavy shoes, large nails, and nails set too far back toward the heels,
together with such diseases as canker, quittor, grease, and suppurative
corns must be included as occasional ijredisposing causes of sand-cracks.

Fast work on hard roads, jumping, and blows on the coronet, together
with calk wounds of the feet, are accidental causes of quarter-cracks in
particular. Toe-cracks are more likely to be caused by heavy pulling
on slippery roads and pavements or on steep hills.

Symptoms. — The fissure in the horn is ofttimes the only evidence of
the disease ; and even this may be accidentally or purposely hidden
from casual view by mud, ointments, tar, wax, putty, gutta purcha, or
by the long hairs of the coronet.

Sand-cracks sometimes commence on the internal face of the wall,
involving its whole thickness, excepting a thin layer on the outer sur-
face. In these cases the existence of the injury may be suspected from
a slight depression, which begins near the coronary band and follows
the direction of the horny fibers, but the trouble can only be positively
diagnosed by paring away the outside layers of horn until the fissure
is exposed. In toe-cracks the walls of the fissure are in close apposi-
tion when the foot receives the weight of the body, but when the foot
is raised from the ground the fissure opens. In quarter crack the op-
Ijosite is true, and the fissure closes when the weight is removed from
the foot. As a rule sand-cracks begin at the coronary band, and aa
they become older they not only extend downward, but they also grow

394

deeper. In old cases, particularly in toe-crack, the born on the borders
of the fissure loses its vitality and scales off, sometimes through the
greater part of its thickness, leaving behind a rough and irregular
channel extending from the coronet to the end of the toe.

In many cases of quarter-crack, and in some cases of toe-crack as
well, if the edges remain close together, with but little motion, the fis-
sure is dry, but in other cases a thin, offensive discharge issues from
the crack and the ulcerated soft tissues, or a fungus-like growth, pro-
trude from the narrow opening.

When the cracks are deep and the motion of their edges considerable,
so that the soft tissues are bruised and pinched with every movement,
a constant inflammation of the parts is maintained and the lameness is
severe.

Ordinarily, the lameness of sand crack is slight when the patient
walks ; but it is greatly aggravated when he is made to trot, and the
harder the road the worse he limps. Furthermore, the lameness is
greater going down hill than up, for the reason that these conditions
are favorable to an increased motion in the edges of the fissure. Lastly,
more or less hemorrhage accompanies the inception of a sand crack when
the whole thickness of the wall is involved. Subsequent hemorrhages
may also take place from fast work, jumping, or a misstep.

Treatment. — In so far as preventive measures are concerned but little
can be done. The suppleness of the horn is, of course, to be maintained
by the use of ointments, damp floor, bedding, etc. The shoe is to be
proportioned to the weight and work of the animal; the nails holding
it in place are to be of proper size and not driven too near the heels;
sufficient calks and toe-pieces must be added to the shoes of horses
working on slippery roads, and the evils of jumping, fast driving, etc.,
are to be avoided.

When a fissure has made its appearance, means are to be adopted
which will prevent it from growing longer or deeper ; and this can only
be done by arresting all motion in the edges. The best and simplest
artificial appliance for holding the borders of a toe crack together is
the Yachette clasp. These clasps, and the instruments necessary for
their application, can be had of any of the more prominent makers of
veterinary instruments. These instruments comprise a cautery iron
with which two notches are burned in the wall, one on each side of the
crack, and forceps with which the clasps are closed into place in the
bottom of the notches and the edges of the fissure brought close together.
The clasps being made of stiff steel wire are strong enough to prevent
all motion in the borders of the crack. Before these clasps are applied
the fissure should be thoroughly cleansed and dried, and, if the injury
is of recent origin, the crack may be filled with a putty made of 2 parts
ofgutta percha and 1 part of gum ammoniac. The number of clasps
to be used is to be determined by the length of the crack, the amount
of motion to be arrested, etc. Generally the clasps are from one-half

395

to three-quarters of an inch apart. The dasps answer equally as well
in quarter crack if the wall is sufficiently thick and not too dry and
brittle to withstand the strain.

In the absence of these instruments and clasps a hole may be drilled
through the horn across the fissure, and the crack closed with a thin
nail made of tough iron, neatly clinched at both ends. A plate of steel
or brass is sometimes fitted to the parts and fastened on with short
screws ; while this appliance may prevent much gaping of the fissure
it does not entirely arrest motion of the edges for the simple reason that
the plate and screw can not be rendered immobile.

If, for any reason, the above measures fail or can not be used recourse
must be had to an operation. The horn is softened by the use of warm
baths and poultices, the patient cast and the walls of the fissure are en-
tirely removed with the knife. The horn removed is in the shape of
the letter V with the base at the coronet. Care must be taken not to
injure the coronary band and the laminae. The wound is to be treated
with mild stimulant dressings, such as a weak solution of carbolic acid,
tincture of aloes, etc., oakum balls and a roller bandage. After a few
days the wound will become covered with a new, white horn, and the
oakum and bandages only will be needed. As the new quarter grows
out the lameness disappears, and the patient may be shod with a bar
shoe and returned to work.

In all cases of sand crack the growth of horn should be stimulated by
cauterizing the coronary band, or by the use of blisters. In simple
quarter crack recovery will often take place if the coronet is blistered,
the foot shod with a " tip," and the patient turned to pasture.

The shoe, in toe crack, should have a clip on each side of the fissure
and should be thicker at the toe than at the heels. The foot should be
lowered at the heels by paring, and spared at the toe, except directly
under the fissure where it is to be pared away until it sets free from
the shoe.

When any of the complications referred to above arise, special meas-
ures must of course be resorted to. For the proper treatment of gan-
grene of the lateral cartilage and extensor tendon and caries of the
coffin bone, reference may be had to the articles on quittors. If the
horny tumor known as keraphyllocele should develop it is to be re-
moved by the use of the knife. Since this tumor develops on the in-
side of the horny box and may involve other important organs of the
foot in disease, its removal should only be undertaken by a skillful
surgeon.

NAVICULAR DISEASE.

Navicular disease, often called "navicular arthritis " by the English,
is an inflamation of the sesamoid sheath, induced by repeated bruising
or laceration, and complicated in many cases by inflammation and caries
of the navicular bone. In some instances the disease undoubtedly be-

396

gins in the bone, and tlie sesamoid sheath becomes involved subse-
quently by an extension of the iniiammatory process. (Plate xxxii,
Fig. 5.)

The thoronghbred horse is more commonly affected with the disease
than any other, yet no class or breed of horses is entirely exempt. The
mule, however, seems rarely, if ever, to suffer from it. For reasons
which will appear when considering the causes of the disease the hind
feet are not liable to be affected. As a general rule but one fore foot
suffers from the disease, but if both should be attacked the trouble has
become chronic in the first before the second shows signs of the disease.

Causes. — To comiirehendfull^' how navicular disease maybe caused by
conditions and usages common to nearly all animals, it is necessary to
recall the peculiar anatomy of the parts involved in the process and the
functions which they perform in locomotion. It must be remembered
that the fore legs largely support the weight of the body when the ani-
mal is at rest, and that the faster he moves the greater is the shock
which the fore feet must sustain as the body is thrown forward upon
them by the propelling force of the hind legs. This shock could not be
withstood by the tissues of the fore feet and legs were it not that it is
largely dissipated by the elastic muscles which bind the shoulder to the
body, the ease with which the arm closes on the shoulder blade, and
the spring of the fetlock joint. But even these means are not sufficient
within themselves to protect the foot from injury, and so nature has fur-
ther supplemented them by placing the coffin joint on the hind part of
the coffin bone instead of directly on top of it, whereby a large part of
the shock of locomotion is dispersed before it can reach the vertical
column, represented in the cannon, knee, and arm bones. A still fur-
ther provision is made by placing a soft, elastic pad — the frog and
plantar cushion — at the heels to receive the sesamoid exp;rnsiou of the
flexor tendon as it is forced downward by the pressure of the coronet
bone against the navicular. Extraordinary as these means may ap-
pear for the destruction of shock, and ample as they are when the ani-
mal is at a slow pace or unweighted by rider or load, they fiiil to com-
pletely relieve the parts from concussion and excessive pressure when-
ever the opposite conditions are present. The result, then, is that
the coronet bone forces the navicular hard against the flexor tendon,
which, in turn, i:>resses firmly against the navicular as the force of the
contracting muscles lifts the tendon into place. It is self evident, then,
that tlie more rapid the pace and the greater the load, the greater must
these contending forces be, and the greater the liability to injury. For
the same reason horses with excessive knee action are more likely
to suffer from this disease than others, concussion of the foot and intense
pressure on the tendon being common attendants upon their usage. Be-
sides these exciting causes must be considered those which predispose to
the disease. Most prominent among these is heredity. It may be claimed,
however, that an inherited predisposition to navicular disease consists
not so much in a special susceptibility of the tissues which are involved

397

in the process as iu a vice of conformation wbicb, as is well Iruown, ia
liliely to be transmitted from parent to offspring. The faults of con-
formation most likely to be followed by the development of navicular
disease are an insufficient plantar cushion, a small frog, high heels, ex-
cessive knee actiou, and contracted heels. Finally, the environments
of domestication and nse, such as dry stables, heavy palling, bad shoe-
ing, punctured wounds, etc., all have their influence in developing this
disease.

8i/mptonis. — In the early stages of navicular disease the symptomg
are generally very obscure. When the disease begins in inflammation
of the navicular bone the animal points the affected foot while at test, a
time before any lameness is seen. While at work he apparently travels
as well as ever, but when placed in the stable one foot is set out in front
of the other, resting on the toe, with fetlock and knee flexed. After a
time, if the case is closely watched, the animal takes a few lame steps
while at work, but the lameness disappears as suddenly as it came and
the driver doubts if the animal was really lame at all. Later on the
patient has a lame spell which may last during a greater part of the
day, but the next morning it is gone ; he leaves the stable all right, but
goes lame again during the day. In time he has a severe attack of
lameness, which may last for a week or more, wlien a remission takes
place and it may be weeks or months before another attack supervenes.
Finally, he becomes constantly lame, and the more he is used the greater
the lameness.

In the lameness from navicular disease the affected leg always takes
a short step, and the toe of the foot first strikes the ground, so that
the shoe is most worn at this point. If the patient is made to move
backwards the foot is set down with exceeding great care, and the
weight rests upon the affected leg but a moment. When exercised he
often stumbles, and if the road is rough he may fall on his knees. If
he is lame iu both feet the gait is stilty, the shoulders seem stiff, and
if the patient is made to work he sweats profusely from the intense
pain. Early in the development of the disease a careful examination
will reveal some increased heat in the heels and frog, particularly after
work ; as the disease progresses this becomes more marked until the
whole foot is hot to the touch. At the same time there is an increased
sensibility of the foot, for the jjatient flinches from th€ percussion of a
hammer lightly applied to the frog and heels, or from the pressure of
the smith's pincers. The frog is generally shrunken, often of a pale
reddish color, and at times it is affected with thrush. If the heels are
pared away so that all the weight is received on the frog, or if the same
result is attained by the application of a bar shoe, the animal is exces-
sively lame. The muscles of the leg and shoulder shrink away, and
often tremble as the animal stands at rest. After months of lameness
the foot is found to be shrunken in its diameter and apparently length-
ened ; the horn is dry and brittle and has lost its natural gloss, while

398

circular ritlges, developed most toward the heels, cover the upper part
of the hoof. When both feet are affected the animal points first one
foot then the other, and stands with the hind feet well forward beneath
the body so as to relieve the forefeet as much as possible from bearing
weight. In old cases the wasting of the muscles and the knuckling at
the fetlock become so great that the leg can not be straightened, and
locomotion can scarcely be i)erformed. The disease generally makes a
steady progress without inclining to recovery — the remission of symp-
toms in the earlier stages should not be interpreted as evidence that
the process has terminated. The complications usually seen are ring-
bones, sidebones, thrush, contracted heels, quarter cracks, and frac-
tures of the navicular, coronet, and i^astern bones.

Treatment. — But few cases of navicular disease recover. In the
early stages the wall of the heels should be rasped away as directed in
the treatment for contracted heels, until the horn is quite thin; the
coronet should be well blistered with Spanish-fly ointment, and the
patient turned to grass in a damj) field or meadow. After three or four
weeks' time the blister should be repeated. This treatment is to be
continued for two or three months. Plane shoes are to be i)ut on when
the patient is returned to work. In chronic cases the animal should
be put to slow, easy work. To relieve the pain, neurotomy may be
performed — an operation in which the sense of feeling is destroyed in
the foot by cutting out pieces of the nerve at the fetlock. This opera-
tion in nowise cures the disease, and since it may be attended with
serious results can only be advised in certain favorable cases, to be de-
termined by the veterinarian.

SIDEBONES.

A sidebone consists in a transformation of the lateral cartilages found
on the wings of the coflin bone into bony matter by the deposition
of lime salts. The disease is a common one, especially in heavy horses
used for draft, in cavalry horses, cow-ponies, and other saddle horses,
and in runners and trotters.

Sidebones are peculiar to the fore feet, yet they occasionally develop
in the hind feet where they are of little importance, since they cause
no lameness. In many instances sidebones are of slow growth, and
being unaccompanied by acute inflammation, they cause no lameness
until such time as, by reason of their size, they interfere with the action
of the joint. (Plate xxxii. Fig. 4.)

Causes. — Sidebones often grow in heavy horses without any apparent
injury, and their development has been attributed to theoverexpansion
of the cartilages caused by the great weight of the animal. Blows, and
other injuries to the cartilages, may set up an inflammatory process
which ends in the formation of these bony growths. High-heeled shoes,
high calks, and long feet are always classed among the conditions which
may excite the growth of sidebones. They are often seen in connec-

399

tiOQ witli contracted beels, ringbones, navicular diseases, punctured
wounds of the foot, quarter crack, and occasionally as a sequel to
founder.

Symptoms.— In the earlier stages of the disease, if inflammation is
present, the only evidence of the trouble to be detected is a little fever
over the seat of the affected cartilage and a slight lameness. In the
lameness of sidebones the toe of the foot first strikes the ground and
the step is shorter than natural. The subject comes out of the stable
stiff and sore, but the gait is more free after exercise.

Since the deposit of the bony matter often begins in that part of the
cartilage where it is attached to the cofan bone, the diseased process may
exist for some time before the bony growth can be seen or felt. Later
on, however, the cartilage can be felt to have lost its soft elastic char-
acter, and by standing in front of the animal a prominence of the coron-
ary region at the quarters can be seen. Occasionally these bones be-
come so large as to bulge the hoof outward, and by pressing on the joint
they so interfere with locomotion that the animal becomes entirely

useless.

Treatment— So soon as the disease can be diagnosed active treat-
ment should be adopted. Cold water bandages are to be used for a few
days to relieve the fever and soreness.

The improvement consequent on the use of these simple measures
often leads to the belief that the disease has recovered ; but with a return
to work the lameness, fever, etc., reappears. For this reason the use of
blisters, or better still the firing iron, should follow on the discontinu-
ance of the cold bandages.

But in many instances no treatment will arrest the growth of these
bony tumors, and as a palliative measure neurotomy must be resorted
to. Generally this operation will so relieve the pain of locomotion
that the patient may bo used for slow work; but in animals used for
faster driving or for saddle purposes the operation is practically useless.
Some years ago 1 unnerved a number of cavalry horses at Fort Leaven-
worth that were suffering from sidebones, and the records show that in
less than seven mouths' time all were more lame than ever. Since a
predisposition to develop sidebones may be inherited, animals suffer-
ing from this disease should not be used for breeding purposes unless
the trouble is known to have originated from an accident.

RINGBONE.

A ringbone is the growth of a bony tumor on the ankle. This tumor
is in fact not the disease, but simply the result effected by an inflam-
matory action set up in the periosteum and bone tissue proper of the
large and small pastern bones. (Plate xxxn, Fig. 1.)

Causes. — Injuries, such as blows, sprains, overwork in young unde-
veloped animals, fast work on h^ird roads, jumping, etc., are among the
principal exciting causes of riugboues. Horses most disposed to this

400

disease are those with short upright pasterns, for the reason that the
shock of locomotion is but imperfectly dissipated in the fore legs of
these animals. Improper shoeing, such as the use of high calks, a too
great shortening of the toe and correspondingly high heels, j)redispose
to this disease by increasing the concussion to the feet.

ISymptoms. — The first symptom of an actively developed ringbone is
the appearance of a lameness more or less acute. If the bony tumor
forms on the side or upper parts of the large pastern its growth is gen-
erally unattended with acute inflammatory action, and, consequently,
produces no lameness or evident fever. These are called false ring-
bones. But when the tumors form on the whole circumference of the
ankle, or simj)ly in front under the extensor tendon, or behind under the
flexor tendons j or if they involve the joints between the two pastern
bones, or between the small jjastern and the coflin bone, the lameness is
always severe. These constitute the true ringbone. Besides the lame-
ness the ankle of the afl'ected limb presents more or less heat, and in
many instances a rather firm, though limited, swelling of the deeper
tissues over the seat of the inflammatory process. The lameness of
ringbone is characteristic in that the heel is first placed on the ground
when the disease is in a fore leg, and the ankle is kept as rigid as pos-
sible. In the hind leg, however, the toe strikes the ground first when
the ringbone is high on the ankle, just as in health; but the aukle is
maintained in a rigid position. If the bony growth is under the front
tendon of the hind leg, or if it involves the coflin joint, the heel is
brought to the ground first. In the early stages of the disease it is not
always easy to diagnose ringbone ; but when the deposits have reached
some size they can be felt and seen as well.

The importance of a ringbone of course depends on its seat, and often
on its size. If it interferes with the joints, or with the tendons, it may
cause an incurable lameness even though small. If it is on the sides
of the large pastern, the lameness generally disappears as soon as the
tumor has reached its growth and the inflammation subsides. Even
where the pastern joint is involved, if complete anchylosis results, the
patient may recover from the lameness with simj^ly an imperfect action
ot the foot remaining, due to thestiff joint.

Treatment. — Before the bony growth has commenced, the inflammatory
process may be cut short by the use of cold baths and wet bandages,
followed by one or more blisters. If the bony deposits have begun,
the firing iron should always be used. Even where the tumors are
large and the pastern joint involved, firing often hastens the process of
anchylosis, and should always be tried.

Where the lower joint is involved, or where the tumor interferes with
the action of the tendons, of course recovery is not to be expected. In
many of these latter cases, however, the animal may be made servicea-
ble by proper shoeing. If the patient walks with the toe on the ground
the foot should be shod with a high-heeled shoe and a short toe. On

401

the other hand, if he walks on the heel a thick-toed and thin heeled
shoe must be woru.

Since ringbone is considered to be one of the hereditary diseases no
animal suffering from this trouble should ever be used for breeding
purposes.

LAMINITIS.

By what term this disease was first known to man is a question
unanswerable. During many years in the recent past, and before an.
approximate knowledge of its lesions was had, it was usually desig-
nated as " founder."

In country districts and amongst the great majority of the laity thia
name is yet almost exclusively used ; and undoubtedly it was first so
employed because it best expressed the physical inability or disinclina-
tion upon the part of the patient to proceed in his gait, resembling
thereby a ship similarly disabled. That it could have been adopted
upon any other ground hardly seems possible, for the etymology of the
term does not indicate that it was so used because it contained even the
most remote intimation either as to the seat of the disease, its nature
or its cause.

Of the nature of laminitis but little is to be said, it being a simple
inflammation of the sensitive laminse of the feet, characterized by the
general phenomena attending inflammation of the skin and mucous
membranes, producing no constitutional disturbances except those de-
pendent upon the local disease, and having a strong tendency, in severe
cases, to destructive disorganization of the tissues affected.

Causes. — The causes of laminitis are as wide and variable as in any
of the local inflammations, and may be divided into two classes — the
predisposing and exciting.

Predisposing causes. — From personal observations I do not know that
any porticular construction of foot or any special breed of horses are
thereby predisposed to this disease, neither can I find anything to
warrant the assumption that it is in any way hereditary; so that while
we may easily cultivate a predisposition of the disease upon the part
of the tissues subject to become affected, the disease itself does not
originate without an exciting cause. Like most other tissues, a pre-
disposition to inflammation may be induced in the sensitive laminit by
any cause which lessens their power of withstanding the work im|)osed
on them. It exists to an extent in those animals unaccustomed to
work, particularly if they are plethoric, and in all those that have been
previous subjects of the disease, for the same rule holds good here that
we find in so many diseases — i. e., that one attack impairs the functional
activity of the affected tissues and thus renders them more easy of a
subsequent inflammation.

Unusual excitement by determining an excessive blood supply, bad
shoeing, careless paring of the feet by removing the sole support, as

11035 26

402

well as high calkings without corresponding toe pieces, must be included
under this head.

Exciting causes. — The exciting causes of laminitis are many and varied,
the most common being concussion, overexertion, exhaustion, rapid
changes of temperature, ingestion of various foods, purgatives, and the
oft-mentioned metastasis.

(1) Concussion acts as a producer of this disease by the local overstim-
ulation which it occasions, the excessive excitement being followed by
an almost complete exhaustion of the functional activity of the laminated
tissues, the exhaustion by congestion, and eventually by inflammation.
But congestion here, as in all other tissues, is not necessarily followed
by inflammation; for although the principal symptoms belonging to
true laminitis are present, the congestion maybe relieved before the proc-
esses of inflammation are fully established. This is the condition that
obtains in the many so-called cases of laminitis, which recover in from
twenty four tofort3^-eight hours' time. These are the cases which should
be called congestion of the laminae.

Laminitis from concussion is common in track horses trotting races
when not in condition, especially if they are carrying the obnoxious
toe weights, and in green horses put to work on city pavements to
which they are unaccustomed. Concussion from long drives on dirt
roads is at times productive of the same results, notably when the
weather is extremely warm, or at least when the relative change of
temperature is great. But undoubtedly the exhaustion so apt to be
produced under these circumstances must be considered as exerting
almost as great an influence as an exciting cause as does the long-con-
tinued concussion. This same combination of causes must also be ad-
mitted as determining the disease when seen at times in hunters, for
the imposed weight of the rider increases the demands made upon the
function of these tissues, and their i^owers of resisting congestion and
its consequences are the sooner exhausted.

(2) Overexertion, as heavy pulling or rapid work, even where there
is no chance for Immoderate concussion, occasionally results in this
disease, although in the majority of instances exhaustion is a conjunc-
tive cause, for overexertion can not be long continued without induc-
ing exhaustion.

(3) Exhaustion, in whatever manner produced, is nearly as prolific a
source of laminitis as is concussion, for when the physical strength has
been greatly impaired, even though but temporarily, some part of the
economy is rendered more vulnerable to disease than others, and it is
not strange that in many instances it should be those parts still called
upon to perform their function of maintaining the weight of the body
after their activity has been exhausted. It is to this cause we must
ascribe those many cases which we see following a hard day's work,
where at no time has there been overexertion or immoderate concus-
sion.

403

In the same manner a strong tendency to laminitis is induced in
horses on sea voyages, the exhaustion of the laminae resulting from the
continual constrained position which the animal is compelled to main-
tain on account of the rocking motion of the vessel.

The same cause exists where one foot has been blistered, or where
one limb is incapacitated from any other reason ; for the opposite mem-
ber being called on to do double duty, soon becomes exhausted, and con-
gestion, followed by inflammation, results as a matter of course. Where
one foot only becomes laminitic, it is customary to find the other or
corresponding member participating at a later date, not always because
of sympathy, but because the transfer of all the functional performance
to the one foot proves within itself a sufficient exciting cause.

(4) Rapid changes of temperature act as an exciting cause of lami-
nitis in precisely the same way as they act to produce disease in other
tissues, the result of these variations of temperature showing itself
upon those parts rendered particularly susceptible to pathological
changes from some impairment of their natural disease-re§isting powers.

This change of temperature may be iuduced by drinking large quan-
tities of cold water while in an overheated condition. Here the internal
heat is rapidly reduced, the neighboring tissues and blood-vessels con-
strained, and the blood supply to these organs greatly diminished,
while the quantity sent to the surface is correspondingly increased.
True, in many of the cases which result from this cause there has not
been sufficient labor performed to impair the powers of the laminae, and
I am inclined to the opinion that laminitis is the more readily induced
than congestion or inflammation of the skin or other surface organs
because of the impossibility upon the part of the laminae to relieve
themselves of the threatened congestion by the general safety-valve of
perspiration. A cold wind or relatively cold air allowed to play upon the
body when heated and wet with sweat has virtually the same result, for
it arrests evaporation and rapidly cools the external surface, thereby de-
termining an excess of blood to such organs and tissues as are protected
from this outside influence. In many instances this happens to be some
of the internal organs, as the lungs, where the previous work has been
rapid and their functional activity impaired ; but in numerous other
instances the determination is toward the feet, and that it is so depends
upon two very palpable facts; first, that these tissues have been greatly
excited and are already receiving as much blood as they can accommo-
date consistently with health ; secondly, even though these tissues
are classed with those of the surface, their protection from atmospheric
influences by means of the thick box of horn incasing them renders
them in this respect equivalent to internal organs.

Airain, a still more limited local action of cold excites this disease,
as seen from driving through water or washing the feet or legs whUe
the animal is warm or just in from work. Here a very marked reaction
takes place in the surface tissues of the limbs, and passive congestion

404

of the foot results from an interference with the return flow of blood,
which is being sent to these organs in excess. These are more apt to be
simple cases of congestion, soon to recover, yet they may become true
cases of laminitis. Youatt says : " The danger is not confined to the
change from heat to cold ; a sudden transition from cold to heat is as
injurious, and therefore it is that so many horses after having been
ridden far in frost and snow and placed immediately in a hot stable and
littered up to the knees are attacked by this complaint." I have never
seen the disease occur under exactly similar circumstances, but am in-
clined to believe that in these cases the disease was attributed to the wrong
cause — the excitement, exhaustion, and concussion of the long ride being
apparently entirely overlooked. Furthermore, if we consider the phys-
ical conditions which must necessarily be present under the circum-
stances, it seems inconsistent with our knowledge of the effects of heat
and cold to believe that the very moderate temperature of stables and
the heat-producing properties of bedding " up to the knees" could be pro-
ductive of laminitis. Rather should we say that such favorable cir-
cumstances would be conducive to opposite results.

(5) Why it is that certain kinds of grain will cause laminitis does
not seem to be clearly understood. Certainly the\' possess no specific
action upon the laminae, for all animals are not alike affected, neither
do they always produce these results in the same animal. In the case
of some of these ailments, where their ingestion causes a strong ten-
dency to indigestion, the consequent irritation of the alimentary canal
may be so great as to warrant the belief that the laminte are affected
through sympathy. In other instances there is no apparent interfer-
ence with digestion, nor evidence of any irritation of the mucous mem-
branes, yet the disease is in some manner dependent upon the food in
question for its inception. Barley, wheat, and sometimes corn are the
grains most prolific in the production of this disease. With some horses
there appears to be a particular susceptibility to this influence of corn. In
such instances the feeding of this grain for a few days will be followed
by inflammation of the feet, lasting from a few days to two weeks time-
In these animals, to all appearances healthy, the corn neither induces
colic, indigestion, nor purging, and apparently no irritation whatever
of the alimentary canal.

(G) Fortunately purgative medicines but rarely become the exciting
cause of inflammation of the laminaB. That it is then the result of a
sympathetic action upon the part of the tissues affected is no doubt
more than hypothetical, for when there is no derangement of the ali-
mentary canal existing a dose of cathartic medicine will at times bring
on severe laminitis, and that, too, before purgation commences.

(7) Most if not all the older authorities were agreed that metastatic
laminitis is a reality. That such a condition ever does exist outside
the magination certainly awaits the proving. That laminitis may and
ofttimes does exist as a concurrent disease with numerous others is un-

405

questionably true, but to believe an inflammation can be almost rao«
meutarily transferred from one organ to another, no matter how remote,
is to destroy all belief in our knowledge of the pathology of this com-
plicated process. We do not pretend to deny that the induction of
laminitis, during the course of some other disease, may serve to arrest
the further invasion of healthy tissue by the primary process, or that
it may exert a remedial influence upon the first disease, but it can not
and does not aconce remove that inflammation and obliterate its lesions,
for the products of any inflammation, be it never so simple, require a
certain time for their removal, and it is impossible that, for instance,
the products of inflamed lung tissue can be immediately removed and
the iuflammation in whole transferred to the laminae. Metastatic lam-
initis, then, is nothing more nor less than concurrent laminitis, and as
such presents little in anyway peculiar outside the imperfectly under-
stood exciting cause, and the practitioner who allows the acute symp-
toms of the laminitis to mislead him, simply because their severity has
overshadowed those of the primary disease, may lose his case through
unguarded subsequent treatment. This form of laminitis is by no means
commonly met with, but when seen will usually be found in conjunc-
tion with pneumonia, according to Youatt with inflammation of the
bowels and eyes, and according to Law and Williams sometimes witli
bronchitis.

Symptoms. — Laminitis is characterized by a congregation of symp-
toms so well marked as scarcely to be misinterpreted by the most casual
observer. They are nearly const-ant in their manifestations, modified
by the number of feet affected, the cause which has induced the disease,
the previous condition of the patient, and the various other influences
which operate in all diseases to some extent. They may be divided into
general symptoms, which are concomitants of all cases of the disease,
subject to variations in degree only and special symptoms, or those
which serve to determine the feet affected and the complications which
may arise.

General symptoms. — Usually the first symptoms that would indicate
any definite obstruction to functional performance is the interference
with locomotion produced by congestion of the sensitive membrane.
Occasionally the other symptoms are presented first. With the devel-
opment of the lameness the pulse will be found accelerated, full, hard,
and striking the finger strongly ; the temperature soon rises several
degrees above the normal, reaching sometimes 100° Fahr., although it
generally ranges between 102.p and 105° Fahr. The respirations are
rapid and panting in character, the nostrils being widely dilated, and
the mucous membranes highly injected. The facial expression is anx-
ious and indicative of the most acute suffering, while the body is more
or less bedewed with sweat. At first there may be tendency to diar-
rheaj or it may appear later, particularly as the result of the medicines
used. The uriue is high colored, scant in quantity, and of increased

406

specific gravity, owing to the water from the system being eliminated
by the skin instead of the kidneys. The appetite is impaired and some-
times entirely lost, while the thirst is greatly increased. The affected
feet are hot and dry to the touch. They are relieved as much as possi-
ble from bearing weight. Rapping them with a hammer or compelling
the animal to stand upon one aff'ected member causes intense pain,
while the artery at the fetlock throbs beneath the finger.

Special symptoms. — Liability to affection varies in the different feet
according to the exciting cause. Any one or more of the feet may be-
come the subject of this disease, although it appears more often in the
fore feet than in the hind ones, a fact owing to the difference of func-
tion, i. e., that the fore feet are the basis of the columns of support, re-
ceiving nearly all the body weight during progression and consequently
most of the concussion, while the hind feet at such times becomes sim-
ply the fulcra of the levers of progression, and are almost exempt from
concussion.

One foot. — Injuries and excessive functional performance are the
causes of the disease in only one foot; here the general symptoms as a
rule are not severe, there often being no loss of appetite and no unusual
thirst, while the pulse, temperature and respiration remain about nor-
mal. In these instances the weight of the body is early thrown upon
the opposite foot and the affected one is extended, repeatedly raised
from the fioor and then carefully replaced. When made to move for-
ward the lame foot is either carried in the air while progression is ac-
complished by hopi)ing with the healthy one, or else the heel of the first
is placed upon the ground and receives the little weight thrown upon
it while the sound limb is quickly advanced. Progression in a straight
line is much more easily accomplished than in turning toward the lame
side.

Both fore feet. — When both fore feet are affected the symptoms are
well marked. The lameness is excessive and the animal almost im-
movable. When standing the head hangs low down, or rests upon the
manger as a means of support and to relieve the feet ; the fore feet are
well extended so that the weight is thrown upon the heels, where the
tissues are least sensitive, least inflamed, and most capable of relief
from free effusion. The hind feet are brought forward beneath the
body to receive as much weight as possible, thereby relieving the dis-
eased ones. If progression is attempted, which rarely happens volun-
tarily during the first three or four days, it is accomplished with very
great pain and lameness at the starting, which usually subsides to an ex-
tent after a few minutes' exercise. Duriug this exercise, if the animal
happens to step upon a small stone or other hard substance, he stumbles
painfully on the other foot and is excessively lame in the offended
member for a number of steps, owing to the acute pain which pressure
upon the sole causes in the tissues beneath. The manner of thQ pro-
gression is pathognomonic of the complaint. Sometimes the affected

407

feet are simultaneously raised from the ground (the hind ones sustain-
ing the weight), then advanced a short distance and carefully replaced,
while at almost the same moment the hind ones are quickly shuffled
forward near to the center of gravitation.

In other instances one foot at a time is advanced and placed with the
heel upon the grouud in the same careful manner, all causes of concus-
sion being carefully avoided. In attempting to back- the animal he is
found to be almost stationary, simply swaying the body back on the
haunches and elevating the toes of the diseased feet as they rest upon
their heels. In attempting to turn either to the right or left he allows
his head to be drawn to the one side to its full extent before moviug,
then makes his hind feet the axis around which ther forward ones de-
scribe a shuffling circle.

In a majority of cases of laminitis in the fore feet the animal persists
in standing until he is nearly recovered. In other cases he as persist-
ently lies, standing only when necessity seems to compel it, and then
for as short a time as possible. If the recumbent position is once as-
sumed the relief experienced from a removal of the weight of the body
off the inflamed tissues tempts the patient to seek it again, and so we
often find him down a greater part of the time. But this is not true of
all cases, for sometimes he will make the experiment, then cautiously
guard against a repetition. Even in those cases of enforced recumbency,
he ofttimes takes advantage of the first opportunity and gets upon his
feet, doggedly remaining there until again laid upon his side by his
attendants. How to explain this diversity of action I do not know, for
theoretically the recumbent position is the only appropriate one, except
when complications exist, and the one which should give the most com-
fort, yet it is rejected by very many patients and no doubt for some
good reason. It has been suggested as an explanation tliat when the
animal gets upon his feet after lying for a time the suffering is so greatly
augmented that the memory of this experience deters him from an
attempted repetition. If this were true, the horse with the first attack
of this disease must necessarily make the experiment before knowing
the after effects of lying down, yet many remain standing without even
an attempt at gaining this experimental knowledge.

The most favored position of the animal when down is on the broad-
side, with the feet and legs extending. While in this position the gen-
eral symptoms greatly subside; the respirations and pulse become
almost normal ; the temperature falls and the perspiration dries. It is
mostly with difficulty that he is made to rise, and when he attempts it
gets up rapidly and " all in a heap," as it were, shifting quickly from
one to the other foot until they become accustomed again to the weight
thrown upon them. Occasionally a patient will get up like a cow, rising
upon the hind feet first. Although enforced exercise relieves to some
extent the soreness, it is but temporary, for after a few minutes' rest it
returns again with all its former severity.

408

Both hi7id feet. —When only both hind feet are affected, they are, while
standing, maintained in the same position as when only the fore ones
arc the subjects of the disease, bat with an entirely different object in
view. Instead of being here to receive weight, they are so advanced in
that the heels may receive whatever weight is, from necessity, imposed
on them, the fore feet being at the same time placed well back beneath
the body, where they become the main supports, the animal standing,
as Williams describes it, " all of a heap."

Progression is even more difficult now than when the disease is con-
fined to the anterior extremities. The fore feet are dubiously advanced-
a short distance and the hind ones are then brought forward with a
kind of a kangaroo hop, which results in an apparent loss of equilibrium
which the animal is a few moments in regaining. The general symp-
toms, or in other words the degree of suffering, seem more severe in these
cases than where the disease affects the fore feet alone. Tlie standing
position is not often maintained, the patient seeking relief in recum-
bency. This fact is easily understood when we consider how cramped
and unnatural is the position he assumes while standing, and if it were
maintained for any considerable length of time would no doubt excite
the disease in the fore feet, as explained by D'Arbovul.

All four feet. — Laminitis of all four feet is but uncommonly met with.
The author has seen but three such cases. In all these the position as-
sumed was nearly normal, all the feet being slightly advanced, and first
one then another momentarily raised from the ground and carefully re-
placed, this action being kept up almost continually during the time
the animal remained standing. The suffering in these cases is most
acute, the appetite is lost, and although the patient lies most of the
time the temperature remains too high ; the pulse and respirations are
greatly accelerated, the body covered with sweat, and bed sores are
unpleasant accompaniments.

Course. — The course which laminitis takes varies greatly in different
cases, being influenced more or less by the exciting cause, the animal's
previous condition, the acuteness of the attack, and the subsequent
treatment. The first symi)toms rarely exhibit themselves while the an-
imal is at his work, although we will occasionally see the gait im])aired
by stumbliug, the body covered with a profuse sweat, and the respira-
tion become blowing in character as i)remouitious of the oncoming dis-
ease, but as a rule nothing is noted amiss with the animal until he has
stood for some time after coming in from work, when, in attempting to
move him, he is found very stiff. Like all congestions the early symp-
toms usually develop rapidly, yet this is not always the case, for in
some instances there ai)pearK to be no well defined period of congestion,
the disease seemingly commencing at a point and gradually spreading
until a large territory is involved in tlie morbid process.

Simple congestion. — Those cases of simple congestion of the laminae,
which we erroneously call laminitis, are rai^idly developed, the symp-

409

toms being but moderately severe and from one to three days required
fox recovery. There are uo structural changes here and but a moder-
ate exudate, which is rapidly reabsorbed, leaving the parts pecisely iu
the came condition as they were previous to the attack. If the congest-
ion has beeu excessive a rupture of some of the capillaries will be found,
a conditiou more apt to obtain where the auimal is made to continue
work after a development of symptoms has begun.

True, the majority of these last-described cases prove to be the lami-
nitis in fact, yet at times the congestion will pass away and theextrar-
asated blood be absorbed without inflammation superveuing to an ex-
tent sufficient to warrant us calling it laminitis. The seat of greatest
congestion will always be found in the neighborhood of the toe, because
of the increased vascularity of that part, and although at times it is lim-
ited to the j)odophyllous tissue alone, any or all parts of the keratogea-
ous membrane may be aflected by the congestion and followed Gnally
by inflammation.

Acute. — In the acute form of laminitis the symptoms may all develop
rapidly, or it may commence by the appearance of a little soreness of
the feet during progression, which in twenty-four or forty-eight hours'
time has passed into a well marked case. This peculiarity of develop-
ijeut is due to one of two causes. Either the congestion is general, but
takes place slowly, or else it begins in one or more points and gradually
spreads throughout the laminse. These acute cases generally run their
course in from a few days to two weeks or more time. Usually a cul-
mination of the symptoms is reached if the patient is properly treated
in from three to five days ; then evidences of recovery are discernable
in favorable cases. The lameness improves, the other symptoms grad-
ually subside, and eventually health is regained. It is in these acute
cases that a strong tendency to disorganization of a destructive char-
acter exists, and hence it is we see so many recover imperfectly with
marked structural changes permanently remaining.

Subacute. — Subacute laminitis is most often seen as a termination
of the acute form, although at times it exists independent of or pre-
cedes an acute attack. It is characterized by the mildness of its symp-
tems, slow course, and moderate tissue changes. It may be present
for a long time before any pathologhical lesions result other than those
found in the acute form, and when these changes do take place they
should rather be viewed as complications.

Chronic. — Chronic laminitis is a term used by many to designate any
of the sequelae of the acute and subacute forms of this disease. Pure
chronic inflammation of the lamince is not very commonly met with, but
is most frequent in horses that have long done fast track work. They
have " fever in the feet " at all times and are continually sore, both con-
ditions being aggravated by work. Like chronic inflammation of other
parts there is a strong tendency here to the development of new con-
nective tissues, which, by its pressure upon the blood vessels, interferes

410

»

with nutrition. Wasting of the coffin bone and inflammation of its cov.
ering with caries is not unusual. The continued fever and impaired
function of secretion result in the production of horn deficient in elas-
ticity, somewhat spongy in character, and inclined to crumble. In
others of these cases of "soreness" in horses used to hard work, there
is evident weakness of the coats of the vessels brought on by repeated
functional exhaustion. Here slight work acts as an exciting cause of
congestion, which results in serious effusion and temporary symptoms
similar to those of chronic laminitis.

CompUcations. — Complications concurrent with or supervening upon
laminitis are frequent and varied, and are often dependent upon causes
not fully understood.

Excessive purgation is one of the simplest of these, and not usually
attended with dangerous consequences. It rarely occurs unless induced
by the exhibition of a purgative, and the excessive action of the medicine
is probably to be explained upon the theory that the mucous membrane
sympathizes with the diseased laminae, is irritable, and readily becomes
overexcited. The discbarges are thin and watery, sometimes offen-
sively odorous, and occasionally i^ersist in spite of treatment. It may
prove disastrous to the welfare of the patient by the rapid exhaustion
which it causes, preventing resolution of the laminitis, and may even
cause death.

SejJficcemia and pymnia. — Septicsemia or Pysemia are unusual com-
plications and are seen only in the most severe cases, where bed-sores
are present or suppuration of the laminfe results. They die, as a rule,
within three days after showing signs of the comi)lication.

Pneumonia— the so-called metastatic — needs no special consideration,
for in its lesions and symptoms it does not differ from ordinary pneu-
monia, although it may be overlooked entirely by the practitioner. Ex-
aminations of the chest in laminitis should be made every day, so as to
detect the disease at its onset and render proper aid.

Sidehones. — A rapid development of sidebones is one of the compli-
cations, or perhaps better, a sequel of laminitis not often met with in
practice. Here the inflammatory process extends to the lateral carti-
lages, with a strong tendency to calcification. The deposition of the lime
salts is sometimes most rapid, so that the " bones" are developed in a
few weeks' time ; in other instances they are deposited slowly and their
growth is not noted until long after the subsidence of the laminitis,
so that the exciting cause is not suspected. This change in the carti-
lages may commence as early as the first week of the laminitis, and
although the trouble in the laminae is removed in the course of a fort-
night the symptoms do not entirely subside, the animal still retaining
the shuffling gait, while the sidebones continue to grow and the patient
usually remains quite lame. This alteration of the cartilages generally
prevents the patient recovering his natural gait, because of the perma-
nent impairment of function induced, and the practitioner receives un-

411

just censure for a condition of affairs he could neither foresee nor pre-
vent.

The larainitic process also occasionally extends to the covering of the
coronet bone, or at least concurrent with and subsequent to lamiuitis
the development of " low ringbone " is seen, and it is apparently de-
pendent upon the disease of the lamina) for its exciting cause. The
impairment of function and consequent symptoms are much less marked
here than in sidebones. The coronet remains hot and sensitive and
somewhat thickened after the laminitis subsides, and a little lameness
is present. This lameness persists and the deposits of new bone may
readily be detected.

Suppuration of the sensitive membrane is a somewhat common com-
plication, and even when present in its most limited form is always a
serious matter; but when it becomes extensive, and especially where
the suppurative process extends to the periosteum, the results are apt
to be fatal. When suppuration occurs the exudation does not appear
•to be excessive, but is rich in leucocytes and seems to have caused a
detachment of the sensitive tissues from the horn prior to the forma-
tion of pus in some instances, while in others the tissues are still at-
tached to the horn and the suppuration takes place in the deeper tis-
sues.

Limited suppuration may take place in any part of the sensitive tis-
sues of the foot during laminitis, and may ultimately be reabsorbed
instead of being discharged upon the surface, but generally the process
begins in the neighborhood of the toe and spreads backward and up-
ward towards the coronet, where it is seen separating the horn from
the coronary band at the quarters. At the same time it is spreading
over the sole and eventually the entire hoof is loosened and finally
sloughs away, leaving the tissues beneath entirely unprotected.

In other instances, and these are generally the cases not considered
unusually severe, the suppuration begins at the coronary band. The
suppuration extends but a short distance in the tissue, yet serves to
destroy the patient by separating the hoof from the coronary baud upon
which it depends for support and growth. lu this form of the suppura-
tive process it is usually seen beginning in front, for it is this part of
the coronary band that is always most actively affected with inflamma-
tion, and consequently it is here that impairments first occur. Suppura-
tion of the sensitive sole is more common than of the sensitive laminae
and coronary baud. It is present in the majority of cases where there
is a dropping of the coffin bone, and in other instances where the effu-
sion at this point is so great as to arrest the production of horn and un-
cover the sensitive tissues. Except when the result of injury it begins
at the toe and spreads backward, and if not relieved by opening the sole
escapes at the heel. Suppuration of the sole is much less serious than
where present in other parts of the foot.
If the acute constitutioual symptoms developed from this sloughing

412

of the foot do not result in death, a new hoof of very imperfect horn
may be developed after a time, but unless the animal is to be kept for
breeding purposes alone the foot will ever be useless for work and death
should relieve the suffering. When only the sole sloughs recovery
takes i)lace with proper treatment.

Peditis. — This is the term which Williams applies to that serious
complication of laminitis where not only the laminiB but the periosteum
and the coffin bone are also the subjects of the inflammatory process.
Neither is this all, for in some of these cases of peditis acute inflamma-
tion of the " coffin joint" is present, and occasionally suppuration of
the joint. A mild form of periostitis, in which the exudation is in the
outer or looser layer of the periosteum only, is a more common condi-
tion than is recognized by practitioners generally, and the intimate
contiguity of structures is the predisposing cause, the disease either
spreading from the original seat, or the complication occurs as one of
the primary results of the exciting cause. In the severer cases where
the exudate separates the periosteum from the bone, suppuration, gau:
grene, and superficial caries are common results; where infiltration of
the bone tissues is rapid the blood supply is cut off by the pressure
upon the vessels and death of the coffin bone ensues. Grave consti-
tutional symptoms mark these changes and soon prove fatal.

In the mild cases of periostitis it is by no means easy to determine
its presence positively, for there are no special symptoms by which it
may be distinguished from pure laminitis. In the majority of the acute
cases, though, which show no signs of improvement by the fifth to sev-
enth day, it is safe to suspect periostitis is present, particularly if the
coronets are very hot, the pulse remaining full and hard, and the lame-
ness acute. In the fortunately rare cases where the bone is affected
with inflammation and suppuration, the agony of the patient is intense;
be occupies the recumbent position almost continually, never st;inding
for more than a few minutes at a time, suffers from the most careful
handling of the affected feet; maintains a rapid pulse and respiration,
high temperature, loss of appetite, and great thirst. It is in these cases
the patient continually grows worse, and the appearance of suppuration
at the top of the hoof in about two weeks after the inception of the
disease proves the inefficiency of any treatment that may have been
adopted and the hopelessness of the case. These patients die usually
between the tenth and twentieth days, either from exhaustion or pyaemio
infections.

Gangrene occurs in the periosteum as the result of excessive detach
ment from the bone, combined with compression from an overprofuse
exudate. Other parts of the sensitive tissues are subject to the same
fate occasionally, from this last-named cause, and at times large terri-
tories will be found dead.

Pumiced sole is that condition in which the horny sole in the neigh-
borhood of the toe readily crumbles away and leaves the sensitive tis-

413

sues more or less exposed. It is not confiued to beiug a complication
of laraiiiitis, but may be seen whenever the necessary conditions for
inducing it are present. "Williams has described the horny-tissue un-
der these circumstances as being ''weak, cheesy, or spongy, like mac-
erated horn, or even grumous," and this certainly conveys a good idea
of its appearance and general characteristics. This crumbling horn
when critically examined shows almost an entire absence of the cohe-
sive matter which unites the healthy fibers, while the fibers themselves
are irregular and granular iu appearance. Pumiced sole depends upon
an impairment of the horn-secreting powers of the sensitive sole, or
upon a separation occurring between the horny and soft tissues which
maintain its vitality. Tbe normal sole physiologically maintains a
proper thinness by crumbling off in scales as it passes beyond the life-
maintaining influence of the i^roducing tissues, and anything which
prevents, suspends, or destroys this influence causes the crumbling proc-
ess to become excessive.

Punctured wounds of the feet, whe re accompanied by any consider-
able destruction of the soft or horn-secreting tissues, present the same
peculiarities in this respect in the immediate neighborhood of the in-
jury. Bruises of the sole are occasionally followed by this change in
the horn where the exudation has been excessive and has separated it
from the living tissues. True, in these cases we rarely see the soft tis-
sues laid bare, for the reason that new horn is constantly secreted and
replaces that undergoing the process of disintegration.

Laminitis presents three different conditions under which pumiced
sole may appear: First, where free exudation separates the horn from
the other tissues, or where the process of inflammation arrests the pro-
duction of horn by impairing or destroying the horn-secreting mem-
brane: secondly, where depression of the coffin bone causes pressure
upon and arrests the formation of horn ; and, thirdly, where the eleva-
tion of the sole compresses the soft tissues against the pedal bone and
induces the same condition. Pumiced sole, as it results from simple
exudation and separation of tissues, is of no importance, for the reason
given above iu connection with bruises ; but where suppuration occurs
in restricted portions of the foot in conjunction with laminitis it always
lays bare the tissues beneath and impairs the animal's value tempora-
rily. In these cases recovery takes place after a tew weeks' time by the
tissues horning over, as iu injuries which have been attended with the
same process. Depression of the coffin bone is not a sufficient cause
within itself to cause pumiced sole, for if the relative change in the
bone takes place slowly, or if the horn is thin, the sole becomes con-
vex from the gradual pressure and the soft tissues adapt themselves to
the change without having their function materially impaired. But
when the dropping is sudden and the soft tissues entirely destroyed,
the horn rapidly crumbles away and the toe of the bone comes through.
In many of these cases the soft tissues remain uncovered for months,
and when they eventually become covered it is with a thin, slightly ad-

414

herent horn that bears but little or no wear. The sole being now con-
vex the diseased tissues are compelled to bear unusual weight by com-
ing in contact with the ground, and hence it is these animals are gen-
erally incurable cripples. In the majority of cases where the sole is
raised to meet the pedal bone and pumiced sole occurs, it is due not to
pressure of the bone from within (for the tissues are capable of adapt-
ing themselves to the gradual change), but to impaired vitality of the
sensitive tissues from the inflammation and the constant concussion and
pressure. applied from without during i^rogression. Added to this is to
be considered the paring away of the horn by the smith when apj)lying
the shoe, thereby keeping the sole at this point too thin.

Turning up of the toe. — In many cases of laminitis which have be-
come chronic it is found that the toe of the foot turns up, and that the
heels are longer than natural, while the whole hoof next to the coro-
nary band is circled with ridges like the horn of a ram. Even in other
cases where recovery has taken i^lace, and in other diseases than lam-
initis, these may be found in the wall of the foot, but in these cases the
ridges are equally distant from each other all around the foot, while in
turning up of the toe the ridges are wide apart at the heels and close
together in front, as seen in the figure (Plate xxxi. Fig. 4). These
ridges are produced by periods of interfeience with the growth of horn
alternating with periods during which a normal or nearly normal
growth takes place. When the toe turns up it does so because the cor-
onary band in front produces horn very slowly, while at the heels it
grows much faster.

Animals affected with pumiced foot and turning up of the toe during
progression always place the abnormally long heel first upon the ground,
not because the heel is too long, nor as in acute or subacute laminitis
to relieve the pain, but for the simple reason that the animal carries the
leg forward with the column of bones in the normal position, and at-
tempting to keep them so the heel first comes in contact with the
ground, and he then knuckles over at the fetlock in proportion to the
amount of foot deformity present as he brings the toe to the surface.

The pain and impai rment of function in these cases always result
in marked atrophy of the mus cles of the forearm and shoulder, and to
some extent of the pectorals, while the position of the fore feet ad-
vances the scapula joints so far forward as to cause a somewhat sunken
appearance of the chest in front, which the laity recognize as a peculiar
form of the disease popularly designated as "chest founder."

Regarding the presence of inflammation during this process, there is
no doubt a chronic form exists a long time after these lesions commence,
yet it may in time subside and leave the feet free from fever while the
other changes still go on.

The lesions of turning up of the toe are permanent, and are withal the
most interesting pathologically of all the complications of laminitis.

Treatment. — The treatment of laminitis is probably more varied than
in other disease, and yet in spite of it a large number of cases recover

415

for even the poorest iiractitioner. Siuce there are two objects to be at
taiued iu treatment — prevention and remedy — the matter will be con-
sidered under the head of prevention and curative measures.

Prevention. — To guard against and prevent disease, or to render an
unpreventable attack less serious than it otherwise would be, is the high-
est practice of the healing art. In a disease so prone to result from
the simplest causes as seen in lamiuitis, and especially when the sound-
est judgment may not be able to determine the extent of the disease-
resisting powers of the tissues which are liable to be affected, or of what
shall in every instance constitute an over-excitement, it is not strange
that horse owners find themselves in trouble from unintentional trans-
gression. If the disease was dependent upon specific causes, or if the
stability of the tissues were of a fixed or more nearly determinate quality,
some measures might be instituted that would prove generally prevent-
ive. But when we recall the fact that predisposing causes are so preva-
lent and often can not be remedied, that what is but gentle work in one
instance may incite disease in another, that what is food to-day may
to-morrow iirove disastrous to health, and that necessarj- medical inter-
ference, no matter how judicious, may cauvse a more serious complaint
than that which was being treated, the obstacles to contend with become
plain. Notwithstanding these difficulties there are some general rules
to be observed that will in part serve to prevent the development of an
unusual number of cases. In the first place all the predisposing causes
named must be removed where possible, and when this is impossible
unusual care must be taken not to bring into operation an exciting
cause. Fat animals should, under no circumstances, have hard work,
and if the weather is warm or the variation of temperature great they
should have but slow, gentle labor until they become inured to it, the
tissues hardened and their excitability reduced to a minimum. Gre<^n
horses should always have moderate work for the same reason, and par-
ticularly when changed from the farm and dirt roads to city pavements.
The increased concussion, changed hygienic conditions and artificial
living, readily become active causes of the disease under these circum-
stances. Army horses just out of winter quarters, track horses with
insufficient prei^aration, and farmers' horses put to work in the spring,
are among the most susceptible classes, and must be protected by work
that is easy and gradual. If long marches or drives are imperative,
then the incumbrances must be light as possible and the journey inter-
spersed with frequent rests, for this allows the laminae to regain their
impaired functional activity and thereby to withstand much more work
without danger. And, furthermore, it permits an early detection of an
oncoming attack; in any case prevents working after the disease be-
gins and renders subsequent medication much more effective by cutting
the process short at the stage of congestion.

All animals when resting immediately after work should be protected
from cold air or draughts. If placed in a stable that is warm and with-
out draught no covering is necessary j under opposite conditions blankets

416

should be used until the excitemeut and exbaustion of tlie labor per-
formed have entirely passed away. It is still better that all animals
coming in warm from work be " cooled out " by slow walking until the
perspiration has dried and the circulation and respiration returned to
the normal. Animals stopped on the road even for a few moments
time should always be protected from rapid change of temperature by
appropriate clothing. If it can be avoided horses that are working
should never be driven or ridden through a stream or pool of water.
Where necessary they should be cooled off before passing through, and
then kept exercising until completely dried. The same rule is to be ob-
served with regard to washing the legs in cold water when the animal
is just in from work, for, although it is practiced extensively and usually
with impunity, occasionally it proves the cause of a most acute attack
of this disease. Regarding shoeing as a predisposing cause, unusual
changes in the manner of applying the shoe should not be hastily made.

If a plane shoe has been worn, high heels or toes must not be sub-
stituted at once, but the change, if necessary, should gradually be
made, so that the different tissues may adapt themselves to the change
of functional performance they are called upon to bear. If, on the other
hand, such changes are imiierative, as is sometimes the case, then the
work must be so reduced in quantity and quality that it can not prove ex-
citant of the disease. Laminitis from the effects of purgative medicines
is a condition which can scarcely be guarded against unless we discard
entirely this useful class of medicines. I can not determine from the
few cases in which I have seen this unhappy result of a purgative that
there are any conditions of the system jiresent that would warn us of
danger in this direction. The disease does not seem to have any de-
pendence for inception in such cases upon the size of the purgative,
the length of time before purgation begins, or the activity and severity
with which the remedy acts. Moderate doses of medicines kno^,u to
have unusual irritating effects on the alimentary canal should be used
only when necessity demands it.

Experience alone will determine what animals are liable to suffer
from this disease through the influence of the different foods. When an
attack can with any certainty be ascribed to any particular food it
should ever be withheld unless in the smallest quantities. Horses that
have never been fed upon Indian corn should receive but a little at a
time at first, and always mixed with bran, oats, or other food, until it
has been determined that no danger exists. Corn is much more liable
to cause laminitis in warm than in cold weather, and for this reason it
should always be fed with care during spring and summer months.

When an animal is excessively lame in one foot the other or opposite
member should have the shoe early removed and cold water frequently
applied. At the same time the slings should be used if the subject re-
mains standing. Horses should under no circumstances be overworked 5
to guard against this, i)revious work, nature of roads, state of weather,
and various other influences must be carefully noted. Watering while

417

warm is a pernicious habit, and unless tbe animal is accustomed to it
is apt to result in some disorder, ofttiraes in laminitis.

Curative measures. — In cases of simple passive congestion of tbelam-
insB, tbe bod^' sbould be warmly clotbed and warm drinks given to
draw tbe blood in increased quantity to tbese parts so as to direct it
from tbe feet ; at tbe same tin o tbe feet sbould be placed in warm water
so as to increase tbe return flow of blood. In tbe course of balf an bour
tbe feet may be cbanged to cold water, wbicb serves as a tonic to all tbe
tissues, and kept tbere until recovery is completed. If tbe constitutional
symptoms demand it, diuretics sbould be given. Half-ounce doses of
saltpeter, three times a day in the water, answers tbe purpose. In cases
of active congestion tbe warm foot baths sbould be omitted and cold ones
substituted from tbe commencement. Subacute laminitis demands tbe
same treatment with laxatives if there is constipation, and tbeaddition of
low-heeled shoes. The diuretics may need to be continued for some lime
and their frequency increased. Regarding acute Laminitis, what baa
been called tbe "American treatment " is so simple and withal so efficient
that it is to be remarked other countries have never adopted it. Since
the disease is a local one, unquestionably tbe remedies used should be
applied in the immediate neighborhood of tbe affected parts, or if drugs
are administered internally, they sbould have some specific localized
action. And such are tbe claims made for tbe above-named method of
treatment. It consists solely in the exhibition of large doses of nitrate of
potash and the continued application to the feet and ankles of cold water.

Three to 4 ounces of saltpeter in a pint of water, repeated every six
hours, is th» proper dose, and tbe laminitis frequently subsides inside of
a week's time. These large doses ma^' be continued for a week without
.danger ; never under any circumstances have I seen the kidneys irri-
tated to excess or other unfavorable effects produced.

Tbe feet should either be kept in a tub of water at a temperature of
450 to SO^'Fabr. (it may be lowered if desired), or if the animal is lying
down swabs sbould be used and wet every balf hour with the cold
water. The water not only keeps tbe horn soft and moist, but acts
directly upon the inflamed tissues by reducing their temi^erature, thereby
increasing their vitality and disease-resisting qualities, and at the same
time by toning up the coats of the blood vessels diminishes tbe supply
of blood and limits the exudation. Furthermore, cold has also an anes-
thetic eflect uj)on tbe diseased tissues and relieves tbe jiain.

Aconite may be given in conjunction with niter where the heart is
greatly excited and beating strongly. Ten -drop doses repeated every
two hours for twenty-four hours is sutticient. The practice of giving
cathartics is dangerous, for it may excite superpurgation. Usually the
niter has sufficient effect upon the constipation to relieve it, yet if it should
prove obstinate laxatives may be carefully given. Bleeding, both gen-
eral and local, sbould be guarded against. The shoes should always be
early removed and tbe soles left unpared.
11035 27

418

Paring of the soles presents two objections. First, while it may
temporarily relieve the pain by relieving pressure, it at the same time
allows of greater exudation, which may more than counterbalance the
good effects. Secondly, it makes the feet tender and subject to bruises
when the animal again goes to work. The shoes should be replaced when
convalescence sets in and the animal is ready to take exercise. Exer-
cise should never be enforced until the inflammation has subsided, for
although it temporarily relieves the paiu and soreness, it serves to main-
tain continued irritation, increases the exudation, and prolongs the
recovery.

If, at the end of the fifth or sixth day, prominent symptoms of re-
covery are not apparent, apply a stiff blister of cantharides around the
coronet and omit the niter for about forty-eight hours. As soon as the
blister has drawn well the feet may again receive wet swabs. If one
blister does not suffice to remove the soreness, as is the case some-
times, especially where i^eriostftis is present, it may be repeated, or the
actual cautery applied. The same treatment should be adopted where
side bones form or inflammation of the coronet bone ensues. When the
sole breaks through and exposes the coffin bone and soft tissues, the
feet must be carefully shod with thin heels and thick toes where there
is any tendency to walking on th<s heels, and the sole well protected
with appropriate dressing and pressure over the exposed parts. When
there is turning up of the toe, blistering of the coronet m front, care-
fully avoiding the quarters and heels, sometimes stimulates the growth
of horn, but as a rule judicious shoeing is the only treatment that will
keep the animal in a condition to do light, slow work.

Where suppuration of the lamince is profuse it is better to destroy
your patient at once and relieve his suffering, but if the suppuration is
limited to a small extent of tissue, especially of the sole, treatment as
in acute cases may induce recovery and should always be tried. If
from bed-sores or other causes septicemia or pyaemia is 'feared, the
bisulphite of soda in half-ounce doses may be given in conjunction
with tonics and other treatment indicated in these diseases. Regard-
ing enforced recumbency I doubt the propriety of iuMsting on it in
the majority of cases, for I think as a rule the animal assumes what-
ever position gives comfort. There can be no doubt that recumbency
diminishes the amount of blood sent to the feet, and that the suffering
is greatly relieved while in this position, so that the experiment of
forcing the patient to lie down may be tried, yet should not be renewed
if it thereafter i^ersists in standing.

Where the animal stands, or where constant lying indicates it, to pre-
vent extensive sores the patient should be placed in slings, and the
weight supported in this manner to the relief of the feet. When all
four feet are affected it may be impossible to use slings, for the reason
that the patient refuses to support any of his weight on his feet and sim-
ply hangs in them. Lastly, convalescent cases must not be returned
to work too early, else permanent recovery may never be effected.

M

'i

PLATE XXXII.

Ring Bon£ ,

after D add.

Splints.

Large
('(inn on

Fore arm

Kn^e.

Splint bone.
Cannon, bone

SiLspensoryX [ U

li(/ame/Lt

\FLe.\:or
■ perforans.

I Fl^A-or
perforaius.

Fetlock,

Foot.

Anatomy of the foot,

after Haiibner.

JJunt.s- ot t7ie foot,
cifter ChaveaiL

Haines del.

Side Bones,
after Stonelieiige .

yaviculnrDisea^e,

after Stonetienge.

RINGBONE AND NA^\^rCI."LxVR DISEASE.

PLATE XXXUI.

Top of wall.

N»

C^

'^

■^

■^

v;

=i-

^v

*^

't

>^

NJ

,C ^

^

(

^

Clamp.

iTon for burni7ig holes

The rloTnp artrl nail remedies applieA.
8 ^^^S

Toe crack. Wall removed txj s7low.
absorptLorv of cofftrv borte.

10 /i^.

/

/

-' ',---^

-•/^■'"'S".;';.

-^ ^/

Actual fhx^kn^ss
of walls of 7 tor f

, /i^-i '

Quarter- crack with cross cut,

Treated, by clamping with, ruu'ls.

(^CLckecl walls

Haines del.

One effect of quurcer Crack.
QUAB-TEFl-CR^CK AND FIEMEDTE S.

Pi.A'ii-; .\x\[\'

1 li nii(/ .'!. Soii/ii/ fnol of (wfi ivy/,'- oh/ .

- X

a, Xail pTopfi-ly (/ri\rn
h. Xiiit iiii/iraperly (//nen

C/iii I /■<! r/i'(/ /hoi.

X-

Somitl /onl I,/' luit \ior (lid,.

4a

t ,1 .^'iif/o/i //r/'oss //'//. 'Jo/ X

Si'cl7r>7i ar/'oss fig. h II I 's.

--X

Soii/k/ hill /7o/ /iio/.

/■>ii(//\- iri/i/ III I In/ /ool

X

Hiunes.ilei

soi'xn Axn cox'I'm .\('i"i-;i) i-"ki^t.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN.

By JAMES LAW, F. R. C. S. V. S.,
Professor of Veterinary Science, eic , Cornell University.

As we find thein described in systematic works, the diseases of the
skin are very numerous and complex, which may be largely accounted
for by the fact that tlje cutaneous covering is exposed to view at all
points, so that shades of difference in inflammatory and other diseased
processes are easily seen and distinguished from each other. In the
horse the hairy covering serves to some extent to mask the symptoms,
and hence the nonprofessional man is tempted to apply the term
" mange " to all alike, and it is only a step further to apply the same
treatment to all these widely different disorders. Yet even in the hairy
quadruped the distinction can be made in a way which can not be done
in disorders of that counterpart and prolorgation of the skin — the
mucous membrane, which lines the air passages, the digestive organs,
the urinary, and generative apparatus. Diseased processes, therefore,
which in these organs it might be difficult or impossible to distinguish
from each other, can usually be separated and recognized when appear-
ing in the skin.

Nor is this differentiation unimportant. The cutaneous covering pre-
sents such an extensive surface for the secretion of cuticular scales,
hairs, horn, sebaceous matter, sweat, and other excretory matters, that
any extensive disorder in its functions may lead to serious internal
disease and death. Again, the intimate nervous sympathy of different
points of the skin with particular internal organs renders certain
skin disorders causative of internal disease and certain internal dis-
eases causative of affections of the skin. The mere painting of the skin
with an imi)ermeable coating of glue is speedily fatal ; a cold draught
striking on the chest causes inflammation of the lungs or pleura ; a skin
eruption speedily follows certain disorders of the stomach, the liver, the
kidneys, or even the lungs ; siuiirle burns of the skin cause inflamma-
tions of internal organs, and inflammations of such organs cause in their
turn eruptions on the skin. The relations — nervous, secretory, and
absorptive — between the skin and internal organs are most extensive
and varied, and therefore a visible disorder in the skin may point at

419

420

ODce and specifically to a particular fault in diet, to an injudicious use
of cold water when the system is heated, to a fault in drainage, venti-
lation or lighting of the stables, to indigestion, to liver disease, to
urinary disorder, etc.

STRUCTURE OF THE SKIN.

The skin consists primarily of two parts: (1), the superficial nonvas-
cular (without blood vessels) layer, the cuticle or epidermis; and (2), the
deep vascular (with blood vessels) layer, the corium, dermis or true skin.

The cuticle is made up of cells placed side by side and more or less
modified in shape by their mutual compression and by surface evapora-
tion and drying. The superficial stratum consists of the cells dried in
the form of scales, which fall ofl" continually and form dandruff. The
deep stratum (the mucous layer) is formed of somewhat rounded cells
with large central nuclei, and in colored skin containing numerous pig-
ment granules. These cells have prolongations. or branches by which
they communicate with each other and with the superficial layer of
cells in the true skin beneath. Through these they receive nutrient
liquidsfortheirgrowth and increase, and through these liquids absorbed
by the skin, may be passed on into the vessels of the true skin beneath.
The living matter in the cells exercises an equally selective power oa
what they shall take up for their own nourishment and on what they
shall admit into the circulation from without. Thus, certain agents
like iodine and belladonna are readily admitted, whereas others, like
arsenic, are excluded by the sound unbroken epidermis. Between the
deep and superficial layers of the epidermis there is a thin translucent
layer (septum lucidum), consisting of a double stratum of cells, and
forming a medium of transition from the deep spheroidal to the super-
ficial scaly cuticle.

The true sl-in or dermis has a framework of interlacing bundles of
■white and yellow fibers, large and coarse in the deeper layers, and fine
in the superficial where they approach the cuticle. Between the fibrous
bundles are left interspaces which, like the bundles, become finer as
they approach the surface, and inclose cells, vessels, nerves, glands,
gland ducts, hairs, and in the deeper layers fat.

The superficial layer of the dermis is formed into a series of minute
conical elevations or pajnlla, projecting into the deep portion of the
cuticle, from which they are separated by a very fine transparent mem-
brane. This papillary layer is very richly supplied with capillary blood
vessels and nerves, and is at once the seat of acute sensation and the
point from which the nutrient liqurd is supplied to the cells of the
cuticle above. It is also at this point that the active changes of in-
flammation are especially concentrated; it is the immediately super-
posed cell layers (mucous), that become morbidly increased in the early
stages of inflammation ; it is on the surface of the papillary layer that
the liquid is thrown out which raises the cuticle in the form of a blister,
and it is at this point mainly that pus forms in the ordinary pustule.

421

The fibrous bundles of the true skin contain plain muscular fibers,
which are not controlled by the will, but contract under the influence
of cold and under certain nervous influences, as in some skin diseases
and in the chill of a fever, and lead to contraction, tightening, or cor-
rugation of the skin, contributing to produce the " hidebound " of the
horseman. Other minute muscular filaments are extended from the sur-
face of the dermis to the hair follicle on the side to which the hair is in-
clined, and under the same stimulating influences produce that erection
of the hair which is familiarly known as " staring coat." Besides these,
the horse's skin is furnished with an expansion of red voluntary mus-
cle, firml.y attached to the fibrous bundles, and by which the animal
can not only dislodge insects and other irritants, but even shake oft" the
harness. This fleshy envelope covers the sides of the trunk and the
lower portions of the neck and head, the parts unprotected by the mane
and tail, and serves to throw the skin of these i)arts into i)ackers or
ridges in certain irritating skin diseases.

The hairs are cuticular products growing from an enlarged papilla
lodged in the depth of a follicle or sack, hollowed out in the skin and
extending to its deepest layers. The hair follicle is lined by cells of
epidermis, which at the bottom are reflected on the ijapilla and become
the root of the hair. The hair itself is formed of the same kind of cells
firmly adherent to each other by a tough intercellular substance, and
ovrrlappiug each other like slates on a roof in a direction towards the
free end.

The sebaceous glands are branching tubes ending in follicles or sacks
and opening into the hair follicles, lined by a very vascular fibrous net-
work representing the dermis, and an internal layer of cells represent-
ing the mucous layer of the cuticle. Their oily secretion gives gloss to
the hair and prevents its becoming dry and brittle, and keeps the skin
soft and supple, protecting it at once against uudue exhalation of water
and undue absorption when immersed in that medium. Beside those
connected with the hair follicles there are numerous isolated sebaceous
glands, opening directly on the surface of the skin, i)roducing a some-
what thicker and more odorous secretion. These are found in large
numbers in the folds of the skin, where chafing would be likely if the
surface were dry, as on the sheath, scrotum, mammary glands and inner
side of the thigh, around the anus and vulva, in the hollow of the heel,
beneath the fine horn of the frog, on the inner side of the elbow, on the
lips, nostrils, and eyelids. When closed by dried secretion or other-
wise these glands may become distended so as to form various sized
swellings on the skin, and when inflamed they may throw out offensive
liquid discharges as in " grease," or ijroduce red tender fungus growths
("grapes").

The stveat glands of the horse, like those of man, are composed of
simple tubes, which extend down through the cuticle and dermis in a
spiral manner, and are coiled into balls in the deeper layer of the true

422

skin. Tn addition to their importance in throwing offensive wa.:;te pro-
ducts out of the system, these glands tend to cool the skin and the en-
tire economy of the animal through the evaporation of their watery
secretion. Their activity is therefore a matter of no small moment, as
beside regulating the animal heat and excreting impurities, it influ-
ences largely the internal organs through the intimate sympathy main-
tained between them and the skin.

Diseases of the skin may be conveniently divided, according to their
most marked features, into :

(1) Those in which congestion and inflammation are the most marked
features, varying according to the grade or form into (a), congestion with
simple redness, dryness and heat, but no eruption [erythema); [h), in-
flammation with red pointed elevations but no blisters {papules); (c), in-
flammation with fine conical elevations, each surmounted by a minute
blister [vesicle) ; [d), inflammation with a similar eruption but with
larger blisters, like half a ji^a and upwards (bullse) ; [e), inflammation
with a similar eruption but with a small sack of white creamy pus on
the summit of each elevation [pustitles) ; (/), the formation of pustules
implicating the superficial layer of the true skin, a small portion of
which dies and is thrown off as a slough or " core" [boils) ; [g), the for-
mation of round, nodular, transient swellings in the true skin [tubercles)
and [h), the excessive production of scales or dandruff (sea??/ or squamous
afl^ections.

(2) Diseases in which there is only deranged sensations, of itching,
heat, tenderness, etc. [Neurosis).

(3) Diseased growths, as warts, callosities, horny growths, cancer, etc.

(4) Diseases due to parasites, animal and vegetable.

(5) Diseases connected with a specific jjoison — horsepox, erysipelas,
anthrax, farcy or cutaneous glanders, etc.

(6) Physical injuries like wounds, burns, scalds, etc.

CONGESTION — RED EFFLORESCENCE — ERYTHEMA.

This is a congested or slightly inflamed condition of the skin, unat-
tended by any eruption. The part is slightly swollen, hot, tender or
itchy, and dry, and if the skin is white there is redness. The redness
is effaced by pressure, but reappears instantly when the pressure is re-
moved. Unless in transient cases the hairs are liable to be shed. It
maybe looked on as the first stage of inflammation, and therefore when
it becomes aggravated it may merge in part or in whole into a papular,
vesicular, or pustular eruption.

Erythema may arise from a variety of causes, and is often named in
accordance with its most prominent cause. Thus the chilling ot \y.vA\\\\
freezing of a part will give rise to a severe reaction and congestion.
Where snowy or icy streets have been salted this may extend to severe
inflammation with vesicles, pustules, or even sloughs of circumscribed
portions of the skin of the pastern (chill-blain, frost-bite). Heat and

423

burning has a similar effect, and this often comes from exposure to the
direct rays of the suo. The skin that does not perspire is the most
subject, and hence the ichiteface or white limb of a horse becoming dried
by the intensity of the sun's rays often snfifers to the exclusion of the rest
of the body ( white face and foot disease). The febrile state of the general
system is also a i)otent cause, hence the white-skinned horse is rendered
the more liable if kept on a heating ration of buclcivheat, or even of
wheat or maize. Contact of the skin with oil of turpentine or other essen-
tial oils, vfith irritant liqidds, vegetable or mineral, with rancid fats, with
the acrid secretions of certain animals like the irritated toad, with pus,
sweat, tears, urine ov liquid fceces, will produce congestion or even inllam-
mation. Chafing is a common cause, and is especially liable to affect
the fat horse between the thighs, by the side of the sheath or scrotum,
on the inner side of the elbow, or where the harness chafes on the poll,
shoulder, back, breastbone, and under the tail. The accumulation of
sweat and dust between the folds of the skin, and on the surface of
the harness, and the specially acrid character of the sweat in cer-
tain horses contribute to chafing or "intertrigo." The heels often be-
come congested, owing to the irritation caused by the short bristly hairs
in clipped heels. Again, congestion may occur from friction by halter,
harness, or other foreign body under the pastern, or inside the thigh or
arm, or by reason of blows from another foot (cutting, interfering, over-
reach). Finally, erythema is especially liable to occur in spring when
the coat is being shed, and the hair follicles and general surface are
exposed and irritable in connection with the dropping of the hairs.

If due only to a local irritant congestion will usually disajjpear when
such cause has been removed, but when the feeding or system is at fault
these conditions must ba first corrected. While the coat is being shed
the susceptibility will continue, and the aim should be to prevent the
disease developing and advancing so as to weaken the skin, render the
susceptibility permanent, and lay the foundation of persistent or fre-"
quently recurring skin disease. Hence at such times the diet should
be uonstimulatingj any excess of grain and above all of buckwheat,
Indian corn, or wheat being avoided. A large grain ration should not be
given at once on return from hard work, when the general system and
stomach are unable to cope with it; the animal should not be given
more than a swallow or two of cold water when perspiring and fatigued;
nor should he be allowed a full sujiply of water just after his grain ra-
tion ; he should not be overheated nor exhausted by work, nor should
dried sweat and dust be allowed to accumulate on the skin nor on the
harness pressing on it. The exposure of the affected heels to damp, mud,
and snow, and above all to melting snow, should be guarded against ;
light, smooth, well-fitting harness must be secured, and where the sad-
dle or collar irritates an incision should be made above and one below
the part that chafes, and the jiadding between having been removed,
the lining should be beaten so us to make a hollow. A zinc shield in

424

the upper angle of the collar will often prevent chafing in front of the
withers.

Wash the chafed skin and apply salt water (one-half ounce to the
quart), extract of witch-hazel, a weak solution of oak bark or camphor-
ated spirit. If the surface is raw use bland powders, as oxide of zinc,
Ijcopodiuiu, starch, or smear the surface with vaseline, or with 1 ounce
vaseline intimately mixed with one-half dram each of sugar of lead
and opium. In cases of chafing rest must be strictly enjoined. Where
there is constitutional disorder or acrid sweat 1 ounce cream of tartar
or a teaspoouful of bicarbonate of soda may be given twice daily.

CONGESTION, WITH SMALL PIMPLES — PAPULES.

In this affection there is the general blush, heat, etc., of erythema, to-
getlier with a crop of elevations from the size of a poppy-seed to a
coffee-bean, visible when the hair is reversed or to be felt with the finger
where the hair is scanty. " In white skins they vary from the palest to
the darkest red. All do not retain the papular type, but some go on
to form blisters (eczema, bullae), or pustules, or dry up into scales, or
break out into open sores, or extend into larger swellings (tubercles).
The majority, however, remaining as pimples, characterize the disease.
When very itchy the rubbing breaks them open, and the resulting sores
and scales hide the true nature of the eruption.

The general and local causes may be the same as for erythema, and in
the same subject one portion of the skin maj" havesimple congestion and
another adjacent papules. As the inflammatiory action is more pro-
nounced, so the irritation and itching are usually greater, the animal
rubbing and biting himself severely. This itching is especially severe
in the forms which attack the roots of the mane and tail, and there the
disease is often so persistent and troublesome that the horse is rendered
virtually useless.

The bites of insects often produce a papular eruption, but in many
such cases the swelling extends wider into a button like elevation, one-
half to an inch in diameter. The same remarks apply to the effects of
the poison ivy and poison sumac.

In papular eruption first remove the cause, then apply the same gen-
eral remedies as for simple congestion. In the more inveterate cases
use a lotion of one-half ounce sulphide of potassium in 2 quarts water,
to which a little Castile soap has Veen added. Or use a wash with one-
half ounce oil of tar, 2 ounces Castile soajj, and 20 ounces water.

INFLAMMATION WITH BLISTERS— ECZEMA.

In this the skin is congested, thickened, warm (white skins are red-
dened), and shows a thick crop of little blisters formed by effusions of
a straw-colored fluid between the true skin and the cuticle. The blis-
ters may be of any size from a millet seed to a pea, and often crack

425

open and allow the escape of the fluid which concretes as a sli8htl7
yellowish scao or crust around the roots of the hairs. This exudatiop
and incrustation are especially common where the hairs are long, thick^
and numerous, as in the region of the pastern of heavy draught horses.
Eczema may appear on any part of the body, but in horses it is espec-
ially common on tlie heels and the lower parts of the limbs, and less
frequently on the neck, shoulder, and abdomen. The limbs appear to
be especially liable because of their dependent position, all blood hav-
ing to return from them against the action of gravity, and congestions
and swellings being common, because of the abundance of blood ves-
sels in this part of the skin, and because of the frequent contact with
the irritant dung and urine and their ammouiacal emanations. The legs
further suffer from contact with wet and mud when at work, from snow
and ice, from draughts of cold air on the wet limbs, from washing with
caustic soaps, or from the relaxing effects of a too deep and abundant
litter. Among other causes may be named indigestions and the pres-
ence of irritant matters in the blood and sweat, the result of patent-
medicated foods and condition powders (aromatics, stimulants), green
food, new hay, new oats, buckwheat, wheat, maize, diseased potatoes,
smut or ergot in grains, decomposing green food, brewer's grains, or
kitchen garbage. The excitement in the skin, caused b^' shedding the
coat, lack of grooming, hot weather, hot boiled or steamed food, conduces
to the eruption. Lastly, any sudden change of food may induce it.

The blisters may in part go on to suppuration so that: vesicles and
pustules often appear on the same patch, and when raw from rubbing
the true nature of the eruption may be completely masked. lu high-fed
horses, kept in close stables with little work, eczema of the limbs may
last for months and years. It is a very troublesome affection in draught
stallions.

Treatment. — This disease is so often the result of indigestion that a
laxative of 1 pound Glauber's salts in 3 or 4 quarts water, or 1^ pints
olive oil is often demanded to clear away irritants from the alimentary
canal. Following this, in recent and acute cases, give 2 drams of acet-
ate or bicarbonate of potash twice a day in the drinking water. If the
bowels still become costive give daily 1 ounce sulphate of soda and 20
grains powdered nux vomica. In debilitated horses combine the uux
vomica with one-half ounce powdered gentian root. As a wash for the
skin use 1 dram bicarbonate of soda and 1 dram carbolic acid in a
quart of water, after having cleansed the surface with tepid water.
Employ the same precautions as regards feeding, stabling, and care of
harness as in simple congestion of the skin.

In the more inveterate forms of eczema more active treatment is re-
quired. Soal» the scabs in fresh sweet oil, and in a few hours remove
these with tepid water and castile soap; then apply an ointment of sul-
phur or iodide of sulphur day by day. If this seems to be losing its
effect altera week, change for mercurial ointment or a solution of sul-

426

phide of potassium, or of byposulpliite of soda, 3 drams to the quart of
water. In these cases the auirnal may take a course of sulphur (1
ounce dail3'), bisulphite of soda (J ouuce daily), or of arsenic (5 grains
daily) mixed with 1 dram bicarbonate of soda

INFLAMMATION WITH PUSTULES.

In this affection the individual elevations on the inflamed skin show in
the center a small sack of white, creamy pus, in place of the clear liquid
of a blister. Tbey vary in size from a millet seed to a hazel unt. The
pustules of glanders (farcy buds) are to be distinguished by the watery
coutents and the cord-like swelling, extending from the pustules along
the line of the veins, and those of boils by the inflammation and
sloughing out of a core of the true skin. The hair on the pustule stands
erect, and is often shed with the scab which results. When itching is
severe the parts become excoriated by rubbing, and, as in the other
forms of skin disease, the character of the eruption may become indis-
tinct. Old horses suffer mainly at the root of the mane and tail, and
about the heels, and suckling foals around the mouth, on the face, inside
the thighs, and under the tail.

Pustules like eczema are especially liable to result from unwholesome
food and indigestion, from a sudden change of food, above all from dry
to green food. In foals it may result from overheating of the mare and
allowing the first milk after she returns, or by milk rendered unwhole-
some by faulty feeding of the dam. If a foal is brought up by hand
the souring and other decompositions in the milk derange the digestion
and cause such eruption. Vetches and other plants affected with
honeydew and buckwheat have been the cause of these eruptions on
white portions of the skin. Disorders of the kidneys or liver are com-
mon causes of this affection.

Treatment. — Apply soothing ointments, such as benzoated oxide of
zinc, or vaseline with 1 dram oxide of zinc in each ounce. Or a wash
of 1 dram sugar of lead or 2 drams hyposulphite of soda in a quart of
water may be freely applied. If the skin is already abraded and
scabby, smear thickly with vaseline for some hours, then wash with
soapsuds and apply the above dressings. When the excoriations are
indolent they may be painted with a solution of lunar caustic, 2 grains
to 1 ounce of distilled water. Internally counteract costiveness and
remove intestinal irritants by the same means as in eczema, and follow
this with one-half ounce doses daily of hyposulphite of soda, and one-
half ouuce doses of gentian. Inveterate cases may often be benefited
by a course of sulphur, bisulphite of soda, or arsenic. In all the great-
est care must be taken with regard to food, feeding, watering, cleanli-
ness, and work. In wet and cold seasons predisposed animals should,
as far as possible, be protected from wet, mud, snow, and melted suow,
above all from that which has been melted by salt.

427

BOILS — FURUNCLES.

These may appear on any part of the skin, but are especially com-
mon on the lower parts of the limbs, and on the shoulders and back
■where the skin is irritated by accumulated secretion and chafing with
the harness. In other cases the cause is constitutional, or attended by
unwholesome diet and overwork with loss of general health and con-
dition. They also follow on weakening diseases, notably strangles, in
which irritants are retained in the system from overproduction of effete
matters during fever, and imperfect elimination. There is also the
presence of a pyogenic bacterium, by which the disease may be main-
tained and propagated.

While boils are pus producing, they differ from simple pustule in
affecting the deepest layers of the true skin, and even the superficial
layers of the connective tissues beneath, and in the death and slough-
ing out of the central part of the inflamed mass (core). The depth of
the hard, indurated, painful swelling, and the formation of this central
mass or core, which is bathed in pus and slowly separated from sur-
rounding parts, serve to distinguish the boil alike from the pustule,
from the farcy bud, and from a superficial abscess.

To treat very painful boils a free incision with a lancet in two direc-
tions, followed by a dressing with one-half an ounce carbolic acid in a
pint of water, bound on with cotton wool or lint, may cut them short.
The more common course is to apply a warm poultice of linseed meal
or .wheat bran, and renew daily until the center of the boil softens,
when it should be lanced and the core pressed out.

If the boil is smeared with a blistering ointment of Spanish flies and
a poultice put over it, the formation of matter and separation of the
core is often hastened, A mixture of sugar and soap laid on the boil
is equally good. Cleanliness of the skin and the avoidance of all
causes of irritation are important items, and a teaspoonful of bicar-
bonate of soda once or twice a day will sometimes assist in warding off
a new crop.

NETTLERASH — SURFEIT — URTICARIA.

This is an eruption in the form of cutaneous nodules, in size from a
hazel nut to a hickory nut, transient, with little disposition to the forma-
tion of either blister or pustule, and usually connected witn shevldiugof
the coat, sudden changes of weather, and unwholesomeness or sudden
change in the food. It is most frequent in the spring and in young and
vigorous animals (good feeders). The swelling embraces the entire
thickness of the skin and terminates by an abrupt margin in place of
shading off into surrounding parts. When the individual swellings run
together there are formed extensive patches of thickened integument.
These may appear on any part of the body, and may be general ; the
eyelids may be closed, the lips rendered immovable, or the nos-

428

trils so thickened that breathing becomes difficult and snuffling. It
may be attended by constii)ation or diarrhea, or by colicky paius.
The eruption is sudden, the whole skin being sometimes covered in a
few hours, and it may disappear with equal rapidity or persist for six
or eight days.

Treatment. — This consists in clearing out the bowels by 5 drams Bar-
badoes aloes, or 1 pound Glauber's salts, and follow the operation of
these by daily doses of one-half ounce powdered gentian and 1 ounce
Glauber's salts. A weak solution of alum may be applied to the swel-
lings.

SCALY SKIN DISEASE — PITYRIASIS.

This affection is characterized by an excessive production and de-
tacbmeut of dry scales from the surface of the skin (dandruff). It is
usually dependent on some fault in digestion, and an imperfect secre-
tion from the sebaceous glands, and is most common in old horses with
spare habit of body. Williams attributes it to food rich in saccharine
matter (carrots, turnips), and the excretion by the skin of oxalic acid.
He has found it in horses irregularly worked and well fed, and ad-
vises the administration of pitch for a length of time, and the avoidance
of .saccharine food. Otherwise the horse may take a laxative followed
by dram doses of carbonate of potash, and the affected parts may be
bathed with soft tepid water and smeared with an ointment made with
vaseline and suliihur. In obstinate cases sulphur may be given daily
in the food.

NERVOUS IRRITATION OF THE SKIN— PRURITUS.

This is seen in horses fed to excess on grain and hay, kept in close
stables, and worked irregularly. Though most common in summer it
is often severe in hot, close stables in winter. Pimples, vesicles, and
abrfisions may result, but as the itching is quite as severe on other
parts of. the skin, these may be the lesult of scratching merely. It is
especially common and inveterate about the roots of the mane and
tail'.

Treatment consistsin a purgative (Glauber's salts, I pound), restricted,
laxative diet, and a wash of water slightly soured with oil of vitriol and
rendered sweet by carbolic acid. If obstinate, give daily 1 ounce of
sulphur and 20 grains nux vomica. If the acid lotion fails, 2 drams
carbonate of potash and 2 grains of cyanide of potassium in a quart of
water will sometimes benefit. If due to pin worms in the rectum, the
itching of the tail may be remedied by an occasional injection of a quart
of water in which chips of quassia wood have been steeped for twelve
hours.

429

HERPES.

This name has been applied to a disease in which there is an eruption
of minute vesicles in circular groups or clusters, with little tendency
to burst but rather to dry up into tine scabs. If the vesicles break
they exude a slight, gummy discharge which concretes into a small,
hard scab. It is apparently noncontagious and nT)t appreciably con-
nected with any disorder of internal organs. It sometimes accompanies
or follows specific fevers, and is on the whole most frequent at the
seasons of changing the €oat — spring and autumn. It is seen on the
lips and pastern, but may appear on any part of the body. The dura-
tion of the eruption is two weeks or even more, the tendency being to
spontaneous recovery. The affected part is very irritable, causing a
sensitiveness and a disposition to rub, out of i)roportiou to the extent of
the eruption.

It may be treatedhy oxide of zinc ointment, and to relieve the irrita-
tion a solution of opium or belladonna in water, or of sugar of lead or
oil of peppermint. A course of bitters (one-half an ounce Peruvian
bark daily for a week) may be serviceable in bracing the system and
producing an indisposition to the eruption.

BLEEDING SKIN ERUPTIONS — DERMATORRHAGIA PARASITICA.

In China, Hungary, Spain, and other countries horses frequently suf-
fer from the presence of a thread worm {Filar ia hcemorrhagicaj{lia'\U[&t:
F. multipapullosa, Condamine, Drouilly) iu the subcutaneous connective
tissue, causing effusions of blood under the scurf skin, and encrustations
of dried blood on the surface. The eruptions, which appear mainly on
the sides of the trunk, but may cover any part of the body, are rounded
elevations about the size of a small pea, containing blood which bursts
through thescurf skin and concretes like a reddish scab around the erect,
rigid hairs. These swellings appear in groups, which remain out for
several days, gradually diminishing in size ; new groups appear after
an interval of three or four weeks, the manifestation being confined to
three or four mouths of spring and disappearing in winter. A horse
will suffer for several years in succession, and then permanently re-
cover. A fatal issue is not unknown. To find the worm the hair is
shaved from the part where the elevations are felt, and as soon as a
bleeding point is showu the superficial layer is laid open with the knife,
when the parasite will be seen drawing itself back into the parts be-
neath. The worm is about 2 inches long and like a stout thread, thicker
towards the head than towards the tail, and with numerous little con-
ical elevations (papillie) around the head. The young worms are num-
erous in the body of the adult female worm.

The worm has become common in given localities, and probably enters
the sj'stem with food or water. Treatment is not satisfactory, but the
affected surface should be kept clean by sponging, and the jjressure of

430

harness on any aflFected part must be avoided. Thus rest may become
essential. The part may be frequently washed with a strong solution
of sulphide of potassium.

SUMMER SORES FROM FILARIA IRRITANS.

The summer sores of horses {dermatitis granulosa, boils) have been
traced to the presence in the skin of another parasite, 3 millimeters in
length and extremely attenuated {Filaria irritans, liailliet). The sores
may be seen as small as a millet seed, but more frequently the Size of a
jjea, and may become an inch in diameter. They may appear on any
point, but are especiallj^ obnoxious where the harness presses or on the
lower part of the limbs. They cause intense and insupportable itching,
and the victim rubs and bites the part until extensive raw surfaces are
produced. Aside from such friction the sore is covered by a brownish-
red, soft, pulpy material with cracks or furrows filled with serous pus.
In the midst of the softened mass are small, firm, rounded granulations,
fibrinous, and even caseated, and when the sof t pultaceous material has
been scraped off the surface bears a resemblance to the fine yellow
points of miliary tuberculosis in the lung. The worm or its debris is
found in the center of such masses. These sores are very obstinate, re-
sisting treatment for months in summer, and even after apparent recov-
ery during the cold season they may appear anew the following summer.
In bad cases the rubbing and biting may cause exposure of synovial
sacs and tendons, and cause irremediable injury. Even in winter, how-
ever, when the diseased process seems arrested, there remains the hard,
firm, resistant patches of the skin with points in which the diseased
product has become softened like cheese.

The apparent subsidence of the disease in winter is attributed to the
coldness and comparative bloodlessness of the skin, whereas in sum-
mer, with high temperature, active circulation, and rapid cell-growth,
inflammation is increased, itching follows, and from the animal rubbing
the part the irritation is persistently increased. The hotter the cli-
mate the more troublesome the disease.

The life history of the parasite is unknown, but it probably enters
the system with the food or water.

Treatment consists, first, in placing the animal in a cool place and
showering the surface with cold water. The parasite may be destroyed
by rubbing the surface of the wound with iodoform, and covering it
with a layer of collodion, and repeating the applications every twenty-
four hours for fifteen days, or until the sores heal up. Ether or chloro-
form may be used in place of iodoform, being poured on cotton wool
and applied to the sore for two minutes before painting it with collodion.

CRACKED HEELS — SCRATCHES — CHAPS ON KNEE AND HOCK.

This usually sets in with swelling, heat, and tenderness of the hollow
of the heel, with erections of the hairs and redness (in white skins),

431

with stiffness and lameness, which may be extreme in irritable borses.
Soon slight cracks appear transversely', and may gain in depth and
width, and may even suppurate. More frequently they become covered
at the edges or throughout by firm incrustations resulting from the dry-
ing of the liquids thrown out, and the skin becomes increasingly thick
and rigid. A similar condition occurs behind the knee and in front of
the hock (malanders and salanders), and may extend from these points
to the hoof, virtually incasing that side of the limb in a permanent
incrustiug sheath. Besides a heavy lymphatic constitution, which pre-
disposes to this affection, the causes are overfeeding on grain, altered
unwholesome fodder, close, hot, dirty stables, constant contact with
dung and urine and their emanations, working in deep, irritant mud ;
above all, in limestone districts, irritation by dry limestone or sandy
dust in dry weather on dirt road, also cold draughts, snow and freezing
mud, washing the legs with caustic soap, wrapping the wet legs in
thick woolen bandages which soak the skin and render it sensitive
when exposed next day, clipping the heels, weak heart and circulation,
natural or supervening on overwork, imperfect nourishment, impure
air, lack of sunshine, chronic, exhausting, or debilitating diseases, or
functional or structural diseases of the heart, liver, or kidneys. These
last induce dropsical swelling of the limbs (stocking), weaken the parts,
and induce cracking. Finally the cicatrix of a preexisting crack, weak,
rigid, and unyielding, is liable to reopen under any severe exertion,
hence rapid paces and heavy draft are active causes.

In treatment the first step is to ascertain and remove the cause when-
ever possible. If there is much local heat and inflammation a laxative
(5 drams aloes, or 1 pound Glauber salts) may be given, and for the
pampered animal the grain should be reduced or replaced altogether by
bran m.ishes, flaxseed, and other laxative, nonstimulating food. In
the debilitated, on the other hand, nutritious food and bitter tonics
may be given, and even a course of arsenic (5 grains arsenic with 1
dram bicarbonate of soda daily). When the legs swell exercise on dry
roads, hand-rubbing, and evenly applied bandages are good, and mild
astringents, like extract of witch-hazel may be applied and the part,
subsequently rubbed dry and bandaged. If there is much heat but un-
broken skin, a lotion of 2 drams sugar of lead to 1 quart of water may
be applied on a thin bandage, covered in cold weather with a dry one.
The same may be used after the cracks api^ear, or a solution of sulphu-
rous acid solution 1 part, glycerine 1 part, and water 1 part, applied on
cotton and well covered by a bandage. In case these should prove un-
suitable to the particular case, the part may be smeared with vaseline
1 ounce, sugar of lead 1 dram, and carbolic acid 10 drops.

INFLAMMATION OF THE HEELS FROM A FUNGUS — GREASE — CANKER.

This is a specific affection of the heels of horses, associated with the
growth of a i^arasitic fungus [Oidium batracosis, dermaohyton), an otfen-

432

sive discharge from the numerous sebaceous glands and in bad cases
the formation of red, raw, excrescences {grapes) from the surface. It is
to be distinguished (1) from simple inflammation, in which the special
fetid discharge and the tendency to the formation of "grapes" are ab-
sent ; (2), from horsepox, in which the abundant exudate Ibrms a firm
yellow incrustation around the roots of the hair, and is embedded at in-
tervals in the pits formed by the individual pocks, and in which there
is no vascular excrescence; (3), from foot scabies (mange), in which the
presence of an acarus is distinctive ; (4), from lymphangitis, in which
the swelling appears suddenly extending around the entire Umbashigh
as the hock, and on the inner side of the thigh along the line of the vein
to the groin, and in which there is active fever, and (5) . from erysipelas,
in which there is active fever (wanting in grease), the i^nplication of the
deeper layers of the skin and of the parts beneath giving a boggy feel-
ing to the parts, the absence of the fetid, greasy discharge, and finally
a tendency to form pus loosely in the tissues without any limiting mem-
brane as in abscess. Another distinctive feature of grease is its tend-
ency to implicate the skin which secretes the bulbs or heels of the horny
frog and in the cleft of the frog, constituting the disease kuown as
canker.

The predisposing causes of grease are essentially the same as those of
simple inflammation of the heel, so that the reader may consult the
preceding article, and though the specific fijugus {Oidium batracosis) is
essential to the disease, yet it usually remains inoperative unless the
field has been prepared by the coexistent predisposing factors. Local
irritants may cause simple inflammation, and may be essential to the
growth of the implanted germ, but without that germ it will not pro-
duce grease.

The sijmptoms vary according to whether the disease comes on sud-
denly or more tardily. In the first case there is a sudden swelling of the
skin in the heel with heat, tenderness, itching, and stiflfuess, which is
lessened during exercise. In the slower forms there is only seen a slight
swelling after rest, and with little heat or inflammation for a week or
more. Even at this early stage a slightserous oozing may be detected.
As the swelling increases, extending up toward the hock or knees, the
hairs stand erect, and are bedewed by moisture no longer clear and
odorless, but grayish, milky, and fetid. The fetor of the discharge
draws attention to the part whenever one enters the stable, and the
swollen pastern and wet, matted hairs on the heel draw atteutiou to the
precise seat of the malady. If actively treated the disease may not ad-
vance farther, but if neglected the tense teuder skin cracks open, leav-
ing open sores from which vascular bleeding growths grow up, con-
stituting the 'grapes." The hair is shed, and the heel may appear but
as one mass of rounded, red, angry excrescences which bleed on hand-
ling and are covered with the now repulsivelv fetid decomposing dis-
charge. Daring this time there is little or no fever, the animal feeds

433

well, and but for its local trouble it might continue at work. When the
malady extends to the frog there is a fetid discharge from its cleft, or
from the depressions at its sides, and this gradually extends to its whole
surface and upon the adjacent parts of the sole. The horn meanwhile
becomes soft, whitish, and ileshy in aspect, its constituent tubes being
greatly enlarged and losing their natural cohesion ; it grows rapidly
above the level of the surrounding horn, and when pared is found to be
penetrated to an unusual depth by the secreting papillae, and that at
intervals these have bulged out into a vascular fungus mass compar-
able to the "grapes."

In treatment hygienic measures occupy a front rank, but arc in them-
selves insufficient to establish a cure. All local and general conditions
which favor the production and persistence of the disease must be
guarded against. Above all, cleanliness and purity of the stable and
air must be secured; also, nourishing diet, regular exercise, and the
avoidance of local irritants — septic, muddy, chilling, etc. At the outset
benzoated oxide of zinc ointment may be used with advantage. A still
better dressing is made with 1 ounce vaseline, 2 drams oxide of zinc,
and 20 drops iodized phenol. If the surface is much swollen and tender,
a Ihixseed poultice may be applied over the surface of which has been
poured some of the following lotion : Sugar of lead, one-half ounce; car-
boli a.'id,! dram; water, 1 quart. All the astringents of the pharma-
copoeia have been employed with more or less advantage, and some par-
ticular one seems to suit particular cases or patients. To destroy the
grai)es, they may be rubbed daily with strong caustics (copperas, blue
stone, lunar caustic), or each may be tied round its neck by a stout
waxed thread, or finally and more speedily they may be cut oft by a
blacksmith's shovel heated to redness, and applied with its sharp edge
toward the neck of the excrescence, over a cold shovel held b».'t\veeu it
and the skin to protect it from the heat. The latter must be frequently
dipped in water to cool it down. After the removal of the grapes the
astringent dressing must be persistently applied to the surface. When
the frog is affected it must be pared to the quick and dressed with dry
caustic powders (quicklime, copperas, bluestone), or carbolic acid and
subjected to pressure, the dressing being renewed every day at least.

ERYSIPELAS.

This is a specific contagious disease, characterized by spreading drop-
sical inflammation of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, attended by
general fever. It differs from most specific diseases in the absence of
a definite period of incubation, a regular course and duration, and a
conferring of immunity on the subject after recovery. On the contrary,
one attack of erysipelas predisposes to another, partly, doubtless, by the
loss of tone and vitality in the affected tissues, but also, perhaps, be-
cause of the survival of the infecting germ. It is no longer to be doubted
11035 28

434

tliat the microbes found in the inflammatory product are the true cause
of erysipelas, as the disease can be successfully transferred from man
to animals and from one animal to another by their means. This trans-
ition may be direct or through the medium of infected bnildings or other
articles. Yet from the varying severity of erysipelas iu different out-
breaks and localities it has been surmised that various different microbes
are operative in this disease, and a perfect knowledge of these might
perhaps enable us to divide erysipelas into two or more distinct affec-
tions. At present we must recognize it as a specific inflammation due
to a bacterial poison and closely allied to septicaemia. Erysipelas was
formerly known as surgical when it spread from a wound (through which
the germ had gained access), and medical or idiopathic when it started
independently of any recognizable lesion. Depending as it does, how-
ever, upon a germ distinct from the body the disease must be looked
upon as one no matter by what channel the germ found an entrance.
Erysipelas which follows a wound is usually much more violent than the
other form, the difference being doubtless partly due to the lowered vi-
tality of the wounded tissues and to the oxidation and septic changes
which are invited on the raw, exposed surface. As apparently idiopathic
cases may be due to infection through bites of insects, the small amount
of poison inserted may serve to moderate the violence.

This affection may attack a wound of any part of the horse's body,
while apart from wounds it is most frequent about the head and the
hind limbs. It is to be distinguished from ordinary inflammations by
its gradual extension from the point first attacked, by the abundant
liquid exudation into the affected part, by the tension of the skin over
the affected part, by its soft boggy feeling, allowing it to be deeply in-
dented by the finger, by the abrupt line of limitation between the
diseased and healthy skin, the former descending suddenly to the
healthy level instead of shading off slowly towards it, by the tendency
of the inflammation to extend deeply into the subjacent tissues between
and into the muscles and other structures, by the great tendency to
death and sloughing of portions of skin and of the structures beneath,
by the formation of pus at various different points throughout the
diseased parts without any surrounding sack to protect the surround-
ing structures from its destructive action, and without the usual dispo-
sition of pus to advance harmlessly toward the surface and escape ; and,
finally, by a low prostrating type of fever, with elevated temperature of
the body, coated tongue, excited breathing, and loss of appetite. The pus
when escaping through a lancet wound is grayish, brownish , or reddish,
with a heavy or fetid odor, and intermixed with shreds of broken-down
tissues. The most destructive form, however, is that in which pus ia
deficient, and gangrene and sloughing more speedy and extensive.

Treatment resolves itvself mainly into the elimination from the system
of the poisonous products of the bacteria by laxatives and diuretics, the
sustaining of the failing vitality by tonics and stimulants above all

435

those of the nature of antiferments, and the local application of astrin-
gent and antiseptic agents. Internal treatment may consist in 4
drams tinctnre of mnriate of iron, and one-half dram muriate of am-
monia or chlorate of jiotasb, given in a pint of water every two
hours. To this may be added, liberally, whisky or brandy when the
prostration is very marked. Locally a strong solution of iron, alum, or
of sulphate of iron and laudanum may be used. Or the affected part
may be painted with tincture of muriate of iron or with iodized plienol.
In mild cases a lotion of 4 drams sugar of lead and 2 ounces lauda-
num in a quart of water may be applied. It is desirable to avoid the
formation of wounds and the consequent septic action, yet when pus
has formed, and is felt by fluctuation under the finger to be approach-
ing the surface, it should be freely opened with a clean, sharp lancet,
and the wound thereafter disinfected daily with carbolic acid 1 part to
water 10 parts, with a saturated solution of hyposulphite of soda, or
with powders of iodoform or salol.

Horse-pox, anthrax, and cutaneous glanders (farcy), will
come more properly under contagious diseases.

CALLOSITIES.

These are simple thickening and induration of the cuticle by reason
of continued pressure, notably in lyj^ng down on a hard surface. Being
devoid of hair they cause blemishes, hence smooth floors and good bed-
ding should be secured as preventives.

HORNY SLOUGHS — SITFASTS — SLOUGHING CALLOSITIES.

These are circumscribed sloughs of limited portions of the skin, the
result of pressure by badly-fitting harness, or by irritating masses of
dirt, sweat, and hairs under the harness. They are most common
under the saddle, but may be found under collar or breeching as well.
The sitfast is a piece of dead tissue which would be thrown off but that
it has formed firm connections with the fibrous skin beneath, or even
deeper with the fibrous layers (fascia) of the muscles, or with the bones,
and is thus bound in its place as a persistent source of irritation. The
horn-like slough may thus involve the superficial part of the skin only,
or the whole thickness of the skin, and even of some of the structures
beneath. The first object is to remove the dead irritant by dissecting
it off with a sharp knife, after which the sore may be treated with sim-
ple wet cloths or a weak carbolic acid lotion, like a common wound. If
the outline of the dead mass is too indefinite, a linseed-meal poultice
will make its outline more evident to the operator. If the fascia or
bone has become gangrenous the dead portion must be removed with the
hornlike skin. During and after treatment the horse must be kept at
rest or the harness must be so adjusted that no pressure can come near
the affected parts.

436

WARTS.

These are essentially a morbid overgrowth of the superficial papil-
lary layer of the skin and of the investing cuticular layer. They are
mostly seen in young horses, about the lips, eyelids, cheeks, ears, be-
neath the belly, and on the sheath, but may develop anywhere. The
smaller ones may be cli])ped off with scissors and the raw surface cau-
terized with bluestone. The larger may be sliced off with a sharp
knife, or if with a narrow neck they may be twisted off and then cau-
terized. If very vascular they may be strangled by a waxed thread or
cord tied around the neck, at least three turns being made round and
the ends being fixed by passing them beneath the last preceding turn
of the c ird, so that they can be tightened day by day as they slacken
by shrinkage of the tissues. If the neck is too broad it may be trans-
fixed several times with a double-threaded needle and then be tied in
sections. Very broad warts that cau not be treated in this way may be
burned down to beneath the surface of the skin with a soldering bolt
at a red heat and any subsequent tendency to overgrowth kept down
by bluestone.

BLACK PIGMENT TUMORS — MELANOSIS.

These are common in gray and white horses on the naturally black
parts of the skin at the root of the tail, around the anus, vulva, udder,
sheath, eyelids and lips. They are readily recognized by their inky
black color, which extends throughout the whole mass. They may ap-
l^ear as simple pea-like masses, or as multiple tumors aggregating many
pounds, especially around the tail. In the horse these are usually simple
tumors, and may be removed with the knife. In exceptional cases they
prove cancerous, as they usually are in man.

EPITHELIAL CANCEit — EPITHELIOMA.

This sometimes occurs on the lips at the angle of the mouth, and
elsewhere in the horse. It begins as a small wart-like tumor, which
grows slowly at first but finally bursts open, ulcerates and extends
laterally and deeply in the skin and other tissues, destroying them as
it advances (rodent ulcer.) It is made up of a fibrous framework and
numerous round, ovoid, or cylindrical cavities, lined with masses of
epithelial cells, which may be squeezed out as a fetid caseous material.
The most successful treatment is early and thorough removal with the
knife.

VEGETABLE PARASITES OF THE SKIN.

Parasite: Tricliopliytoiu tonsurans. Malady: Tinea tonsurans —
Circinate ringworm. — This is especially common in young horses com-
ing into training and work, in low-conditioned colts in winter and
spring after confinement indoors and during moulting, in lymphatic

437

rather than nervous subjects, and at the same time in several animals
that have herded together. The disease is common to man, and among
the domestic animals to horse, ox, goat, dog, cat, and in rare instances
to sheep and swine. Hence it is common to find animals of different
species and their attendants suffering at once, the diseases having been
propagated from one to the other.

In the horse the symptoms are the formation of a circular scruffy patch
where the fungus has established itself, the hairs of the affected spot
being erect, bristly, twisted, broken, or split up and dropping off. Later
the spot first affected has become entirely bald, and a circular row of
hairs around this are erect, bristly, broken, and split. These in turn
are shed and a new row outside passes through the same process, so that
the extension is made in a more or less circular outline. The central
bald spot, covered with a grayish scruff and surrounded by a circle of
broken and split hairs, is characteristic. If the Sf-ruff and diseased
hairs are treated with caustic potash solution and put under the micro-
scope the natural cells of the cuticle and hair will be seen to have
become transparent, while the groups of spherical cells and branching
filaments of the fungus stand out prominently in the substance of both,
dark and unchanged. The eruption usually appears on the back, loins,
croup, chest, and head. It tends to spontaneous recovery in a month
or two, leaving for a time a dappled coat from the spots of short, light-
colored hair of the new growth.

The most effective way of reaching the parasite in the hair follicles is
to extract the hairs individually, but in the horse the mere shaving of the
affected part is usually enough. It may then be painted with tincture
of iodine twice a day for two weeks. Germs about the stable may be
covered up or destroyed by a whitewash of freshly burned quicklime,
the harness, brushes, etc., may be washed with caustic soda, and then
smeared with a solution of corrosive sublimate one half drachm and
water 1 pint. The clothing may be boiled and dried.

Parasite: Trichophyion sporuloides. INIalapy: riica Polonica. —
Plica rolonica, which mats together the mane and tail of the horse as
well as the hair of men, is associated with numerous spores of a tri-
chophyton, and is rationally treated by cutting off the hair and apply-
ing tincture of iodine or a solution of corrosive sublimate (4 parts to
1,000 water).

Parasite: Aclior'wn Sclwnlcini. Malady: Favus, Honeycomb ring-
worm.— Megnin and Goyan, who describe this in the horse, say that it
loses its characteristic honeycomb or cup-shaped appearance, and forms
only a series of closely aggregated, dry, yellowish crusts the size of
hemp seed on the trunk, shoulders, flanks, or thighs. They are ac-
companied by severe itching, especially at night. The cryptogam,
formed of spherical cells with a few filaments only, grows in the hair
follicles and on the cuticle, and thus a crust often forms around the
root of a hair. Like the other cryptogams, their color, as seen under the

438

«

microscope, is unaffected by acetic acid, alcohol, ether, or oil of tarpen-
tine, while the cells are turned bluish by iodine. For treatment, re-
move the hair and apply tincture of iodine or corrosive sublimate lotion,
as advised under the last paragraph.

Parasite: Mlcrosporon Furfur. Malady: Parasitic pityriasis. —
This ^jttacks the horse's head where the harness presses, and leads to
dropping of the hair, leaving bald patches covered with a branlike
scruf, without any eruption, heat, tenderness, swelling, or rigidity of
the skin. A lotion of carbolic acid, 1 dram, and water, 2 J ounces, is
usually applied to effect a cure.

ANIMAL PARASITES OF THE SKIN.

Acariasis: Mange. — This affection is due to the irritation of the skin,
caused by the presence of a nearly microscopic acarus or mite. The
disease varies, however, according to the species of acarus which in-
fests the skin, so that we must treat of several different kinds of acari-
asis.

Parasite: Sarcoptes equi. Malady: Sarcoptic acariasis. — This is
the special sarcoptes of the horse, but under favorable conditions it
can be transmitted to ass and mule, and even to man, and may live
indeilnitely on the human skin. The mite is nearly microscopical, but
may be detected with a magnifying lens among moving scurf taken
from the infected skin. Like all sarcoptes, it burrows little galleries in
and beneath the scurf skin, where it hides and lays its eggs and where
its young are hatched. It is therefore often difficult to find the para-
site on the surface, unless the skin has been heated by a temporary
exposure to the sun or in a warm room. Even then it may be needful
to tie the scab on the human arm till a pricking is felt, when the aca-
rus will be found in the center of a minute papule caused by its bite.
Like other acari this is wonderfully prolific, a new generation of fifteen
individuals being possible every fifteen days, so that in three months
the offspring of a single pair may produce a generation of 1,500,000
young. The sarcoptes have less vitality than the nonburrowing acari,
as they die in an hour when kept in dry air apart from the skin at a
heat of 1450 P. They live twelve to fourteen days apart from the
skin in the damp air of a stable. On a piece of damp hide they lived
till the twenty-fourth day, but were dead on the twenty-eighth.

The symptoms are an incessant, intolerable, and increasing itching of
some part of the skin (head, mane, tail, back, etc.), the horse inclining
himself toward the hand that scratches him, and moving his lips as if
himself scratching. The hairs may be broken and rubbed off, but the
part is never entirely bald as in ringworm, and there may be papules
or any kind of eruption or open sores from the energy of the scratching.
Scabs of any thickness may form, but the special features are the in-
tense itching and the discovery of the acarus.

439

Treatment consists in the removal of the scabs by soapsuds, and, if
iivScessary, a brush, and the thorough apjilication of tobacco 1^ ounces
and water 2 pints, prepared by boiling. This may be applied more
than once, and should always be repeated after fifteen days, to destroy
the new brood that may have been hatched in the interval. All harness
and stable utensils should be similarly treated* blankets and rubbers
may be boiled, and the stalls should be covered with a whitewash of
quicklime, containing one fourth jiound of chloride of lime to the gallon.

Parasite: Sarcoptes mutans. Malady: Sarcoptic acariasis from
fowls. — This parasite belongs to chickens, but can live on the skin of the
fox and horse as well. A troublesome mange may therefore at times
be traceable to the proximity of a chicken roost. The general symptoms
and treatment are essentially the same as for sarcoptis equi.

Parasite : Psoroptis equi {Dennatocoptis equi, Dermatodectis equi).
Malady : Psoroptic acariasis. — This produces tlie most frequent mange
in horses, and as the parasite only bites the surface and lives among
the crusts under the shelter of a hair, it is very easily discovered. It
reproduces itself with equal rapidity, and causes similar symptoms to
those produced by the sarcoptes. The same treatment will suffice and
is more promptly effectual. The purifying of the stable must be more
thorough, as the psoroptis will survive twenty to thirty days in the
moist atmosphere of a stable, and may even revive after six or eight
weeks when subjected to moist warmth. Infested pastures will there-
fore prove dangerous to horses for that length of time, and with rub-
bing posts, etc., should be secluded.

Parasite : Symbiotis equi, Dermatophagus equi, Chorioptes spathifer-
ous. Malady: Foot mange. — This acarus attacks the heels and lower
parts of the legs, especially the hind ones, and may be present for years
■without extending upon the body. Like the psoroptis, it lives on the
Burf^ice, on the hairs, and among the scabs. It gives rise to great itch-
ing, stamping, rubbing of the one leg with the other, and the formation
of papules, wounds, ulcerous sores, and scabs. The intense itching will
always suggest this parasite, and the discovery of the acarus will
identify the disease. Treatment is the same as for the sarcoptes, but
may be confined to the legs and the parts with which they come in
contact.

F AR ASiT^.—Dermanyssus gallinece — Chiclien Acari. Malady: Poultry
acariasis. — This is a large-sized acarus, though usually miscalled " hen
louse," and the disease " poultry-lousiness." The mite lives in the hen
manure and adjacent woodwork, but temporarily passes on to the skin
of man, and of the horse and other quadrupeds, when occasion serves.
It causes much irritation, with the eruption of papules or vesicles and
the formation of sores and scabs. The examination of the skin is
usually fruitless, as the attacks are mostly made at night and the effects
only may be seen during the day. Theproximityof hen manure swarm-
ing with the acari explains the trouble, and the removal of this and a

440

whitewashinj? with quick lime with or without chloride of lime will pre-
vent future attacks. The skiu may still require bland ointments or
lotions, as for congestion.

Parasite: Larva of a Tromhidium — Lepfns AmeHcanus— Harvest
Bug . misnamed Jigger {Chigoe). Malady: Autumn mange. — This par-
asite is a brick-red acarus, visible to the naked eye on a dark ground,
and living on green vegetation in many localities. It attacks man,
and the horse, ox, dog, etc., burrowing under the skin and giving rise to
small papules and intolerable irritation. This continues for two or three
days only if no fresh acari are received, but will last until cold weather
sets in if a fresh colony is received every day. Horses at pasture suffer
mainly on the lower part of the face. If kept indoors the disease will
disappear, or if left at pasture a weak tar water or solutiou of tobacco
ma^' be applied to the face.

Parasites: Gamarus Pteropioides and Chegletaes live in musty fod-
ders and are found on the horse.

TICKS.

The wood tick is familiar to inhabitants of uncultivated lands, and
proves a troublesome parasite to man and beast alive. It lives on
bushes, and only attaches itself to the mammal to secure a feast of
blood, for when gorged it drops off to sleep off its debauch on the soil.
The tick produces great irritation by boring into the skin with its armed
proboscis. If pulled out the head and thorax are often left in the skin.
They may be covered with oil to shut out the air from their breathing
pores, or by touching them with a hot penknife they will be impelled
to let go. If extracted by the hand they should be turned to the left
like a screw. It is needless to particularize the several species, as all
can be treated alike.

GRUBS IN SKIN.

P/VRASTTE: Hypoderma Silenus. Malady: Larva (Grubs) under the
skin. — This fly deposits its embryo on or in the skin of the horse, as its
congener {Eijpoderma bonis) does in the ox, and the resulting larvae
pass the winter in little rounded sacks beneath the integument, fur-
nished with a central opening, through which the mature larva escapes
in early summer and develops into a fly. In districts where they exist
the grubs should be pressed out of the skin and destroyed in the course
of the winter.

LARVA (GRUBS) ON THE SKIN — FLY-BLOW.

The following flies, among others, deposit their eggs on open sores
or on wet filthy parts of the skin, where their larvse or grubs give rise
to serious trouble : Lucilia Ccesar (blue bottle). Lucilid hominivorax
(screw-worm fly), ATusca vomitoria (meat fly), and Sarcophaga carnaria

441

(flesh-fly). To prevent their attacks wet, filthy hair shoukl be removed
and wounds kept clean, and rendered antiseptic by a lotion of carbolic
acid 1 part, water 50 parts ; by a mixture of 1 ounce oil of tar in 20
ounces sweet oil, or some other antiseptic. If the grubs are already
present they should be picked ofif and one of these dressings freely
ajiplied.

FLIES.

A number of flies attack horses and suck their blood, producing great
annoyance, and in some instances death. These insects not only suck
the blood, but also often instil an acid poison into the skin, and in ex-
ceptional cases transfer infectious germs from animal to animal by inoc-
ulation.

Various devices are resorted to to prevent the attack*, as to sponge
the skin with a decoction of walnut or elder leaves, of tobacco, to dust
with Persian insect powder, to keep a light blanket or fly-net on the
horse, to close doors and windows with fine screens and destroy by pyr-
ethium any flies that have gained admission, to remove all manure
heaps that would prove breeding places for flies, to keep the stalls
clean, deodorize by gypsum and to spread in them trays of dry chlo-
ride of lime. For the poisoned bites apply ammonia, or a solution of
1 part of carbolic acid in 20 parts of sweet oil or glycerine, or one-
fourth ounce bicarbonate of soda and 1 dram of carbolic acid in a quart
of water may be used.

STINGS OF BEES, WASPS, AND HORNETS.

These are much more irritating than the bites of flies, partly because
the barbed sting is left in the wound, and partly because of the amount
and quality of the venom. When a swarm attacks an animal the result
may prove fatal.

Treatment consists in the application of wet clay, or of a lotion of soda
or ammonia, or of carbolic acid, or of sugar of lead 2 drams, laudanum
1 ounce, and water 1 pint. The embedded stings should be extracted
with fine forceps or even with the finger nails.

FLEA — PULEX.

The flea of man and those of the dog and cat, when numerous, will
bite the horse and give rise to rounded swellings on the skin. To dis-
pose of them it is needful to clear the surroundings of the grublike
larvae as well as to treat the victim. The soil may be sprinkled with
quicklime, carbolic acid, coal tar, or petroleum; the stalls maybe del-
uged with boiling water and afterward painted with oil of turpentine
and littered with fresh pine sawdust, and all blankets sbould be boiled.
The skin may be sponged with a solution of 1 part carbolic acid in 50
parts water. Dogs, ciits, and pigs should be dressed with the same
lotion, or, better, removed from the vicinity of the stable.

442

The chigoe (Pulex penetrans) of the Gulf coast is still more injurious,
because it burrows under the surface and deposits its eggs to be hatched
out slowly with much irritation. The tumor formed by it should be
laid open and the parasite extracted. If it bursts so that its eggs
escajje into the wound, they may be destroyed by introducing a wire at
a red heat.

LICE — PEDICULI.

Two kinds of lice attack the horse, one of which is furnished with
narrow head and a i^roboscis for perforating the skin and sucking the
blood, and the other — the broad-headed kind — with strong mandibles,
by which it bites the skin only. Of the bloodsuckers, one is common
to horse and ass and another to horse and ox, while of the nonsuckiug
lice one species attacks horse and ox and a second ox and ass. The
poor condition, itching, and loss of hair, should lead to suspicion and a
close examination wi)l detect the lice. They may be destroyed by rub-
bing the victim with sulphur oiutment, or with sulphuret of potassium
4 ounces, water 1 gallon, or with tar water, or the skin may be sponged,
with benzine. The application should be repeated a week later to de-
stroy all lice hatched from the nits in the interval. Buildings, clothes,
etc., should be treated as for fleas.

TARANTULA AND SCORPION.

The bite of the first and the sting of the second are poisonous, and
may be treated like other insect venom, by carbolated glycerine or a
strong solution of ammonia.

SNAKE BITES.

These are marked by the double incision caused by the two fangs, by
the excessive doughy (dark red) swelling around the wounds, and in bad
cases by the general symptoms of giddiness, weakness, and prostration.
They are best treated by enormous doses of alcohol, whisky or brandy,
or by aqua ammonia very largely diluted in water, the object being to
sustain life until the i^oison shall have spent its power. As local treat-
ment, if the wound is in a limb, the latter may have a handkerchief or
cord tied around it, above the injury, and drawn tight by a stick twisted
into it. In this way absorption may be checked until the poison can be
destroyed by the application of a hot. iron or a piece of nitrate of silver
or other caustic. A poultice of tobacco leaves is a favorite remedy,
and may be used to soothe the sore after cauterization.

BURNS AND SCALDS.

For scalds the surface may be bathed with a solution of bicarbonate
of soda, sweetened or not by carbolic acid, or a weak solution of sugar
of lead may be used ; or the surface may be dusted thickly with starch
or flour and covered with cotton wool, or oil of turpentine may be ap-

443

lulled over the scalded skin. Burns are -well treated by liniment made
of equal parts of lime water and linseed oil (Carron oil). For both
kinds of injuries, cosmoliue ten parts, and carbolic acid, one part, proves
an excellent dressing. Blisters should be pricked with a needle and
emptied to prevent their rupture and the exposure of the raw surface.
Severe burns, leading to destruction of very extensive patches of
skin, usually render a horse useless b}^ reason of the contraction of the
resulting scar, hence the treatment of such is rarely advisable, unless
followed by a skillful plastic operation. In other cases a skillful trans-
planting of epidermis, shaved from a healthy surface with a sharp
razor, will secure the healing of a granulating wound which has proved
obstinate to all other measures. In cases of burns with mineral acids
(sulphuric, nitric or hydrochloric) avoid water, as that will develop
heat, and cover the surface with dry whiting or chalk, and only when
effervescence has ceased wash off with water. When the caustic has
been a salt (copperas, bluestone, chloride of zinc, etc.) apply lime
water or white of egg. If the irritant has been caustic potash, soda or
ammonia, vinegar should be the first application. If sores result they
may be treated like ordinary wounds.

WOUNDS OF THE SKIN.

These are divided into incised {clean cut) icounds, lacerated {torn)
wounds, and contused (bruised) and punctured wounds.

Incised wounds are the simplest, and the sharper the instrument and
the cleaner the cut the greater the hope of speedy healing. Something,
however, depends on the seat and direction of the wound ; thus one
running from before backward on the body, or from above downward
in the limb, will not tend to be drawn open and gape as would one run-
ning transversely on the body or limb. Again a wound on a joint and
running across the limb will gape when the joint is bent. Again, a
clean cut wound which has not been exposed to the air, and which
lodges no foreign body and no septic nor infecting germ, will heal read-
ily by simple adhesion, whereas those that have been exposed and con-
tain matter foreign to the tissues will have healing delayed or pre-
vented by the disturbing action of such bodies.

Healing in wounds may be said to take place by these modes :

(1) By primary adhesion, in which case the spherical {embryonic)
cells, and the stellate connective tissue cells (placoids) thrown out on
the surface of the wound, rapidly multiply and form a bond of union
between the divided lips. Union by this means may be affected within
twenty-four hours after the wound has been inflicted. Of all domestic
animals, however, the horse is the least prone to such union, being more
disposed to the formation of pus.

(2) By granulation, which is the common form of healing in raw, ex-
posed sores, in those containing foreign bodies and septic and infecting
ferments j also in torn and contused wounds. In ths form the wound

444

becomes covered with a layer of embryonic and placoid cells, of which
the superficial ones degenerate into pus cells, and thus the surface is
kept moist by a layer of whitish, creamy pus. In the deeper layer of
cells miuute loops of capillary blood-vessels start up, cause the small
rounded elevations known as granulations. In this way the deeper
layer of cells receiving a blood supply is transformed into connective
tissue, and from its surface new loops of blood vessels start into the
layer above, and thus layer after layer of new tissue is formed, and the
breach caused by the wound is gradually filled up. The new tissue as
formed undergoes a steady contraction, drawing iu the adjacent skin
over the wound, and hence large wounds healed in this way have the
skin more or less puckered around them.

(3) By secondary adhesion, in which two granulating lips of a wound
having b.een brought together and kept in apposition, union takes place
through the medium of the cells, as in primary adhesion.

(4) By scabbing, in which the exudation on the surface of the wound
dries up into a firm scab, under which the process of repair goes on by
the development of tissue from the deeper cells, as in adhesion.

In treating clean, incised wounds, attempts should be made to secure
healing by primary adhesion, even in the horse. Bleeding should first
be arrested, or nearly so, by applying a cold or hot sponge, or by tying
bleeding vessels, and the lips of the wound should then be closed ac-
curately, without any twisting or overlapping. In small wounds pieces
of sticking plaster may be used, the lips of the wound having first been
smoothly shaved, so that they may adhere firmly. In larger wounds
the wound may be sewed with a curved surgical needle and a silk
thread dipped in a solution of carbolic acid. The stitches may be con-
tinued from end to end of the wound and the thread prevented from
slipping and loosening by a knot at each end ; or the stitches may be
independent, the two ends being tied together across the wound. In
such cases they may be one quarter to one-third inch apart ; or the lips
of the wound may be pinned together, the pins in a simple skin wound
being inserted one-eighth inch from the edge, and when both lips have
been transfixed in this way a thread (or hair) carried successively
around the two ends of the pin and made to describe a figure 8 will
hold the wound close. When the stitching is not continuous from end
to end of the wound the apposition of the edges will be rendered more
perfect by the application of strips of sticking plaster in the intervals.

When eflbrts at primary union have failed and pus has formed, or
fermentative changes have occurred on the raw surfaces and the lips
gape more or less, some antiseptic dressing will be required, as in the
case of lacerated and contused wounds.

In cases where an incised wound has had foreign bodies or septic
ferments introduced into it, these should first be removed. A current
of water that has been boiled and cooled is one of the best methods of
cleansing a wound, and there is no objection to the addition of one-

445

twentieth of its amount of carbolic acid, as this will tend to destroy
any germ life that might otherwise prove fatal to the healing process.
Then the wound may be stitched up as if it had been cleau, and a daily
dressing, of carbolic acid 1 part and sweet oil 10 parts, may be applied.

For a wound on the convex surface of a joint, where stitches are not
sufficient to keep the lips accurately applied to each other, the movement
of the joint maybe temporarily abolished by the aiiplication of a splint
and bandage, and in any such case the bandage should bo applied uni-
formly from the hoof upward, as otherwise the limb below the bandage
is liable to swell or even die.

The treatment of contused, punctured, and lacerated wotmds demands
cleansing and antiseptic applications as for an incised wound, but as
primary adhesion is next to im^wssible, the same accurate apposition of
the lips by stitching is not so essential. If portions of shin or other
tissue are so detached or crushed that they can not possibly live, tbey
may be cut off, but if there is any doubt on this matter the injured por-
tion should be left and every attempt should be made to preserve it.
Such portions of the wound as are free from such fatally injured parts
may be disinfected by the carbolic lotion referred to above, and stitched
up like a clean wound. The severely injured parts may be left open to
discharge, and the whole may be dressed dailj^ with the carboiized oil,
or with a solution of one part of mercuric chloride in one thousand
parts water.

Granulating wounds may be irrigated with the mercuric chloride solu-
tion and if the granulations become inflamed (soft, flabby, exuberant,
rising above the edges of the wound) they may be touched lightly with
a stick of lunar caustic so as to leave them covered with a white film.

In all wounds that fail to heal by primary union an elaborate anti-
septic treatment is desirable, but the difficulty of applying this suc-
cessfully to the horse in an ordinary stable would seem to forbid a
lengthy description in a book of this kind.

platl: XXXV

T'ertical section through skin.
after Clu-iux-eau .

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Microspoixiw Adoiiinii from
PcircLsitic Pifyriusts ire tJiA horse .

after Mc^nin.

DISEASES OF THE SKIN

platl: XXXV I.

\ W

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Sai'cojyfc.s .scabifi ^ \ai: EquL.

( 'hoiioifics spiitJii f'f'rtis

Psoroptes lon/yirosl7is , \ar Eqiii .

Dprninnxssu'i f/aUiiiai-

Haines, del. after Megnin .

MITES THAT INFEST THE HORSE

WOUNDS AND THEIR TREATMENT.

By CH. B. MICHENER, V. S.,

Professor of Cattle Fatholoqn and Obstetrics at the New Yorlc College of Veterinary Sur-
geons, Inspector of the Bureau of Animal Industry, etc.

Wounds are of different kinds, and are classified as incised, lacerated^
contused, punctured, and gunshot.

An incised wound, or cut, is made witli some sliarp body. The edges
of the wound are smooth, as though cut with a knife. These wounds
are the simplest we are called upon to treat. If they occur in fleshy
parts, if blood-vessels, tendons, or joints are not injured, they soon re-
cover and often without any treatment whatever. When bleeding to
any considerable extent follows, and this is more likely to occur from
incised than lacerated or contused wounds, we must first of all stop the
flow of blood before attempting to close the wound itself or apply any
other treatment. Hemorrhage may take place from either arteries or
veius. If from arteries, the blood is bright red or scarlet in color, and
flows in jerks or jets ; if from veins, it is darker in color and the flow is
regular. Bleeding from large vessels may be stopped by compress ban-
dages, torsion, hot iron, and ligatures.

By bandages.— If the blood is from an artery, the pressure should be
applied between the wound and the center of circulation, i. e., towards
the body ; if from a vein, toward the extremities. Torsion is to be ap-
plied by the artery forceps grasping the divided vessel and twisting ifc
the proper number of times. The hot iron (budding iron) may also be
used to sear the end of a blood vessel and thus stop bleetling. Of all
means, however, employed to stop the flow of blood from a large vessel
a ligature is the best. The divided end of the artery or vein is to be
caught up and firmly tied about one-half inch from its division. Should
profuse bleeding occur from the incision of a great number of small ves-
sels, it is best stopped by compresses moistened with the tincture of the
chloride of iron or other astringents. Any moderately tight bandage
of oakum, tow, cob-webs, etc., will stop the hemorrhage, often without
the medicaments referred to.

When we have controlled the bleeding our next step is to cleanse the
wound. This is to be accomplished by allowing warm water to flow or

447

448

trickle over the wound. Never rub an incised wound with any coarse
substance. When the incision is parallel to the muscular fibers the
wound does not gape to any extent. Stitches placed about an inch
apart are here advisable, or we may keep the edges of the wound to-
gether by means of a bandage. If the incision be across the direction
of the muscular fibers gaping ensues and a " pocket " forms at the bot-
tom of the wound in which lodge blood and pns. In my experience
fititchcs do more harm than good in such cases. They irritate the parts
and soon cause sloughing of the skin. A bandage, so applied as to
bring the edges of the wound as close together as possible, is here pref-
erable. It should be applied from below upwards, as this encourages
union from the bottom, and serves to prevent the accumulation of pus
in the wound. But little is to be done after this. By means of a soft
sponge apply some simple antiseptic wash, carbolic acid 1 part, glycer-
ine 10 to 15 parts. If the parts become very much soiled they are to
be gently washed with eastile or carbolic soap and hot water. Should
proud flesh api^ear it is to be treated with burnt alum, powdered blue-
stone, etc. Officious meddling and frequent " dressing " of such wounds
do more harm than good.

Incised wounds of tendons, or of any vital part of the body, require
professional attendance, and can not be separately treated of here.

Lacerated and contused wounds may be described together, although
there is of course this difference, that in contused wounds there is no
break or laceration of the skin. Lacerated wouuds, however, are as a
rule also contused — the surrounding tissues are bruised to a greater or
lesser extent. While such wounds may not appear at first sight to be
as serious as incised wounds they are commonly very much more so.
Lacerations and contusions, when extensive, are always to be regarded
as dangerous. Many horses die from septic iufection or mortification as
as a result of these injuries. We find in severe contusions an infiltration
of blood into the surrounding tissues; disorganization and mortifica-
tion follow, and involve often the deeper seated structures. Abscesses,
single or multiple, may also result and call for special treatment.

In wounds that are lacerated the amount of hemorrhage is mostly
inconsiderable; even very large blood vessels are thus toru apart with-
out iuducing a fatal result. The edges of the wound are ragged and
uneven. These wounds are produced by some blunt object, as where a
horse runs against fences, board piles, the corners of buildings, or
where he is struck by the pole or shafts of another team, fulling on
rough, irregular stones, etc.

Treatment. — In lacerated wounds great care must at first be exercised
in examining or probiug to the very bottom of the rent or tear to see
if any foreign body be present. Very ofteu splinters of wood or bits
of stone or dirt are thus lodged, and unless removed prevent the wound
from healing; orif it should heal the wound soon opens again, discharging
a thin, gluey matter that is characteristic of the presence of some object

449

in the parts. After a thorough exploration these wounds are to bo
carefully aud patiently fomented with warm water, to which has been
added carbolic acid in the proportion of 1 part to 100 of water. Earely,
if ever, are stitches to be inserted in lacerated wounds. The surround-
ing tissues and skin are so weakened in vitality and structure by the
contusion that stitches will not hold ; they only irritate the parts. It
is better to endeavor to secure coadaptation by means of bandages,
plasters, or collodion. One essential in the treatment of lacerated
wounds is to secure a free exit for the pus. If the orifice of the wound
is too high, or if pus is found to be burrowing in the tissues beneath
the opening, we must then make a counter opening as low as possible.
This will admit of the wound being thoroughly washed out, at first
with warm water, and afterward injected with some mild astringent
and antiseptic wash, as chloride of zinc, 1 dram to a pint of water. A
depending opening must be maintained until the wound ceases to dis-
charge. Repeated hot fomentations over the region of lacerated wounds
afford much relief and should be persisted in.

Bruises are nothing but contused wounds, where the skin has not
been ruptured. There is often considerable solution of continuity of
the parts under the skin, subcutaneous hemorrhage, etc., which may
result in local death— mortification— and slough of the bruised part.
If the bruise or contusion is not so severe, very many cases are quickly
cured by constant fomentation with hot water for from two to four hours.
The water should be allowed, about this time, to gradually become cool
and then cold. Cold fomentation must then be kept up for another
hour or two. Dry the parts thoroughly and quickly, and bathe them
freely with camphor 1 ounce, sweet oil 8 ounces. A dry, light bandage
should then be applied, the horse allowed rest, and, if necessary, the
camphorated oil may be repeated for two or three days. If, however,
the wound is so severe that sloughing must ensue, we must encourage
this by poultices made of linseed meal, wheat bran, turnips, onions,
bread and milk, or hops. Charcoal is to be sprinkled over the surface
of the poultice when the wound is bad smelling. After the slough
has fallen off the wound is to be dressed with antiseptic washes of car-
bolic acid, chloride of zinc, permanganate of potash, etc. If granulat-
ing (filling up) too fast, use burnt alum, or air-slaked lime. Besides
this local treatment we find that the constitutional symptoms of fever
and inflammation call for measures to prevent or control them. This
is best done by placing the injured animal on soft or green food. A
physic of Barbadoes aloes, 1 ounce, should be given as soon as possible
after the accident. Sedatives, as tincture of aconite root, 15 drops
every two or three hours, aud ounce doses of saltpeter twice or three
times a day, are also to be administered. When the symptoms of fever
are abated, and if the discharges from the wound are abundant, the
strength of our patient must be supported by good food and tonics.
One of the best tonics is as follows : Powdered sulphate of iron, pow-
11035 29

450

dered gentian, and powdered ginger, of each. 4 ounces. Mix thoroughly
and give a heaping tablespoonful twice a day on the feed, or as a
drench.

Punctured icounds are produced by the penetration of a sharp or blunt
pointed substance, as a tlioru, fork, nail, etc., and the orifice of these
wounds is always small in proportion to their depth. In veterinary
practice punctured wounds are much more common than the others.
They involve the feet most frequeutl3', next the legs, and often the
head and face from nails protruding through the stalls and trough.
They are not only the most frequent but they are also the most serious.
One circumstance rendering them so is the lack of attention that they
at first receive. The external wound is so small that but little or no
importance is attached to it, yet in a short time swelling, pain, and acute
inflammation often of a serious character, are manifested. Considering
the most common of the punctured wounds we must give precedence to
those of the feet. Horses "worked in cities, about iron works, around
building places, etc., are most likely to receive " nails in the feet." The
animal treads upon nails, pieces of iron or screws, and forces them into
the soles of the feet. If the nail, or whatever it is that has punctured
the foot, is fast in some large or heavy body, and is withdrawn as the
horse lifts his foot, lameness may last for only a few steps ; but unless
properly attended to at once he will be found in a day or two to be ex-
cruciatingly liime in tlie injured member. If the foreign body remains
in the foot he gradually grows worse from the time of puncture until
the cause is discovered and removed. If, when shoeing, a nail is driven
into the "quick" (sensitive laminae) and allowed to remain, the horse
gradually evinces more pain from day to day ; but if the nail has at once
been removed by the smith lameness does not. as a rule, show itself for
some days; or, if the nail is simply driven " too close," not actually
pricking the horse, he may not show any lameness for a vreek or even
much louger. At this point it is due the blacksmith to say that, con-
sidering how thin the walls of some feet are, the uneasiness of many
horses while shooing, the ease with which a nail is diverted from its
course by striking an old piece of nail left in the wall, or from the nail
itself splitting, the wonder is not that so many horses are pricked or
7iaUs driven '■'too close, ^^ but rather that many more are not so injured.
It is not always carelessness or ignorance on the part of the smith, by
any means, that is to account for this accident. Bad and careless
shoers we do meet with, but let us be honest and say that the raritij of
these accidents points rather to the general care and attention given by
these much-abused mechanics.

From the construction of the horse's foot (being encased in an im-
permeable horny box), and from the elasticity of the horn closing the
orifice, punctured wounds of the feet are almost always productive of
lameness. Inflammation results, and as there is no relief afforded by
swelling and no escape for the product of luHammation, this matter

451

must and does burrow betweeu the sole or wall aud the sensitive parts
■witliin it until it generally opens " between hair and hoof." We can
thus see why pain is so much more severe, why tetanus (lockjaw) more
frequently follows wounds of the feet, and why, from the extensive, or
at times complete, separation and "casting" of the hoof, these wounds
must always be regarded with grave apprehension.

Symptoms and treatment. — A practice which, if never deviated from —
that of picking up each foot, cleaniug the sole, and thoroughly examin-
ing the foot each and every time the horse comes into the stable — will
enable us to reduce the serious consequences of punctured wounds of
the feet to the minimum. If the wound has resulted from pricking,
lameness follows soon after shoeing; if from the nails being driven too
close, it usually appears from four to tive days or a week after receiv-
ing the shoe. We should always inquire as to the time of shoeing, ex-
amine the shoe carefally aud see whether it has been partially pulled
and the horse stepped back upon some of the nails or the clip. The
pain from these wounds is lancinating ; the horse is seen to raise and
lower the limb or hold it from the ground altogether; often he points
the foot, Ilexes the leg, and knuckles at the fetlock. Swelling of the
fetlock and back tendons is also frequently seen and is apt to mislead
us. The foot must he carefully examined, and this can not he properly done
without removing the shoe. The nails should be drawn separately and
carefully examined. If there is no escape of matter from the nail-holes,
or if the nails themselves are not moist, we must continue our examina-
tion of the foot by carefully pinching or tapping it at all parts. With a
little practice we can detect the spot where pain is the greatest or dis-
cover the delicate line or scar left at the point of entrance of the foreign
body. The entire sole is then to be thinned, after which we are to care-
fully cut down upon the point where paiu is greatest upon pressure,
and, finally, through the sole at this spot. When the matter has escaped,
the sole, so far as it was undermined by pus, is to be removed. The foot
must now be poulticed for one or two days and afterward dressed with
a compress of oakum saturated with carbolic-acid solution or other anti-
septic dressing.

If we discover anail or other object in the foot the principal direction,
after having removed the offending body, is to cut away the sole, in a
funnel shape, down to the sensitive parts beneath. This is imperative,
and if a good free opening has been made and is maintained for a few
days, hot fomentations and antisei)tic dressings applied, the cure is
mostly easy, simple, quick, aud permanent. The horse should be shod
•with a leather sole under the shoe, first of all a]:>plying tar and oakum
to prevent any dirt from entering the wound. In some instances nails
may puncture the flexor tendons, the coffin bone, or enter the coffin
joint. Such injuries are always serious, their recovery slow and tedious,
and the treatment so varied aud difficult that the services of a veteri-
narian will be necessary.

452

Punctured wounds of joints — Open joints. — These wounds are more or
less frequeut. They are always serious, and ofteu result in anchylosis
(stiifening) of the joint or death of the animal. The joints mostly
punctured are the hock, fetlock, or knee, though other joints may of
course suffer this injury. As the symptoms and treatment are much
the same for all, I will only describe this accident as it occurs in the
hock joint. Probably the most common mode of injury is from the stab
of a fork, but it may result from the kick of another horse that is newly
shod, or in many other ways. At first the horse evinces but slight pain
or lameness. The owner discovers a small wound scarcely larger than
a pea, and pays but little attention to it. In a few days, however, tho
pain and lameness become excessive ; the horse can no longer bear any
weight upon the injured leg; the joint is very much swollen and pain-
ful upon pressure; there are well-marked symptoms of constitutional
disturbance — quick pulse, hurried breathing, high temperature, 103° to
100° Fahr., the appetite is lost, thirst is present, the horse reeks with
sweat, and shows by an anxious countenance the i)ain he suffers. He
may lie down, though mostly he persists in standing, and the opposite
limb becomes greatly swollen from bearing the entire weight and strain
for so long a time. The wound, which at first appeared so insignificant,
is now constantly discharging a thin, whitish or yellowish fluid— joint-
oil or water, which becomes coagulated about the mouth of the wound
and adheres to the jjartiu clots like jelly, or resembling somewhat the
white of an egg. Not infrequently the joint opens at different places,
discharging at first a thin bloody fluid that soon assumes the character
above described.

Treatment of these wounds is most difficult and unsatisfactory. In
my own experience we can do much to prevent this array of symptoms
if the case is seen early, within the first twenty four or forty-eight
hours after the injury, but when inflammation of the joint is once fairly
established the case becomes one of grave tendencies. Whenever a
punctured wound of a joint is noticed, even though apparently of but
small moment, we should without the least delay apply a strong canthar-
ides blister over the entire joint, being even careful to fill the orifice
of the wound with the blistering ointment. This treatment is almost
always effectual. It operates to i)erform a cure in two ways — first, the
swelling of the skin and tissues underneath it completely closes the
wound and prevents the ingress of air; second, by the superficial in-
flammation established itacts to check and abate all deep-seated inflam-
mation. In the great majority of instances, if pursued soon after the
accident, this treatment performs a cure in about one week, but should
the changes described as occuiTing later ia the joint have already taken
place, we must then treat by cooling lotions and the application to the
wound of chloride of zinc, 10 grains to the ounce of water, or a paste
made up of flour and alum. A bandage is to hold these applications in
place, which is only to be removed v/hen swelling of the leg or iucreas-

453

ing febrile symptoms demand it. In the treatment of open joints our
chief aim must be to close the orifice as soon as possible. For this
reason repeated i)robiug or even injections are contra-indicated. The
only probing of an open joint that is to be sanctioned is on our first
visit, when we should carefully examine the wound for foreign bodies
or dirt, and after removing them the probe must not again be used.
The medicines used to coagulate the synovial discharge are best simply
applied to the surface of the wound, on pledgets of tow, and held in
place by bandages. Internal treatment is also indicated in those cases
of open Joints where the suffering is great. At first we should admin-
ister a light physic, and follow this up with sedatives and anodynes, as
directed for contused wounds. Later, however, we should give quinine
or salicylic acid in one-dram doses two or three times a day.

Wounds of tendons are similar to open joints in that there is an escape
of synovial fluid, " sinew water." Where the tendons are simply punc-
tured by a thorn, nail, or fork, we must, after a thorough exploration
of the wound for any remaining foreign substance, treat with the flour
and alum paste, bandages, etc., as for open joint. Should the skin and
tendons be divided the case is even more serious and often incurable.
There is always a large bed of granulations (proud flesh) at the seat of
injury, and a thickening more or less pronounced remains. When the
back tendons of the leg are severed we should apply at once a high-heel
shoe (which is to be gradually lowered as healing advances) and band-
age firmly with a compress moistened with a ten-grain chloride of zinc
solution. When proud flesh appears this is best kept under control by
repeated applications of a red-hot iron. Mares that are valuable as
brood animals, and stock horses, should always be treated for this in-
jur^', as, even though blemished, their value is not seriously impaired.
The length and time required and the expense of treatment will cause us
to hesitate in attempting a cure if the subject is old and comi^aratively
valueless.

Gunshot icounds. — These wounds are so seldom met with in our ani-
mals that an extended reference to them seems unnecessary. If a
wound has been made by a bullet a careful examination should be made
to ascertain if the ball has passed through or out of the body. If it has
not we must then probe for the ball, and if it can be located it is to be
cut out when practicable to do so. Oftentimes a ball may be so lodged
that it can not be removed, and it then may become encysted and re-
main for years without giving rise to any inconvenience. It is often
difficult to locate a bullet, as it is very readily deflected by resistances
met with after entering the body. Should bones be struck by a ball
they are frequenily shattered and splintered to such an extent as to war-
rant us in having the animal destroyed. A gunshot wound, when ir-
reparable injury has not been done, is to be treated the same as punctured
wounds, i. e., remove the foreign body if i)0S8ible, and apply hot fomen-
tations or poultices to the wound until suppuration is fairly established.

454

Antiseptic and disinfectant injections may then be used. Should pus
accumulate in the tissues openings must be made at the most depend-
ing i)arts for its escape. Wounds from shotguns if fired close to the
animal are serious. They are virtually lacerated and contused wounds.
Eemove all the shot possible from the wound, and treat as directed
for contusions. When small shot strikes the horse from a distance it
sticks in the skin or only goes through it. The shot grains must be
picked out, but as a rule this "peppering" of the skin amounts to but
little.

Chafing by the harness — saddle or collar galls. — Wounds or abrasions
of this description are very commonly met with during the spring plow-
ing, particularly in " new ground," or from ill-fitting saddles or collars
at any time of the year. Collars too large or too small are equally
productive of this trouble. In the spring of the year, when the horse
has been unused to steady work for some months, the skin is tender
and easily abraded. The horse, from being wintered on a scanty allow-
ance of grain, is soft, sweats easily, and if the collar and shoulders are
not properly attended to chafing of the skin is almost sure to follow.
The harness should be repaired, cleaned, and oiled before using, and the
collar in particular should be thoroughly cleansed after every day's use.
The shoulders are to be frequently washed with cold water, and after-
ward bathed with white-oak bark tea, alcohol, or other astringents.
Should ill-fitting or badly made harness or saddles gall a horse, they
must be refitted at once, or laid aside for other and better ones.

The treatment of such abrasions is simple and efiective if the cause be
removed without delay. The parts must be thoroughly bathed in soapy
water, allowing the lather to remain on the abraded surface. There are
many remedies for harness galls. Among them may be mentioned alco-
hol, 1 pint, in which are well shaken the whites of two eggs; a solution
of nitrate of silver, 10 grains to the ounce of water; sugar of lead or
sulphate of zinc, 20 grains to an ounce of water; carbolic acid, 1 part
in 15 parts of glycerine, and so on almost without end. Any simple as-
tringent wash or powder will effect a cure provided the sores are not
irritated by friction. If the animal must continue his work the harness
must be padded or chambered.

Burns and scalds. — Wounds from burning or scalding are rare in the
domestic animals, but when extensive they prove very troublesome and
are often fatal. According to the severity of the burn we find the skin
simply reddened, vesicles (bbsters) may be jjroduced, or the part may
be literally roasted or boiled, causing complete destiuction of the tissues
and sloughing. When a large surface of the skin is burned or scalded
the animal (if he does not die at once from shock) will soon show symp-
toms of fever — shivering, coldness of the extremities, weakness, rest-
lessness, quick, feeble pulse, sighing breathing, etc.

The treatment in such cases must be prompt and energetic. Stimu-
lants, such as whisky with mi'k and eggs, are to be frequently given.

455

Quinine and salicylic acid, of each 1 dram, should also be adaiinistered
twice a day. The burned surface must be immediately bathed with
equal parts of lime-water and linseed oil, and afterwards dredged with
as much hour as can be made to adhere. If these can not be obtained
cover the parts with flour paste, layers of cotton, or anything to exclude
the air. Nitrate of silver, 5 grains to the ounce of water, or carbolic
acid, 1 part to 50 of water, afford great relief if frequently applied.
When the slough takes place we must support the animal's strength
with good food and tonics, and treat the raw surface the same as other
granulating wounds.

ABSCESSES.

These consist of accumulations of pus within circumscribed walls,
at different parts of the body, and may be classed as acute j and cold or
chronic abscesses.

Acute abscesses follow as the result of local inflammation in glands,
muscular tissue, or even bones. They are very common in the two
former. The abscesses most commonly met with in the horse (and the
ones which will be here described) are those of the salivary glands,
occurring during the existence of " strangles" or " colt distemper." The
glands behind or under the jaw are seen to slowly increase in size, be-
coming firm, hard, hot, and painful. At first the swelling is uniformly
hard and resisting over its entire surface, but in a little while becomes
soft — fluctuating — at some portion, mostly in the center. From this
time on the abscess is said to be " pointing" or "coming to a head,"
which is shown by a small elevated or projecting prominence, which at
first is dry, but soon becomes moist with transuded serum. The hairs
over this part loosen and fall off, and in a short time the abscess opens,
the contents escape, and the cavity gradually fills up — heals by granu-
lations.

Abscesses in muscular tissue are usually the result of bruises or in-
juries. In all cases where abscesses are forming we should hurry the
ripening i^rocess by frequent hot fomentations and poultices. When
they are very tardy in their development a blister over their surface is
advisable. It is a common rule with surgeons to open an abscess as
soon as pus can be plainly felt, but this practice can scarcely be recom-
mended to owners of stock indiscriminately, since this little operation
frequently requires an exact knowledge of anatomy. It will usually
be found the better plan to encourage the full ripening of an abscess
and allow it to open of itself. This is imperative if the abscess is in the
region of joints, etc. When open, we must not squeeze the walls of the
abscess to any extent. They may be very gently i)res8ed with the fin-
gers at first to remove the clots — inspissated pus — but after this the
orifice is simply to be kept open by the introduction of a whalebone
probe, should it be disposed to heal too soon. If the opening is at too
high a level another should be made into the loivest. portion of the ab-

456

scess. Hot fomentations or poultices are sometimes required for a day
or two after an abscess has opened, and are particularly indicated when
the base of the abscess Is hard and indurated. As a rule, injections
into the cavity of abscesses are not indicated, though in cases of serous
abscesses (if one may be allowed such latitude of terms), as cysts of the
elbow, knee, etc., astringent injections — sulphate of zinc, 15 grains to the
ounce of water — are required to cause adhesions of the walls of the
cavity and prevent it from refilling. If abscesses are foul and bad-
smelling their cavities must be syringed with a weak solution of car-
bolic acid or other antiseptics.

Cold abscess is the term applied to those large, indolent swellings that
are the result of a low or chronic form of inflammation, in tbe center of
which there is a small collection of pus. These are mostly met with at
the base of the neck and in front of the shoulder joint. The swelling is
diffuse and of enormous extent, but slightly hotter than surrounding
parts, and not very painful upon pressure. There is a pronounced
stiffness, rather than pain, evinced upon moving the animal. Such ab-
scesses have the appearance of a hard tumor, surrounded by a softer
cedematous swelling, involving the tissues to the extent of a foot or
more in all directions from the tumor. This diffused swelling gradually
subsides and leaves the large, hardened mass somewhat well defined.
One of the chara(;teristics of cold abscesses is their tendency to remain
in the same condition for a great leugth of time. There is neither heat
nor soreness; no increase nor lessening in the size of the tumor; it re-
mains statu quo. If, however, the animal should be put to work for a
short time the irritation of the collar causes the surrounding tissues to
again assume an cedematous condition, which, after a few days' rest,
disappear, leaving the tumor as before or but slightly larger. Upou
careful manipulation we may discover what appears to be a fluid deep
seated in the center of the mass. The quantity of matter so contained
is very small — often not more than a tablespoonful— and for this reason
it can not, in all cases, be detected.

Cold abscesses are mostly, if not a'ways, caused by the long-contin-
ued irritation of a loose and badly fitting collar. There is a slow in-
flammatory action going on, which results in the formation of a small
quantity of matter, inclosed in very thick and but partially organized
walls, that are not as well defined as is the circumference of fibrous
tumors, which they most resemble.

Treatment. — The means recommended to bring the acute abscess "to
a htad " are but rarely effectual with this variety ; or, if successful, too
much time has been occupied in the cure. We must look for other and
more rapid methods of treatment. These consist in, first of all, care-
fully exploring the tumor for the presence of pus. The incisions must
be made over the softest part, and carried deep into the tumor (to its
very bottom if necessary), and the matter allowed to escape. After this,
and whether^we have found matter or not, we must induce an active

457

infiammaiion of the tumor in order to promote solution of tlie tliick walls
of the abscess. This may be done by inserting well into the incision a
piece of oakum or cotton saturated with turpentine, carbolic acid, tinc-
ture of iodine, etc., or we may pack the incision with powdered sul-
phate of zinc and keep the orifice plugged for twenty-four hours. These
agents set up a destructive inflammation of the walls. Suppuration fol-
lows, and this should now be encouragedbybot fomentations and poul-
tices. The orifice must be kept open, and should it be disposed to heal
we must again introduce some of the agents above described. A fa-
vored treatment with many, and it is probably the best, is to plunge a
red-hot iron to the bottom of the incision, and thoroughly sear all parts
of the walls of the abscess. This is to be repeated after the first slough
has taken place, if the walls remain thickened and indurated.

It is useless to waste time with fomentations, poultices, or blisters in
the treatment of cold abscesses, since, though apparently removed by
such methods, they almost invariably return again when the horse is
put to work. Extirpation by the knife is not practicable, as the walls
of the tumor are not sufficiently defined. If treated as above directed,
and properly fitted with a good collar after healing, there will not re-
main any track, trace, or remembrance of the large, unsightly mass.

FISTULA.

The word fistula is properly applied to sinuous pipes or ducts leading
from cavities to the surface of the body, through which a discharge is
constantly taking i^lace. They are liued by a false or adventitious
membrane, and show no disposition to heal. Fistulas may then exist
at any part, but the name has come to be commonry accepted as appli-
cable only to such discharges takiug place from the withers, and we
shall refer to this location when usiug the term.

Poll evil is a fistula upon the poll, and iu no sense differs from fistu-
lous withers except as to location. The description of fistula will apply
then, in the main, to poll evil as well. Fistuke are particularly liable
to occur at either of these locations from the disposition of the muscles
and tendinous expansions, which favor the burrowing of pus and its
retention. Fistulae follow as a result of abscesses, bruises, wounds, or
long continued irritation by the harness. Among the more common
causes of fistula of the poll — poll evil— are chafing by the halter or heavy
bridle; blows from the butt end of the whip; the horse striking his
head against the hayrack, beams of the ceiling, low doors, etc. Fis-
tulous withers are seen mostly in those horses that have thick necks
as well as those that are very high in the withers ; or, among saddle
horses, those that are ve^y loic on the withers, the saddle here riding for-
ward and bruising the parts. They are often caused by bad-fitting col-
lars or saddles, by direct injuries from blows, and from the horse roll-
ing upon rough or sharp stones. In either of these locations, ulcers of
the skin, or simple abscesses, if not properly and punctually treated

458

may become fistnlce. The pus burro vrs aDcl finds lodgment deep down
between the muscles, and only escapes when the sinus becomes sur-
charged or during motion of the parts, when the matter is squeezed
out.

Symptoms. — These of course will vary according to the progress made
•by the fistula. Following an injury we may oiten notice soreness or
stiffness of the front legs, and upon careful examination of the withers
we will see small tortuous lines running from the point of irritation
downward and backward over the region of the shoulder. These are
superficial lymphatics, and are swollen and painful to the touch. In a
day or two a swelling is noticed on one or both sides of the dorsal ver-
tebraj, which is hot and painful and rapidly enlarging. The pain may
at this time subside somewhat, the stiffness disappear, but the swelling
continues and increases in size. It iiuctuates upon pressure, and either
opens or its contents become inspissated, dry uj), leaving a tumor
that gradually develops the common characteristics of a fibrous tumor.
When the enlargement has opened we should carefully examine its
cavity, as on its condition will wholly depend our treatment.

In the earliest stage, when there is soreness, enlarged lymi>hatics, but
no well-marked swelling, the trouble may be frequently aborted. To
do this requires both general and local treatment. Ajjhysic should be
given, and the horse receive 1 ounce of powdered saltpeter three times
a day in his water or feed. If the fever runs high, 20-drop doses of
tincture of aconite root every two hours may be administered. Locally
we vvill find much relief by pouring cold water from a height upon the
inflamed spot for an hour at a time three or four times a day. Cooling
lotions, muriate of ammonia, or saltpeter and water, sedative washes,
as tincture of opium and aconite, chloroform liniment, or camphorated
oil are also to be frequently ai>plied. I have seen a number of cases
presenting these initial symptoms of fistula thus aborted that required
no other treatment than the avoidance of the original cause. When,
however, the formation of pus is inevitable, this must be hurried as
much as possible. Hot fomentations and poultices are to be constantly
used, and as soon as fluctuation can be plainly felt the abscess wall is to
be opened at its lowest point. In this procedure lies our hope of a
speedy cure. If the parts are so laid open by the knife that the pus
must escape as fast as it is formed, and where there is left no possibility
of its burrowing between the muscles, forming pockets or sinuses, the
parts rapidly and permanently heal without any mediation whatever,
as though we had been dealing with a simple abscess of the withers, and
not a true fistula at all.

Attention is again called to the directions given above as to the neces-
sity of probing the cavity when opened. If upon a careful examination
"With the probe we find that there are no pockets, no sinuses, but a sim-
ple, regular abscess wall, the indication for treatment is to make an
opening from below so that the matter must all escape. Earely is any-

459

tiling more neeileel than to keep tlie orilice open and to bcatlie or injed
the parts with some simple antiseptic wash that is not irritant or caustic
A low opening and cleanliness constitute the essential and ratioua".
treatment. If caustics are inserted, they cause sloughing of healthj
tissues and favor the formation of sinuses by producing sloughs belo^
the point of incision. If the abscess has existed for some time and has
not opened, its walls become thickened, the pus granular or inspissated,
then, after an opening has been made by the knife and the contents
washed and squeezed out as thoroughly as possible, the plan of treat
mentis materially different. There is enormous thickening of the walls,
which must be destroyed a^nd sloughed out by caustics. The best plar
here is to make the first incision inihe highest point of the swelling, intro-
duce a piece of caustic potash (fused) 1 to 2 inches in length, carefully
plug the opening with oakum or cotton, and secure the horse so that he
can not disturb the parts by rubbing or biting them. The skin of the
shoulder and entire leg must be thoroughly greased with lard or oil in
order to prevent the caustic (should it escape) from excoriating the skin
over which it flows. Twenty-four hours after the introduction of the
caustic the plug is to be removed and hot fomentations applied. As
soon as the discharge is again established wo must make another open-
ing with the knife or seton needle as low as possible, and keep this open
with a seton. The object of making the first incision on top is to insure
the retention of the caustic uutil it has attacked the entire inner sur-
face of the cavity. If this is done the caustic causes sloughing of every
portion of the diseased parts, leaving a healthy granulating surface
underneath, which only requires that the depending orifice be kept
open and the cavity washed out with a weak antiseptic solution once or
twice a week to effect a cure. In many cases of fistula there is more
than one sinus or pipe that must be explored, laid open with the
knife if possible, or opened through its bottom by means of a sharp
seton needle, passing a tape through the openings, and retaining it in
this position for some time. If the pipes are directed straight downward
between the shoulder blade and the spine it is difficult or impossible to
make a counter opening, and the case becomes serious or intractable.
Caustic sohitio7is must now be injected carefully into the sinuses with
the hope of reaching every diseased part. Probably the best is gran-
ular chloride of zinc, 1 ounce to a half pint of water. This should be
injected three times during one week, after which a weak solution of
the same, or sulphate of zinc, is to be occasionally injected. Pressure
must be applied //-owi hclow, and endeavors made in this manner to heal
the different pipes /ro»i the bottom. Should the bones of the withers or
the shoulder blade be diseased the complication is again serious, and
these must be scraped or jiortions of them removed, requiring the aid
of the veterinary surgeon.

In those cases of fistula where the tumor is large and hard, yet not
sufficiently defined to admit of extirpation with the knife, we may often

460

effect a cure by making a shallow incision under the skin, over the
center of the tumor, and inserting from 20 to 30 grains of arsenious acid
— powdered arsenic — wrapped in a single layer of tissue paper, and
retaining in the same manner as before directed for the caustic potassa.
No further treatment is nece^ssary for some time. In about ten days
to two weeks there will have taken place a large, deep slough, leaving
a very ugly looking granulating wound, which, however, gradually con-
tracts during the healing process and results in the entire disappear-
ance of the tumor.

It is to be inferred from the foregoing that, even though fully estab-
lished, fistulas of the withers or poll are, in the majority of cases, cura-
ble. They often require much time and patient attention. The sinuses
must be opened at their inferior extremity' and kept open. At first
caustic injections or applications must be thoroughly aj)plied once or
twice, after which mild astringent antiseptic washes and cleanliness
complete the cure. In those cases where the sinuses or pipes are so
directed that counter openings can not be made; where there are dis-
eased conditions of the bones, articulations, etc., that can not be reached,
the horse had often best be destroyed at once.

It is not at all unusual for fistulfe to break out again after having
healed. This should not discourage us of a complete cure, as there is
mostly only some small particle of diseased tissue remaining, caught,
probably, in the healing of the orifice. A small abscess forms, points,
and opens. This abscess should be injected with a solution of sulphate
of zinc, 20 grains to the ounce of water, every second or third day until
entirely healed.

Fistula? of the foot — quittor — should be treated on the same principle
as those already described.

When fistulous tracts are found at unusual points we must carefully
examine the character and time of the discharges, and diligently probe
the sinus to ascertain if the duct of some gland has not been opened, or
if some foreign body, as a splinter of wood, etc., is not retained in the
wound. In the first case — fistula of a gland duct— a competent veteri-
ur.rian must be called. In the second instance the foreign body is to be
carefully cut down upon and reinoved, after which healing i)rogresses
rapidly and satisfactorily.

GENERAL DISEASES.

BY RUSH SHIPPEN HUIDEKOPER, M. D., Vet.
Editor Journal of Comparative Medicine and yeierinarj/ Archives, J:'hUadel2)hia.

INFLAMMATION.

Synonyms : Infammatio, Latin, from Inflammare, to flame, to bnrn ;
Phlegmasia OhyiJ-aala, Greek j Infiammation, 'Pv^nch -, Injianimazione^
Italian ; Injlaniacion, Spanish ; Entzundung, German.

Defmition. — Inflammation is a process of excessive nutrition — hyper-
nutrition — of a living tissue, by which the latter may be altered in its
functions while retaining for an indefinite time a morbid life; may be
destroyed, as in abscesses, ulcers, necrosis, etc. ; or may be trans-
formed into a new tissue, as in the healing of a previously injured part,
the normal tissue in this case being rei)laced by a scar (cicatricial
tissue), or by masses of calcareous deposits (lime salts).

ANIMAL TISSUES.

The non-professional reader may regard the animal tissues, which are
subject to inflammation, as excessively simple structures, as similar,
simple, and fixed in their organization as the joists and boards which
frame a house, the bricks and iron coils of pipe which build a furnace,
or the stones and mortar which make the support of a great railroad
bridge. Yet while the principles of structure are thus simple, for the
general understanding by the student who begins their study, the com-
plete appreciation of the shades of variation, which differentiate one
tissue from another, which define a sound tendon or ligament from a
fibrous band, the result of disease filling in an old lesion and tying one
organ with another, is as complicated as the nicest jointing of Chinese
woodwork, the building of a furnace for the most difficult chemical
analysis, or the construction of a bridge which will stand for ages and
resist any force or weight.

All tissues are composed of certain fundamental and similar elements
which are governed by the same rules of life, though they may appear
at first glance to be widely different. These are : (a) amorphous sub-
stances ; {b) fibers j (c) cells.

■461

462

(fl) Amorphous substances may be in liquid form, as in the fluid of the
blood, which holds a vast amount of salts and nutritive matter in solu-
tion, or they may be in a semi-liquid condition, as the plasma which
infiltrates the loose meshes of connective tissue and lubricates the sur-
face of some membranes, or they may be in the form of a glue or cement,
fastening one structure to another, as a tendon or muscle end to a bone,
or again they hold similar elements firmly together as in bone, where
they form a stiff matrix which becomes impregnated with lime salts.
Amorphous substances again form the protoplasm or nutritive element
of cells or the elements of life.

(h) Fibers are formed of elements of organic matter which have only
a passive function. They can be assimilated to little strings or cords
tangled one with another like a mass of waste yarn, woven regularly
like a cloth or bound together like a rope. They are of two kinds, white
connectivetissuefiberSjOnly slightly extensible, pliable, and very strong,
and yellow elastic fibers, elastic, curly, ramified, and very dense. These
fibers once created require the constant presence of fluids around them
in order to retain their functional condition, as a i)iece of harness
leather demands continual oiling to keep its strength, but they undergo
no cliange or alteration in their form until destroyed by death.

(c) Cells, "which may even be regarded as low forms of life, are masses
of protoplasm or amorphous living matter with a nucleus and frequently
a nucleolus or living germs, which are capable of assimilating nutriment
or food, propagating themselves either into others of the same form or
into fixed cells of another outward appearance and different function,
but of the same constitution. It is simply in the mode of groui^ing of
these elements that mc have the variation in tissues, as: (1) loose con-
nective tissue ; (2) aponeurosis and tendons; (3) muscles; (4) cartilage;
(5) bones; (G) epithelia and endothelia; (7) nerves.

(1) Loose connective tissue forms the great framework or scaffolding
of the body, and is found under the skin, between the muscles sur-
rounding the bones and blood vessels, and entering into the structures
of almost all of the organs. In this the fibers are loosely meshed
together like a sponge, leaving spaces in which the nutrient fluid and
cells are irregularly distributed. This tissue we tiud in the skin, in the
spaces between the organs of the body where fat accumulates, and as
the framework of all glands.

(2) Aponeurosis and tendons are structures which serve for the ter-
mination of muscles and for their contention and for the attachment of
bones together. In these the fibers are more frequent and dense and
are arranged with regularity either crossing each other or lying parallel,
and here the cells are found in minimum quantity.

(3) Muscles. — In these the cells lie end to end, forming long fibers
which have the power of contraction, and the connective tissue is in
small quantity, serving the passive purpose of a baud around the con-
tractile elements.

4G3

(4) In cartilar/e a mass of firm amorphous substance, witli no vas*
ciilarity and little vitality, forms the bed for the choudroplasts or cells
of this tissue.

(5) Bone differs from the above iu having the amorphous matter im-
preguated with lime salts, which gives it its rigidity and firmness.

(G) Epitlielia and endotJielia, or the membranes which cover the body
and line all of its cavities and glands, are made up of single or strati-
fied and multiple layers of cells bound together by a glue of amorphous
substance, and resting on a layer composed of more or less fibers.
"When the membrane serves for secreting or excreting purposes, as in
the salivary glands or the kidneys, it is usually simple when it serves
the mechanical purpose of protecting a part, as over the tongue or skin
it is invariably multiple and stratified, the surface wearing away while
new cells replace it from beneath.

(7) In nerves, stellate cells are connected by their rays to each other,
or to fibers which conduct the nerve impressions, or they act as recep-
tacles and storehouses^ for them, just as the switch board of a telephone
system serves to connect the various wires.

All of these tissues are sui)plied with blood in greater or less quan-
tity. The vascularity depends upon the function which the tissue is
called upon to perform. If this is great, as in the tongue, the lungs, or
the sensitive part of the foot, a large amount of blood is required; if
the labor is a passive one, as iu cartilage, the membrane over the
withers, or the tendons of the legs, the vessels only reach the periphery,
and nutrition is furnished by imbibition of the fluids brought to their
surface by the blood vessels.

Blood is brought to the tissues by arterioles, or the small termina-
tions of the arteries, and is carried off from them by the veinlets or the
commencement of the veins. Between these two systems are small
delicate networks of vessels called capillaries, which subdivide into a
veritable lace- work so as to reach th.e neighborhood of every element.

In health the blood passes through these capillaries with a regular
current, the red cells or corpuscles floating rapidly in the fluid iu the
center of the channel, while the white or amceboid cells are attracted to
the walls oi che vessels and move very slowly. The supply of blood is
regulated by the condition of repose or activity of the tissue, and under
normal conditions the outflow compensates exactly the sux)ply. The
caliber of the blood vessels, and consequently the amount of blood which
they carr^'^, is governed by nerves of the sympathetic system in a healthy
body with unerring regularity, but in a diseased organ the flow may
cease or be greatly augmented. In health a tissue or organ receives its
proper quantity of blood ; the nutritive elements are extracted for the sup-
liort of the tissue and for the product, which the function of the organ
forms. The force required in the achievement of this is furnished by
combustion of the hydro carbons and oxygen brought by the arterial
blood, then by the veins this same fluid passes off. less its oxygen,

464

loaded with the waste products, which are the result of the worn out
and disintegrated tissues, and of those which have undergone combus-
tion. The above brief outline indicates the process of nutrition of the
tissues.

Hyper-nutrition or excessive nutrition of a tissue may be normal or
morbid. If the latter the tissue becomes congested or inflamed.

CONaESTION.

Congestion is an unnatural accumulation of blood in a part. Excessive
accumulation of blood may be normal, as in blushing or in the red face
which temporarily follows a violent muscular effort, or, as in the stom-
ach or liver during digestion, or in the lungs after severe work, from
which, in the latter case, it is shortly relieved by a little rapid breath-
ing. The term congestion, hosvever, usually indicates a morbid condi-
tion, with more or less lasting effects. Congestion is active or passive.
The former is produced by an increased supply of blood to the part, the
latter by an obstacle preventing the escape of blood from the tissue.
In either case there is an increased supply of blood, and as a result in-
creased combustion and augmented nutrition.

Active congestion is caused by :

(1) Functional activity. — Any organ which is constantly or excessively
used is habituated to hold an unusual quantity of blood; the vessels
become dilated ; if overstrained the walls become weakened, lose their
elasticity, and any sudden additional amount of blood engorges the
tissues so that they can not contract and congestion results. Example :
The lungs of a race horse, after an unusual burst of speed or severe
work, in damp weather.

(2) Irritants. — Heat, cold, chemical or mechanical. Any of these,
by threatening the vitality of a tissue, induce immediately an aug-
mented flow of blood to the part to furnish the means of repair — a hot
iron, frostbites, acids, or a blow.

(3) Nerve injlnence. — This may produce congestion either by acting
on the part reflexly, or as the result of some central nerve disturbance
affecting the branch which supplies a given organ.

(4) Plethora and sanguinary tenqjeranient.—F all-hlooded animals are
much more predisposed to congestive diseases than those of a lymphatic
character, or those in an ausemic condition. The circulation in them is
forced to all parts with much greater force and in larger quantities. A
well-bred, full-blooded horse is much more subject to congestive dis-
eases than a common, coarse, or old worn-out animal.

(5) Fevers. — In fever the heart works more actively and forces the
current of blood more rapidly; the tissues are weakened, and it requires
but a slight local cause at any part to congest the structures already
overloaded with blood. Again, in certain fevers, we find alteration of
the blood itself, rendering it less or more fluid- which interferes with its
free passage through the vessels and induces a local predisposition to
congestion.

465

(6) Warm climate and summer heat. — Warmth of the atmosphere re-
laxes tbe tissues ; it demands of the auimals less blood to keep up their
own body temperature, and the extra quantity accumulates in the
bloodvessel system. It causes sluggishness in the performance of the
organic functions, and in this way it induces congestion, especially of
the internal organs. So we find founders, congestive colics, and stag-
gers more frequent in summer than in winter.

(7) Previous congestion. — Whether the previous congestion of any
organ has been a continuous normal one, that is, a repeated functional
activity, or has been a morbia temporary overloading, it always leaves
the walls of the vessels weakened and more predisposed to recurrent
attacks from accidental causes than perfectly healthy tissues are. Thus
a horse which has had a congestion of the lungs from a severe drive is
apt to have another attack from even a lesser cause.

The alterations of congestion are distention of the blood vessels, ac-
cumulation of the cellular elements of the blood in them, and effusion
of a portion of the liquid of the blood into the fibrous tissues which
surround the vessels. Where the changes produced by congestion are
visible, as in the eye, the nostril, the mouth, the genital organs, and on
the surface of the body in white or unpigmented animals, the part ap-
pears red from the increase of blood ; it becomes swollen from the
effusion of liquid into the sponge-like connective tissues ; it is at times
more or less hot from the increased combustion ; the part is frequently
painful to the animal from pressure of the effusion on the nerves, and
the function of the tissue is interfered with. The secretion or excre-
tion of glands may be augmented or diminished. Muscles may be
affected with spasms or may be unable to contract. The eye and ears
may be affected with imaginary sights and sounds.

PASSIVE CONGESTION.

Passive congestion is caused by interference with the return of the
current of blood from a part.

Old age and debility weaken the tissues and the force of the circulation,
especially in the veins, and retard the movement of the blood. We
then see horses of this class with stocked legs, swelling of the sheath
of the penis or of the milk glands, and of the under surface of the belly.
We find them also with effusions of the liquid parts of the blood into
the lymph spaces of the posterior extremities and organs of the pelvic
cavity.

Tumors or other mechanical obstruction, by pressing on the veins, retard
the flow of blood and cause it to back up in distal parts of the body,
causing passive congestion.

The alterations of passive congestion, as in active congestion, consist
of an increased quantity of blood in the vessels and an exudation of its
fluid into the tissues surrounding them, but in passive congestion we
have a dark thick blood which has lost its oxygen, instead of the rich
combustible blood rich in oxygen which is found in active congestion.
11035 30

466

The termination of congestion is by resolutiou or inflammation. In the
first case, the choked-up blood vessels find an outlet for the excessive
amount of blood and are relieved 5 the transuded serum or fluid of the
blood is reabsorbed, and the part returns almost to its normal condi-
tion, with, however, a tendency to weakness predisposing to future
trouble of the same kind. In the other case further alterations take
place, and we have inflammation.

INFLAMMATION.

Injlammation is a hyperuutrition of a tissue. It is described by Dr.
Agnew, the surgeon, as " a double-edged sword, cutting either way for
good or for evil." The increased nutrition may be moderate and cause
a growth of new tissue, a simple increase of quantity at first; or it may
produce a uew growth differing in quality, as a cancer; or it may be so
great that, like luxuriant, overgrown weeds, the elements die from their
very haste of growth, and we have immediate destruction of the part.
According to the rapidity and intensity of the process of structural
changes which take place in an inflamed tissue, inflammation is de-
scribed as acute or clironic, with a vast number of intermediate forms.
When the phenomena are marked it is termed sthenic ; when less dis-
tinct, as the result of a broken down and feeble constitution in the ani-
mal, it is called asthenic. Certain inflammations are specific, as in
strangles, the horsepox, glanders, etc., where a characteristic or spe-
cific cause or condition is added to the origin, character of phenomena,
or alterations which result from an ordinary inflammation. An inflam-
mation may be circumscribed or limited, as in the abscess on the neck
caused by the jjressuie of a collar, in imeumonias, ia glanders, in the
small tumors of a splint or a jack ; or it may bo diffuse, as in severe
fistulas of the withers, in an extensive lung fever, in the legs in a case
of grease, or in ti><;' spavins which affect horses with poorly nourished
bones. The causes of inflammation are practically the same as those of
congestion, which is the initial step of all inflammation.

The temperament of a horse predisposes the animal to inflammation
of certain organs. A full-blooded animal, whose veins show on the
surface of the body, and which has a strong, bounding heart pumping
large quantities of blood into the vascular organs like the lungs, the
intestines, and the laminiB of the feet, is more apt to have pneumonia,
congestive colics, and founder, while lymphatic, cold-blooded animals
have pleurisies, inflammation of the bones, spavins, ring bones, etc.,
inflammation of the glands of the Isss vascular skin of the extremities,
greasy heels, thrush, etc.

Young horses have inflammation of the membranes liuiug the air
passages and digestive tract, while older animals are more subject to
troubles in the closed serous sacks and in the bones.

The work to which a horse is put (saddle or harness, speed or draft)

467

will inflnence the predisposition of an animal to iijfiammatory diseases.
Like in congestion, the functional activity of a part is an important
factor in localizing tliis form of disease. Given a group of horses ex-
posed to the same draft of cold air or other exciting cause of inflamma-
tion, the one which has jast been eating will be attacked with an in-
flammation of the bowels; the one that has just been working so as to
increase its respiration will have an inflammation of the throat, bronchi,
or lungs ; the one that has just been using its feet excessively will have
a founder or inflammation of the laminoe of the feet.

The direct cause of inflammation is usually an irritant of some form.
This may be mechanical or chemical, external or internal. Cuts, bruises,
injuries of any kind, parasites, acids, blisters, heat, cold, secretions, as
an excess of tears over the cheek or urine on the legs, all cause inflam-
mation by direct injury to the part. Strains or wrenches of joints, liga-
ments, and tendons cause trouble by laceration of the tissue.

Inflammations of the internal organs arc caused by irritants as above,
and by sudden cooling of the surface of the animal, which drives the
blood to that organ which at the moment is most actively supplied with
blood. This is called repercussion. A horse which has been worked at
speed and is breathing rapidly if suddenly chilled is liable to have
pneumonia, while an animal which has just been fed if exposed to the
same inflnence is more apt to have a congestive colic, the blood in
this case being driven from the exterior to the intestines, while in the
former it was driven to the lungs.

Symptoms. — The symptoms of inflammation are, as in congestion,
change oi color, due to an increased supply of blood; swelling, from the
same cause, with the addition of an efl'asion into the surrounding tis-
sues; /terti, owing to the increased combustion in the part; pain, due to
pressure o\\ thQw^vxe^, ixud altered function. This latter may be aug-
mented or diminished, or first one and then the other. In addition to
the local symptoms, inflammation always produces more or less con-
stitutional disturbance ov fever. A splint or small spavin will cause so
little fever that it is not appreciable, while a severe spavin, an inflamed
joint, or a pneumonia may give rise to a marked fever.

The alterations in an inflamed tissue ti.re first those of congestion, dis-
tension of the blood vessels, and exudation of the fluid of the blood into
the surrounding fibers, with, however, a more complete stagnation of
the blood; fibrine or lymph, a glue-like substance, is thrown out as
well, and the cells, which we have seen to be living organisms in them-
selves, no longer carried in the current of the blood, migrate from the
vessels and finding proper nutriment proliferate or multiply with greater
or less rapidity. The cells which lie dormant in the meshes of the sur-
rounding fibers are au^akened into activity by the nutritious lymph
which surrounds them and they also multiidy.

Whether the cell in an inflamed part is the white amceboid cell of the
blood or the fixed connective tissue cell embedded in the fibers, it multi-

468

plies in the same way. The germ ia the center (nucleus) is divided into
two, and then each again into two ad infinitum. If the process is slow,
each new cell may assimilate nourishment and become, like its ancestor,
an aid in the formation of new tissues ; if, however, the changing takes
place rapidly the brood of young cells have not time to grow or use up
the surrounding nourishment, and but half-developed they die, and we
then have destruction of tissue, and pus or matter is formed, a material
made up of the imperfect dead elements and the broken down tissue.
Between the two there is an intermediate form, where we have imper-
fectly formed tissues, as in "proud flesh," cancer, large and soft splints,
fungus growths, greasy heels, aud thrush.

Whether the inflamed tissue is one like the skin, lungs, or intestines,
very loose in their texture, or a tendon or bone, dense in structure, and
comparatively poor in blood-vessels, the principle of the process is the
same. The effects, however, and the appearance may be widely differ-
ent. After a cut on the face or an exudation into the lungs, the loose
tissues and multiple vessels allow the proliferatiug cells to obtain rich
nouris'hment ; absorption can take place readily, and the part regains
its normal condition entirely, while a bruise at the heel or at tlie withers
finds a dense, inextensible tissue where the multiplying elements aud
exuded fluids choke up all communication, and the parts die (ulcerate)
from want of blood and cause a serious quittor or fistula.

This effect of structure of a part on the same process shows the im-
portance of a perfect knowledge in the study of a local trouble, and
the indispensable part which such knowledge plays in judging of the
gravity of an inflammatory disease, and in formulating a prognosis or
opinion of the final termination of it. It is this which allows the vet-
erinarian, through his knowledge of the intimate structure of a part
aud the relations of its elements, to judge of the severity of a disease,
and to iirescribe different modes of treatment in two animals for trou-
bles which appear to the less exi^erienced observer to be absolutely
identical.

TerminciUon of inflammation. — Like congestion, inflammation may ter-
minate by resolution. In this case the exuded lymph undergoes chemi-
cal alteration by oxidizat'on, and the products are absorbed and car-
ried off by the blood vessels and lymphatics, to be thrown out of the
body by the liver, the glands of the skin, and the other excretory organs.
The cells, which have wandered into the neighboring tissues from the
blood vessels, find their way back again or become transformed into
fixed cells. Those which are the result of the tissue cells, wakened into
active life, follow the same course. The vessels themselves contract,
and having resumed their normal caliber, the part apparently reassnraes
its normal condition ; but it is always weakened, and a new intlamraa-
tion is more liable to reappear in a previously inflamed part than in a
sound one. The alternate termination is mortification. If the mortifi-
cation, or death of a part, is by molecules, each losing its vitality after

469

the other in more or less rapid succession, it takes the name of tdeera-
tion. If it occurs in a considerable part at once, it is called gangrene.
If this death of the tissues occurs deep in the organism, and the de-
stroyed elements and proliferated and dead cells are enclosed in a
cavity, the result of the process is called an abscess. When it occurs on
a surface, it is an ulcer, and an abscess by breaking ou tbe exterior
becomes then also an ulcer. Proliferating and dying cells, and the
fluid which exudes from an ulcerating surface, and the debris of broken
down tissue, is known as pus, and the process by which this is formed
is known as suppuratio7i. A mass of dead tissue in a soft part is termed
a slough, while the same in bone is called a sequestrum.

Treatment <if inflammation. — The study of the cause and pathological
alterations of inflammation has shown the process to be one of hy{)er-
nutrition, attended by excessive blood snpply, so this study will indi-
cate the primary factor to be employed in the treatment of it. Any
agent which will reduce the blood supply and prevent the excessive
nutrition of the elements of the part will serve as a remedy. The
means employed maybe used locally to the part, or they may be consti-
tutional remedies, which act indirectly.

Local treatment consists of:

{a) Removal of the cause, as a stone in the frog, causing a traumatic
thrush 5 a badly fitting harness or saddle, causing ulcers of the skin;
decomposing manure and urine in a stable, whicli, by their vapors, irri-
tate the air tubes and lungs and cause a cough. These causes, if re-
moved, will frequently allow the part to heal at once.

{b) Best. — Motion stimulates the action of the blood, and thus feeds
an inflamed tissue. This is alike applicable to a diseased point irritated
by movement, to an intlamed pair of lungs surcharged with blood by
the use demandetl of them in a working animal, or to an inflamed eye
exposed to light, or an inflamed stomach and intestines still further
fatigued by .^ood. Absolute quiet, a dark stable, and small quantities
of easily digested food will often cure serious intlammatory troubles
without farther treatment.

(c) Cold. — The application of ice bags or cold water by bandages,
douching with a hose, or irrigation with dripping water, contracts the
bloodvessels, acts as a sedative to the nerves and lessens the vitality
of a part; it consequently prevents the tissue change which inflamma-
tion produces.

(d) Heat — Either dry or moist heat acts as a derivative. It quick-
ens the circulation and renders the chemical changes more active in the
surrounding parts; it softens the tissues and attracts the current of
blood from the inflamed organ ; it also promotes the absorption of the
effusion and hastens the elimination of the waste products in the part.
Heat may be applied by hand rubbing or active friction and tlie ap-
plication of warm coverings ^bandages), or by cloths wrung out of
warm water, or steaming with warm moist vapor, medicated or not, will

470

answer tlie same purpose. The latter is especially applicable to in-
flammatory troubles iu the air passages.

(c) Local bleedinrj. — This treatment frequently aifords immediate re-
lief by carrying off the excessive blood and draining the effusion which
has already occurred. It affords direct mechanical relief, and, by a
stimulation of the part, promotes the chemical changes necessary for
bringing the diseased tissues to a heaUby condition. Local blood let-
ting can be done by scarifying, or making small punctures into the
inflamed part, as in the eyelid of an inflamed eye, or into the sheath of
the penis, or iuto the skin of the latter organ when congested, or the
leg when acutely swelled. This treatment, however, is frequently very
advantageous in the toe of the foot in acute founder 5 leeches, cups,
etc., are rarely applicable in veterinary practice.

Counter irriti}nts are used for deep inflammations. They act by
bringing the blood to the surface and consequently lessening the blood
pressure within. The derivation of the blood to the exterior diminishes
the amount iu the internal organs and is often almost miraculous iu its
action in relieving a congested lung or liver. The most common coun-
ter irritant is mustard flour. It is applied as a soft paste raixed with
warm water to the under surfaee of the belly and to the sides where
the skin is comparatively soft and vascular. Colds in the throat or
inflammations at any point demand the treatment applied in tlie same
manner to the belly and sides and not to the throat or on the legs, as
so often used. Blisters, iodine, and many other irritants are used in
the same waj-.

Constitutional treatment iu inflammation is designed to reduce the
current of blood, which is the fuel for the iuflainmatiou in the diseased,
part, to quiet the patient and to combat the fever or general effects of
the trouble iu the system. It consists of:

Reduction of Mood. — This is obtained in various ways. The diminu-
tion of the quantity of blood lessens the amount of pressure on the
vessels, and, as a sequel, the volume of it which is carried to the point
of inflammation ; it diminishes the body temperature or fever ; it numbs
the nervous system, which plays an important part as a conductor of
irritation in diseases.

Bloodletting is the most rapid means, and frequently acts like a charm
in relieving a commencing inflammatory trouble. The class of horses
and cattle in which this mode of treatment is indicated usually tolerates
the loss of a considerable quantity of blood without inconvenience and
recuperates from the loss rajjidly.

Cathartics act by drawing off a large quantity of fluid from the blood
through the intestines, and have the advantage over the last remedy
of removing only the watery and not the formed elements from the cir-
culation. The blood cells remain, leaving the blood as rich as it was
before. Again, the glands of the intestines are stimulated to excrete
much waste matter and other deleterious material which may be acting
as a poison in the blood.

471

Diuretics operate through the kidneys in the same way.

Diaphoretics aid depletion of the blood by pouring water in the form
of sweat from the surface of the skin and stimulating the discharge of
waste material out of its glands, which has the same efi'ecton the blood
pressure.

Depressants are drugs which act on the heart. They slow or weaken
the action of this organ and reduce the quantity and force of the cur-
rent of the blood which is carried to the point of local disease 5 they
lessen the vitality of the animal ; so they act in two ways : first, as in the
previous classes, by reduction of the force of the blood; and, secondly,
as in the next class, by putting to rest the animal system.

Anodynes quiet the nervous system. Pain in the horse, as in man, is
one of the important factors in the production of fever, and the dulling
of the former often prevents, or at least reduces, the latter. They pro-
duce sleep, so as to rest the patient and allow recuperation for the suc-
ceeding struggle of the vitality of the animal against the exhausting
drain of the disease.

The diet of an animal suffering from acute inflammation is a factor of
the greatest importance. An overloaded circulation can be starved to a
reduced quantity and to a less rich quality of blood, by reducing the
quantity of food given to the patient. Matters of easy digestion do not
tire the already fatigued organs of an animal with a torpid digestive
system. IsJourishment will be taken by a suffering brute in the form of
sloi^s and cooling drinks where it wonld be totally refused if offered in
its ordinary form, as hard oats or dry hay, requiring the labor of grind-
ing between the teeth and swallowing by the weakened muscles of the
jaws and throat.

Tonics and stimulants are remedies which enter rather into the after
treatment of inflammatory trouble than into the acute stages of them.
They brace up weakened and torpid glands ; they stimulate the secre-
tion of the necessary fluids of the body, and hasten the excretion of the
waste material produced by the inflammatory process ; they regulate
the action of a weakened heart; they promote healty vitality of dis-
eased parts, and aid the chemical changes needed for returning the
altered tissues to their normal condition.

FEVER.

Synonyms: .Fe&m, Latin; Pyrexia, Greek ; Fievre, French; Fieber,
German; Febb re, Italian : Galentura, S[mmsh.

The etymology of the word fever from the Latin fecere, to boil or to
burn, and o^ pyrexia, from the Greek word Ttup, fire, defines in a general
way the meaning of the term.

Fever is a general condition of the animal body in which there is an
elevation of the animal body temperature, which may be only a degree
or two or may be 10° Fahrenheit. The elevation of the body tem-
perature, which represents tissue change or combustion, is accom-

472

panied by au acceleration of the heart's action, a quickening of the
respiration, and au aberration in the functional activity of the various
organs of the body. These organs may be stimulated to the perform-
ance of excessive work, or they may be incapacitated from carrying
out their allotted tasks, or in the course of a fever the two conditions
may both exist, the one succeeding the other. To fever as a disease is
usually added chills as an essential symptom.

Fevers are divided into essential fevers and symptomatic fevers. In
symptomatic fever some local disease, usually of an inflammatory char-
acter, develops first, and the constitutional febrile phenomena are the
result of the primary point of combustion, irritating the whole body,
either through the nervous system or directly by means of the waste
material which is carried into the circulation and through the blood
vessels, and is distributed to distal parts. Essential fevers are those in
which there is from the outset a general disturbance of the whole econ-
omy. This may consist of an elementary alteration in the blood, or a
general change in the constitution of the tissues.

Essential fevers are subdivided into ephemeral fevers, which last but
a short time and terminate by critical phenomena ; intermittent fevers,
in which there are alternations of exacerbations of the febrile symp-
toms and remissions, in which the body returns to its normal condition
or sometimes to a depressed condition, in which the functions of life
are but badly performed ; and continued fevers, which include the conta-
gious diseases, as glanders, influenza, etc., the septic diseases, as pysemia,
septicaemia, etc., and the eruptive fevers, as variola, etc.

Whether the cause of the fever has been an injury to the tissues, as a
severe bruise, a broken bone, an inflamed lung, or excessive work
which has surcharged the blood with the waste products of the com-
bustion of the tissues, which were destroyed to produce force j or the
puUalation of the ferments of influenza in the blood which destroy the
red blood corpuscles; or the "presence of irritating material, either in
the form of living organisms or of their products, as in glanders or
tuberculosis, the general train of symptoms are the same, only varying
as the amount of the irritant differs in quantity, or when some special
quality in them has a specific action on one or another tissue.

There is in fever at first a relaxation of the small blood vessels,
which may have been preceded by a contraction of the same if there
was a chill, and as a consequence there is an acceleration of tlie cur-
rent of the blood. There is then an elevation of the peripheral tem-
perature, followed by a lowering of tension in the arteries and an ac-
celeration in the movement of the heart. These conditions may be
produced by a primary irritation of the nerve centers, or the brain
from the effects of heat, as is seen in thermic fever or sunstroke, in
which trouble the extremes of symptoms may sometimes be seen alter-
nating with a very short period, to be counted scarcely by hours.

There are times when it is difiQcult to distinguish between the exist-

473

ence of fever as a disease and a temporary feverish condiiion wbicli is
the result of excessive worlc. Like the condition of congestion of the
lungs, which is normal up to a certain degree in the lungs of a racehorse
after a severe race, and morbid when it produces more than temporary
phenomena or when it causes distinct lesions, fever, or as it is better
termed a feverish condition, may follow any work or other employment
of energy in which excessive tissue change has taken place, but if the
consequences are ephemeral, and no recognizable lesion is apparent, it
Is not considered morbid. This condition, however, may predispose to
severe organic disturbance and local inflammations which will cause
disease, as an animal in this condition is liable to take cold, develop a
lung fever or a severe enteritis, if chilled or otherwise exposed.

Fever in all animals is characterized by the same general phenomena,
but we find the intensity of the symptoms modified by the species of
animals affected, by the races which subdivide the species, by the fam-
ilies which form groups of tlie races, and by certain conditions in indi-
viduals themselves. For example, a pricked foot in a thoroughbred
may cause intense fever, while the same injury in the foot of a Clydes-
dale may scarcely cause a visible general symptom. In tbe horse, fever
produces the following symptoms :

The normal body temperature, which varies from 9S^ to 100^ F., the
latter being usually the result of some temporary cause, is elevated
from 1 to 9 degrees. A temi^erature of 102° or 103*3 p. is moderate,
104° to 105° F. is high, and 106° F. and over is excessive.

This elevation of temperature can readily be felt by the hand placed
in the mouth of the animal, or in the rectum, and in the folds between
the hind legs j it is usually appreciable at any point over the surface of
the body and in the expired air emitted from the nostrils. The ears
and cannons are often as hot as the rest of the body, but are sometimes
cold, which denotes a debility in the circulation. The pulse, which in
a healthy horse is felt beating about 42 to 48 times in the minute, is
increased to GO, 70, 90 or even 100. The respirations are increased from
14 or 10 to 24, 30, 36, or even more. With the commencement of a fever
the horse usually has its appetite diminished, or it may have total loss
of appetite, if the fever is excessive. There is, however, a vast differ-
ence a^mong horses in this regard. With the same amount of elevation
of temperature one horse may lose its appetite entirely, while others,
usually of the more common sort, will eat at hay throughout the course
of the fever and will even continue to eat oats or other grains. Thirst
is usually increased, but the animal desires only a small quantity of
water at a time, and in most cases of fever a backet of water with the
chill laken off should be kept standing before the patient, who may be
allowed it ad libitum. The skin becomes dry and tlie hairs stand on
end. Sweating is almost unknown in the early stage of fevers, but
frecpiently occurs later in their course, when an outbreak of warm sweat
is often a most favorable symptom. The mucous membranes, which are

474

most easily examiued iu the conjuuctiva of the eyes and inside of the
luoLitb, change color if the fever is an acnte one ; without alteration of
blood the mucous membranes become of a rosy or deep red color at the
outset ; if the fever is attended with, distinct alteration of the blood, as
iu iufluenza, and at the end of two or three days in severe cases of
l^neumonia or other extensive inflammatory troubles, the mucous mem-
branes are tinged with yellow, which may even become a deep ochre in
color, the result of the decomi)osition of the blood corpuscles and the
freeing of their coloriug matter, which acts as a stain. At the outset of
a fever the various glands are checked in their secretions, the salivary
glauds fail to secrete the saliva, and we find the surface of the tongue
and inside of the cheeks dry and covered with a brownish, bad-smelling
deposit. The excretion from the liver and intestinal glands is dimin-
ished and produces an inactivity of the digestive organs which causes
a constipation. If this is not remedied at an earl}' period the undigested
material acts as an irritant, and later we may have it followed by an
inflammatory i)rocess, i)roducing a severe diarrhea.

The excretion from the kidneys is sometimes at first entirely sup-
pressed. It is always considerably diminished, and what urine is passed
is dark in color, undergoes ammoniacal change rapidly, and dei)osits
quantities of salts. At a later period the diminished excretion may
be replaced by an excessive excretion, which aid^ in carryiug off waste
products and usually indicates an amelioration of the fever.

While the cars, cannons, and hoofs of a horse sufferiug from fever are
usually found hot, they may frequently alternate from hot to cold iu
their temperature, or be much cooler than they normally are. This lat-
ter condition usually indicates great weakness on the part of the circu-
latory system. It is of the greatest importance as an aid in diagnosing
the gravity of an attack of fever and as an indic.ition in the selection of
its mode of treatment, to recognize the exact cause of a febrile condi-
tion in the horse. In certaiu cases, in very nervous animals in which
fever is the result of nerve influence, a simple anodyne, or even only
quiet with continued cire and nursing, will sometimes be sufficient to
diminish it. When fever is the result of local injury the cure of the
cause produces a cessation in the constitutional symptoms ; when fever
is the result of a pneumonia or other severe parenchymatous inflamma-
tion, it usually lasts for a definite time, and subsides with the first im-
provemeut of the local trouble, but iu these cases we constantly have
exaccerbations of fever due to secondary inflammatory i^rocesses, such as
the formation of small abscesses, the development of secondary bron-
chitis;, or the death of a limited amount of tissue (gangrene).

In specific cases, such as influenza, strangles, and septicaemia, there
is a definite poison contained in the blood-vessel system, and carried to
the heart and to the nervous system, which produces a peculiar irrita-
tion, usually lasting for a specific period, during which the temperature
can be but slightly diminished by any remedy.

475

In cases attended with complications, the diagnosis becomes at times
still more ditficiilt, as at the end of a case of influenza which becomes
complicated with pneumonia. The high temperature of the simple in-
flammatory disease may be grafted on that of the specific trouble, and
the line of causation of the fever between the two, frequently a narrow
is yet an important one, as npon it depends the mode of treatment.

Any animal suffering from fever, from any cause, is much more sus-
ceptible to attacks of local inflammation, which become complications of
the original disease, than are animals in sound health. In fever we
have the tissues and the walls of the blood vessels weakened, we have
an increased current of more or less altered blood, flowing through the
vessels and stagnating in the capillaries, which need but an exciting
cause to transform the passive congestion of fever into an active con-
gestion and acute inflammation. These conditions become still more
distinct when the fever is accompanied by a decided deterioration in
the flood itself, as is seen in influenza, septicemia, and at the termina-
tion of severe pneumonias.

Fever, with its symptoms of increased temperature, acceleration of the
pulse, acceleration of respiration, dry slcin, diminished secretions, etc., must
be considered as a symptom of organic disturbance.

This organic disturbance may be the result of local inflammation or
other irritants acting through the nerves on nerve centers 5 alterations
of the blood, in which a poison is carried to the nerve centers, or direct
irritants to the nerve centers themselves, as in cases of heat stroke,
injury to the brain, etc.

The treatment of fever depends upon its cause. As nerve irritation
enters into the etiology of fever in all cases, one of the important factors
in treatment is absolute quiet. This may be obtained by placing a sick
horse in a box stall, away from other animals and extraneous noises,
and sheltered from excessive light and draughts of air. Anodynes,
belladonna, hyoscyamus, and opium, act as antipyretics simply by quiet-
ing the nervous system. As an irritant exists in the blood in most cases
of fever, any remedy which will favor the excretion of foreign elements
from it will diminish this caase. Wo therefore employ diaphoretics to
stimulate the sweat and excretions from the skin 5 diuretics to favor
the elimination of matter by the kidneys ; chohigogues and laxatives
to increase the action of the liver and intestines, and to drain from these
important organs all the waste material which is aiding to choke up
and congest their rich plexuses of blood vessels. As the heart becomes
stimulated to increased action at the outset of a fever, and increases it
by pumping an augmented quantity of blood through the whole body,
we employ cardiac depressants to diminish the force of this organ.
Among these antimony, aconite, vcratrum viride, and iodide of potash
are the most important. The increased blood pressure throughout the
body may also be diminished by lessening the quantity of blood. Tliis
in obtained in many cases with advantage by direct abstraction of blood,

476

as in bleeding from the jngnlar or other veins, or by derivatives, suck
as mustard, turpeutiue, or blisters applied to the skin 5 or setous, which
draw to the surface the fluid of the blood, thereby lessening its volume,
without having the disadvantage found in bleeding, of impoverishing
the elements of the blood.

When the irritation which is the cause of fever is a specific one, either
in the form of a bacteria (living organism), as in glanders, tuberculosis,
influenza, septicismia, etc., or in the form of a foreign chemical element,
as in rheumatism, gout, h?emaglobinuria, and other so-called diseases
of nutrition, we empIoy^ remedies which have been found to have a di-
rect specific action on them. Among the specific rejnedies for various
diseases are counted quinine, carbolic acid, salicylic acid, autipyrine,
mercury, iodine, the empyreumatic oils, tars, resins, arornatics, sulphur,
and a host of other drugs, some of which are ad hoc and others of which
are theoretical in action. Certain remedies, like simple aromatic teas,
vegetable acids, as vinegar, lemon juice, etc., alkalines in the form of
salts, sweet spirits of niter, etc., which are household remedies, are al-
ways useful, because they act on the excreting organs and ameliorate
the effects of fever. Other remedies, which are to be used to influence
the cn^icof fever, must be selected with judgment and from a thorough
knowledge of the nature of the disease.

INFLUENZA.

Synonyms: PinJcEye, Typhoid Fever, Epizooty, Epihipplc Fever, Fiev re
Typ ho id e, French; Grijype, French; Pferdestauhe, German; Gastro-enter-
itis of Vatel and d'Arboval ; Febris Frysipelatodes, Zundel ; Typhus of
Delafond ; Hepatic Fever, Bilious Fever, etc.

Definition. — Influenza is a contagious and infectious specific fever of
the horse, ass, and mule, with alterations of the blood, stupefaction of
the brain and nervous system, great depression of the vital forces and
frequent inflammatory complications of the important vascular organs,
especially of the lungs, intestines, brain, and lamimeof the feet. One
attack usually protects the animal from future ones of the same disease,
but not always. An apparent complete recovery is sometimes followed
by serious sequehe of the nervous and blood-vessel systems. The dis-
ease is very apt, under certain conditions of the atmosphere or from
unknown causes, to assume an epizootic form, with tendency to compli-
cations of especial organs, as, at one period the lungs, at auotiier the
intestines, etc.

The first description of influenza is given by Laurentius Rusiiis, in
1.301, A. D., when its[)read over a considerable portion of Italy, caus-
ing great loss amongst the war-horses of Kome and its surroundings.
In 1G48, A. D., an epizootic of this disease visited Germany and spread
to other ports of Europe. In 1711, A. D., under the name of " epidemioa
equorum,^^ it followed the tracks of the great armies all over Euroi)e,
causing immense losses among the horses, while the " rinderpesV was

477

scourging the cattle of the same regions. The two diseases were con-
founded with each other, and were, by the scientists of the day, allied to
the typhus, which was a jilague to the human race at the same time. We
find the first advent of this disease to the British Islands in an epi-
zootic among the horses of London and the southern counties of Eng-
land, in 1732, which is described by Gibson. In 1758, Robert Whytt
recounts the devastation of the horses of the north of Scotland from the
same trouble. Throughout the eighteenth century a number of epizootics
occurred in Hanover and other portions of Germany and in France,
which were renewed early in the. present century, with complications
of the intestinal tract, which obtained for it its name of gastro-enteritis.
In 17G6 it first attacked the horses in North America, but is not de-
scribed as again occurring in a severe form until 1870-1872, when it
spread over the entire country, from Canada south to Ohio, and then
eastward to the Atlantic and westward to California. It is now a per-
manent disease in our large cities, selecting for the continuance of its
virulence young or especially susceptible horses which pass through
the large and ill-ventilated and uncleaned dealers' stables and assumes,
from time to time, an enzootic form, as from some reason its virulence
increases, or as from reasons of rural economy and commerce large num-
bers of young and more susceptible animals are exi^osed to its conta-
gion.

Etiology. — As one attack is self-protective, numbers of old horses,
having had an earlier attack, are not capable of contracting it again;
but, aside from this, young horses, especially those about four or five
years of age, are much more predisposed to be attacked, while the older
ones, even if they have not had the disease, are less liable to it. Again,
the former age is that in which the horse is brought from the farm,
where it has been free from the risk of contamination, and is sold to
pass through the stables of the country taverns, the dirty, infected
railway cars, and the foul stockyards and damp dealers' stables of our
large cities. Want of training is a predisposing cause. Overfed, fat,
young horses, which have just come through the sales stables, are much
more susceptible to contagion than the same horses are after a few
months of steady work.

Pilger, in 1805, was the first to recognize infection as the direct cause
of the disease. Roll and others studied the contagiousness of influenza,
and finding it so much more virulent and permanent in old stables than
elsewhere classed it as a " stall miasm." The atmosphere is the most
common carrier of the infection from sick animals to healthy ones, and
through it it may be carried for a consi<lerable distance. The contagion
will remain in the straw bedding and droppings of the animal, and in
the feed in an infected stable, for a considerable time, and if these are
removed to other localities it may be carried in them. It may be car-
ried in the clothing of tl'ose who have been in attendance on horses
sufiering from the disease. The drinking water in troughs and even

478

rnnning water may hold the virus aud be a means of its communication
to other animals even at a distance. The studies of Dieciierhoff, in
1881, in regard to the contagion of influenza were especially interest-
ing. He found that daring a local enzootic, produced by the introduc-
tion of horses suffering from influenza into an extensive stable other-
wise perfectly healthy, that the infection took place in what at first
seemed to be a most irregular manner, but which was shown later to be
dependent on the ventilation and currents of air through the various
buildings. His experiments showed that the virus of influenza is ex-
cessively diffusible, and that it will si^read rapidly to the roof of a build-
ing and pass by the apertures of ventilation to others in the neighbor-
hood. The writer has seen cases spread through a brick wall and attack
animals on the opposite side before others even in the same stable were
affected. Brick walls, old woodwork, and the dirt which is too fre-
quently left about the feed boxes of a horse stall, will all hold the con.
tagion for some days, if not weeks, and communicate it to susceptible
animals when placed in the same locality. A four-jear old colt, belong-
ing to the writer, stood at the open door of a stable where two cases of
influenza had developed the day before, fully 40 feet from the st<dl, for
about' ten minutes on two successive mornings, and in six days devel-
oped the disease. On the morning when the trouble in the colt was
recognized it stood in an infirmary with a dozen horses being treated
for various diseases, but was immediately isolated 5 within one week
two-thirds of the other horses had contracted the pink-eye.

Symjytoms. — After the exposure of a susceptible horse to infection a
period of incubation of from five to seven days elapses, during which the
animal seems in perfect health, before any symptom is visible. When
the symptoms of influenza develop they may be intense or they may be
so moderate as to occasion but little alarm, but the latter condition
frequently exposes the animal to use and to the danger of the exciting
causes of complications which would not have happened had the animal
been left quietly in its stall in place of being worked or driven out to
show to prospective purchasers. The disease may run its simple course
as a specific fever, with alterations only of the blood, or it may become
at any period complicated by local inflammatory troubles, the gravity
of which is augmented by developing in an animal with an impoverished
blood and already irritated aud rapid circulation and defective nutritive
aiid reparative functions.

The first symptoms are those of a rapidly developing fever, which
becomes intense within a very short period. The animal becomes de-
jected and inattentive to surrounding objects; stands with its head
down, and not back on the halter as in serious lung diseases. It has
chills of the flanks, the muscles of the croup, and the muscles of the
shoulders, or of the entire body, lasting from fifteen to thirty minutes,
aud frequently a grinding of the teeth which warns one that a severe
attack may be expected. The hairs become dry and rough and stand

479

on end. The body temperature increases to 104'^, 104^, and 105° F., or
even in severe cases to 107° F., within the first twelve or eighteen hours-
The horse becomes stupid, stands immobile with its head, haugiug, the
ears listless, and it pays but little attention to the surrounding attend-
ants or the crack of a whip. The stupor becomes rapidly more marked,
the eyes become puffy and swollen with excessive lacrymation, so that
the tears run from the internal canthus of the eye over the cheeks and
may blister the skin in its course. The respiration becomes accelerated
to twenty-five or thirty in a minute, and the pulse is quickened to
seventy, eighty, or even one hundred, moderate in volume and in force.
There is great depression of muscular force ; the animal stands limp as
if excessively fatigued. There is diminution, or in some cases total loss,
of sensibility of the skin, so that it may be i^ricked or handled without
attracting the attention of the animaL On movement, the horse stag-
gers and shows a want of coordination of all of the muscles of its limbs.
The senses of hearing, sight, and taste are diminished, if not entirely
abolished. The visible mucous membranes (as the conjunctiva), from
whi(;h it is known as the " pink-eye," and the mouth and the natural
openings become of a deep saffron, ocher, or violet-red color. This latter
is especially noticeable on the rim of the gums and is a condition not
found in any other disease, so that it is an almost diagnostic symptom.
If the animal is bled at this period the blood is found more coagulable
than normal, but at a later period it becomes of a dark color and less
coagulable. There is great diminution or total loss of appetite with an
excessive thirst, but in many cases in cold-blooded horses the animal
may retain a certain amount of appetite, eating slowly at its hay, oats,
or other feed.

We have, following the fever, a tumefaction or eedema of the subcu-
taneous tissues at the fetlocks, of the under surface of the belly, and of
the sheath of the penis, which may be excessive. This infiltration is
non inflammatory in character and produces an insensibility of the skin
like the excessive stocking which we see in debilitated animals after ex-
posure to cold. In ordinary cases the temperature has reached its
maximum of 105° or 100° F. in from twenty-four to forty-eight hours
from the origin of the fever. It remains stationary for a period of from
three to four days without the variation between morning and evening
temperature which we have in pneumonia or other serious diseases of
the lungs. At the termination of the specific course of the disease,
which is generally close to eighty six hours, the fever abates almost as
rapidly as it commenced, the swelling of legs and under surface of belly
diminishes, the appetite returns, the strength is rapidly regained, the
mucous membranes lose their yellowish color, which they attain so raj)-
idly at the commencement of the disease, and the animal convalesces
promptly to its ordinary good condition and health, and rapidly re-
gains the large amount of weight which it lost in the early part of the
disease, a loss which frequently reaches 30, 50, or even 75 pounds each

480

9

twenty-four hours. For the first three days of the high temperature
there is a great tendency to constipation, which should be avoided if
possible, for, if it has been marked, it may be followed by a trouble-
some diarrhea.

Terminations. — The termination of simple influenza may be death by
extreme fever, with failure of the heart's action; from excessive coma,
due generally to a rapid congestion of the brain; to the poisonous
effects of the debris of the disintegrated blood corpuscles ; to an as-
phyxia, following congestion of the lungs; or the disease terminates by
subsidence of the fever, return of the appetite and nutritive functions
of the organs, and rapid convalescence; or, in an unfortunately large
number of cases, the course of the disease is complicated by local in-
flammatory troubles, whose gravity is greater in influenza than it ia
when they occur as sporadic diseases.

Complications. — The complications are congestions, followed by in-
flammatory phenomena in the various organs of the body, but they are
most commonly located in the lungs, intestines, brain, or vascular 1am-
iuie of the feet. Atmospheric influence or other surrounding influences
of unknown quality seem to be an important factor in the determina-
tion of the local lesions. At certain seasons of the year, and in certain
epizootics, we find 40 and 50 per cent, or even a greater i)ercentage of
the cases rendered more serious by complication of the intestines ; at
other seasons of the year, or in other epizootics, we find the same per
cent, of cases complicated by inflammation of the lungs, while at the
same time a small percentage of them are complicated by troubles of
the other organs ; inflammatory changes of the brain, of the laminae,
more rarely commence in epizootic form, but are to be found in a cer-
tain small i^ercentage of cases in all epizootics.

Exciting causes are important factors in complicating individual cases
of influenza, or in localizing special lesions either during enzootics or
epizootics. These exciting or determining causes act much as they
would in sporadic inflammatory diseases, but in this case we find the
animal much more susceptible and predisposed to be acted upon than
ordinary healthy animals. With a temperature already elevated, with
the heart's action driving the blood in increased quantity into the dis-
tended blood-vessels, which become dilated and lose their contractility,
with a congestion of all of the vascular organs already established, it
takes but little additional irritation to carry the congestion one step
further and produce inflammation.

Complication of the intestines. — When any cause acts as an irritant to
the intestinal tract during the course of this specific fever it may pro-
duce inflammation of the organs belonging to it. This cause maybe
constipation, which can only find relief in a congestion which offers to
increase the function of the glands and relieve the inertia caused by a
temporary cessation of activity; or irritant medicines, especially any
incieased use of antimony, turpentine, or the more active ri'medies; the

481

taking of indigestible food, or of food in too great quantities, or food
altered in any way by fungus or other injurious alterations ; the swal-
lowing of too cold water 5 or any other irritant may cause congestion.
This complication is ushered in by colics. The animal paws with the
forefeet and evinces a great sensibility of the belly ; it looks with the
head from side to side, and may lie down and get up, not with violence,
but with care for itself, perfectly protecting the surface of the belly
from any violence. At first we find a decided constipation j the drop-
pings if passed are small and hard, coated with a viscous varnish or
even consisting of false membranes. In from 36 to 40 hours the con-
stipation is followed by diarrhea. The alimentary discharge becomes
mixed with a sero-mucous exudation, which is followed by a certain
amount of suppurative matter. The animal becomes rapidly exhausted
and unstable, staggers on movement, losing the little appetite which
may have remained, and has exacerbations of fever. The pulse becomes
softer and weaker, the respiration becomes slowly more rapid, the tem-
perature is about 1° to 1^° F,, higher. If a fatal result is not produced
by the extensive diarrhea the discharge becomes arrested in from five
to ten days and a rapid recovery takes place. While the diarrhea com-
plication is a serious one, and may greatly weaken the animal, it rarely
becomes so intense as to assume the name of dysentery', and it rarely
becomes hemorrhagic ; it is rather a diarrhea of antemia. An enteri-
tis takes place in an animal weakened by the previous action of the
disease, and there is not sufficient vitality of the organ itself to resist
the inflammation, but this is a superficial inflammation, with destruction
only of the tissue of the surface of the intestines, which allows a rapid
healing. Rapid recovery takes place, and the promptitude with which
the intestines can commence to digest and assimilate food when the
diarrhea is checked is frequently surprising.

Complication of the lungs. — If at any time during the course of the
fever the animal is exposed to cold or draughts of air, or in any other
way to the causes of repercussion, the lungs may be aff'ected. In the
majority of cases, however, after three, four, or five days of the fever,
the congestion of the lungs commences without any exposure or appa-
rent exciting cause. This is due to the alteration of the blood, which
allows a more easy osmosis of the blood into the surrounding tissues
and to the checking of the capillary blood vessels, produced by the in-
creased rapidity and force of the circulation. Unless this congestion
of the lungs is relieved at once it is followed by an inflammatory prod-
uct, a fibrinous pneumonia. This pneumonia, while it is in its essence
the same, differs from an ordinary pneumonia at the commencement by
an insidious course. The animal commences to breath heavily, which
becomes distinctly visible in the heaving of the flanks, the dilation of
the nostrils, and frequently in the swaying movement of the unsteady
body. The respirations increase in number, what little appetite re-
mained is lost, the temperature increases one to two degrees, the pulse
11035 31

482

becomes more rapid, and at times, for a short period, more tense and
full, but the previous poisoning of the specific disease has so weakened
the tissues that it never becomes the characteristic full, tense pulse of
a simple pneumonia.

On percussion of the chest dullness is found over the inflamed areas ;
on auscultation at the base of the neck over the trachea a tubular
murmur is heard. The crepitant rales and tubular murmurs of pneu-
monia are heard on the sides of the chest if the pneumonia is periph-
eral, but in pneumonia complicating influenza the inflamed portions
are frequently disseminated in islands of variable size and are some-
times deep seated, in which case the characteristic auscultory symptoms
are sometimes wanting. From this time on the symptoms of the ani-
mal are those of an ordinary grave pneumonia, rendered more severe
by occurring in a debilitated animal. After resolution, however, and
absorption into the lungs convalesenco is rapid, and recovery takes
place perhaps more quickly than it does in the simple form of the dis-
ease. There is a cough, at first hacky and aborted, later more full and
moist, when we have a discharge from the nostrils which ismuco puru-
lent, purulent, or hemorrhagic. As in simple pneumonia, in the outset
this dischare may be " rusty," due to capillary hemorrhages. We find
that the blood is thoroughly mixed with the matter, staining it evenly
instead of being mixed with it in the form of clots. At the commence-
ment of the complication the animal may be subject to chills, which
may again occur in the course of the disease, in which case, if severe,
an unfavorable termination by gangrene may be looked for. If gan-
grene occurs, ushered in by severe chills, a rapid elevation of tempera-
ture, a tumultuous heart, a flaky discharge from the nostrils, and a fetid
breatb, the symptoms are identical with those which occur in gangrene
complicating other diseases.

Com2)lication of the hrahi.— At any time during the course of the dis-
ease, at an early period if the fever has been intense from the outset,
but more frequently after three or four days in ordinary cases, a con-
gestion of the brain may occur. The animal, which has been stupid and
immobile, becomes suddenly restless, walks forward in the stall until it
fastens its head in the corner. If in a box stall and it becomes dis-
placed from its position, it follows the wall with the nose and eyes, rub-
bingagainst it until it reaches the corner and again fastens itself. It may
become more violent and rear and plunge. If disturbed by the entrance
of the attendant or any loud noise or bright light, it will stamp with its
fore feet and strike with its hind feet, but is not definite in fixing the
object which it is resisting, which is a diagnostic point between menin-
gitis and rabies, and which renders the animal with the former disease
less dangerous to handle. If fastened by a rope to a stake or post the
animal will wander in a circle at the end of the rope. It wanders al-
most invariably in one direction, either from the right to left or from
left to right, in different cases, which is dependent upon a greater con-

483

gestion of ono side of tlic brain tlian the otber. The inii)ils may bo
dilated or contracted, or we may fiud one condition in one eye and tlie
opposite in the other.

The period of excitement is followed by one of profonnd coma, in
which the anijnal is immobile, the head hanging and i)laced against
the corner of the stall, the body limp, and the motion, if demanded of
the animal, unsteady. Little or no attention will be paid to the sur-
rounding noises, the crack of a whip, or even a blow on the surface of
the body. The respiration becomes slower, the pulsations are dimin-
ished, the coma lasts for variable time, to be followed by excesses of
violence, after which the two alternate, but if severe the period of coma
becomes longer and longer until the animal dies of spasms of the lungs
or of heart failure. It may die from injuries which occur in the ungov-
ernable attacks of violence.

Complication of the feet. — The feet are the organs which are next in
frequency predisposed to congestion. This congestion takes place in
the laminae (podophyllous structures) of the feet. The stupefied animal
is roused from its condition by the excessive pain produced in the feet,
and assumes the position of a foundered horse: that is, if the fore feet
alone are aflected they are carried forward until they rest on the heels,
and if the hind feet are affected all of the feet are carried forward rest-
ing on their heels, the hind ones as near the center of gravity as possi-
ble. In some cases the stupor of the animal is so great that the pain
is not felt, and little or no alternation of the position of th'^ animal is
noticeable. The foot is found hot to the touch, and after a given time
the depressed convex sole of the typical founder is recognized. Other
complications may occur, due to the action of exciting causes, and we
may have a severe corysa, laryngitis, pharyngitis or even congestion of
the kidneys, followed by nephritis, congestion of the spleen or of any
other organ.

Pleurisy. — This is a rare complication, but when it does occur it is
ushered in by the usual symptoms of depression, rapid pulse, small
respiration, elevation of the temperature, subcutaneoas cedema of the
legs and under surface of the belly, and we find a line of dullness on
either side of the chest and an absence of respiratory murmur at the
lower part. It is usually severe, and we find an effusion filling one-
fourth to one third of the thoracic cavity in from thirty-six to forty-eight
hours.

The laryngo- bronchitis is not a frequent complication nor a very
serious one. It is ushered in by a cough, which is rough and fatty, a
purulent discharge from the nostrils and an enlargement of the sur-
rounding lymphatic ganglia.

Pericarditis is an occasional compliention of influenza, never occurring
alone or in connection with other organs in the chest cavity. It is
ushered in by chills, elevation of the temperature; the pulse becomes
rapid, thready, and imperceptible. The heart murmurs become indis-

484

tinct or can not be lieard. A venous pulse is seen on tlie line of the
jugular veins along the neck. Eespiration becomes more difficult and
rapid. If the animal is moved the symptoms become more marked, or
it may drop suddenly dead from heart failure.

Peritonitis, or inflammation of the membranes lining the belly and
covering the organs contained in it, sometimes takes place. The general
symptoms are similar to those of a commencing pericarditis. The local
symptoms are those of paio, especially to pressure on side of the flanks
and belly ; distension of the latter, and sometimes the formation of flatus
or gas, and constipation.

.Diagnosis.— The diagnosis of influenza is based upon a continued fever,
with great depression and symptoms of stupor and coma ; the rapid,
dark saffron, ocher, yellowish discoloration of the mucous membranes,
swelling of the legs and soft tissues of the genitals. When these symp-
toms have lasted for a greater or less time, the diagnosis of the locali-
zation of the fever or complication is based upon the same symptoms
that are produced in the more local diseases from other causes, but in
influenza the local symptoms are frequently masked or even entirely
hidden by the intense stupor of the animal, which renders it insensible
to pain. The evidence of colic and congestion, which is followed by
diarrhea, fills the symptoms for the diagnosis of enteritis. The rapid
breathing or difficulty of respiration forms the suspicion at once of com-
plication of the lungs, but as we have seen in the study of the symptoms
the local evidences of lung lesions are frequently hidden. Again, we
have seen that inflammation of the feet or founder complicating influ-
enza is frequently not shown on account of the insensibility to pain on
the part of the animal, which indicates the importance of running the
hand daily over the hoofs to detect any sudden elevation of temperature
on their surface.

The diagnosis of brain trouble is based upon the excessive violence
which occurs in the course of the dis ease, for during the intervening
period or coma there is no means of determining that it is due to this
complication. Severe cases of influenza may simulate anthrax in the
horse. In both we have stupor, the intense coloration of the mucous
membranes of the eyes and and a certain amount of swelling of the
legs and under surface of the belly. The diagnosis here can only be
made by microscopic examination of the blood. In strangles, equine
variola, and scalma we have an intense red, rosy coloration of the mu-
cous membranes, full, tense pulse, and although in these diseases we
may have depression, we do not have the stupor and coma, except in
severe cases which have lasted for some days. In influenza we have
no evidence of the formation of pus on the mucous membranes as we
did in the other diseases, except in the conjunctiva of the eyes, where,
however, we have had a profuse serous discharge, producing the con-
junctivitis.

In severe pneumonia (lung fever) we may have profound coma, dark

485

yellowish coloration of the mucous membranes, and swelling of the
under surface of the belly and legs, but in pneumonia we have the his-
tory of the diflliculty of breathing and an acute fever of a sthenic type
from the outset, and the other symptoms do not occur for several days;
while in influenza we have the history of characteristic symjitoms for
several days before the raj^id breathing and difSculty of respiration in-
dicate the appearance of the complication. Without the history it is
frequently difficult to diagnose a case of influenza of several days'
standing complicated hj pneumonia from a case of severe pneumonia
of five to six days' standing, but from a prognostic point of view it is
immaterial, as the treatment of both are identical.

Prognosis. — Influenza is an excessively serious disease for many rea-
sons. We find the majority of horses susceptible to this virus when
exposed to it. It is fatal to a large number of animals even with the
best treatment, and is especially fatal to the young and to those ani-
mals which are more valuable from their fine breeding, as the disease
occurs in a more serious form in well-bred animals than it does in the
lymphatic and more common ones. It is more severe than the other
epizootic diseases, as its contagiousness is much greater than in the
others.

The fatal issue of influenza varies in different epizootics ; where the
disease is occurring only in scattered cases through a large town or
country locality, and in some epizootics, the majority of the cases run a
mild form without complications; at other times, where the disease
occurs in enzootic and epizootic form, we find over 50 j^er cent, of the
cases complicated by disease of the lungs ; in others a large number of
cases are complicated by trouble of the intestines.

Alterations. — The alteration of influenza occurs in the blood, and con-
sists of a rapid destruction of the red blood corpuscles, which are the
carriers of oxygen from the lungs to all jiarts of the body. The animal
is always fonnd emaciated. The tissues throughout the body are found
stained, and of a more or less yellowish hue, due to the disintegrated
blood corpuscles which were at first the cause of the characterized dis-
coloration of the mucous membranes in the living animal. There is
;always found a congested condition of all the organs, muscles, and in-
terstitial tissues of the body. The coverings of the brain and spinal
cord partake in the congested and discolored condition of the rest of the
tissues.

Other alterations are dependent entirely upon the complications. If
the lungs have been affected, we find effusions identical in their intimate
nature with those of simple pneumonia, but they differ somewhat in
their general appearance in not being so circumscribed in their area of
invasion. Complication of the intestines offers the red, puffy, swelling
or coug^ted appearance which we have in an ordinary enteritis, with
peeling from the surface of the membranes of the intestinal tube. The
alterations of meningitis and lamiuitis are identical with those of
sporadic cases of founder and inflammation of the brain.

486

Trcaimenf.—V^hWG the appetite remains the i^atient should have a
moderate quautity of £ound hay, good oats, and brau ; or even a little
fresh clover, if obtainable, can be given in small quantities. With the
first decided symptoms of fever the antipyretics are indicated, of which
we have a variable choice. Bleeding in this disease is a questionable
treatment, and is only to be employed at the very outset of the disease.
In largo, strong horses of a sanguinary temperament an abstraction of a
few quarts of blood will frequently diminish the stupefaction, lower the
temperature, slow the i)ulse and respiration and, render the course of
the disease shorter b}' twelve or twenty-four hours. In some cases, how-
ever, bleeding seems to increase the amount of depression, and it should
never be used after the deep ocher color of the mucous membranes show
that an extensive disintegration of the blood corpuscles has taheu place.
Derivatives in the form of essential oils and mustard poultices, baths
of alcohol, turpentine and hot water, after which the animal must be
immediately dried and blanketed, serve to waken the animal up from
the stupor and relieve the congestion of the internal organs. This
treatment is especially indicated when complication by congestion of
the lungs, intestines, or of the brain is threatened. Quinine and sali-
cylic acid in dram doses will lower the temperature, but too continuous
use of quinine in some cases increases the after depression. Aconite is
especially indicated, as in addition to its action on the circulation it
seems to be almost a specific in certain cases in relieviug the congestion
of the brain and the nervous symptoms produced by the latter. Iodide
of potash reduces the excessive nutrition of the congested organs and
thereby reduces the temperaturej again, this drug in moderate quanti-
ties is a stimulant to the digestive tract and acts as a diuretic, causing
the elimination of waste matter by the kidneys. Antimony, in guarded
doses of one-half dram to 1 dram, repeated not more than two or three
times, will reduce excessive fever, and can be used with special advan-
tage at the first appearance of complications, but it must be used with
care, as it is an irritant to the digestive tract and may produce intestinal
complication, causing a severe diarrhea. Small does of Glauber salts
and bicarbonate of soila, used from the outset, stimulate the digestive
tract and prevent constipation and its evil results.

In cases of severe depression and weakness of the heart, digitalis can
be used with advantage. At the end of the fever, and when convales-
cence is established, alcohol in one-half pint doses and good ale in pint
doses may be given as stimulants ; to these may be added dram doses
of turpentine.

In comi^lication of the intestines camphor and asafetida are most
frequently used to relieve the pain causing the colics ; diarrhea is also
relieved by the use of bicarbonate of soda, nitrate of potash, and
drinks made from boiled rice or starch, to which may be add* d small
doses of laudanum.

In complication of the lungs iodide of potash and digitalis arc most

487

frequently indicated, in addition to the remedies used for the disease
itself.

Founder occurring as a complication of fever is difficult to treat. It
is, unfortunately, frequently not recognized until inflammatory changes
have gone on for some days. If recognized at once, local bleeding and
the use of hot or cold water, as the condition of the animal will permit,
are most useful, but in the majority of cases the stupefied animal is un.
able to be moved satisfactorily or to have one foot lifted for local treat-
ment, and the only treatment consists in local bleeding above the cor-
onary bands and the ai^plication of poultices.

For congestion of the brain large doses of aconite and small repeated
doses of mercury form the ordinary mode of treatment. During con-
valescence small doses of alkalines may be kept up for some little time,
but the greatest care must be used, while furnishing the animal vrith
plenty of nutritious, easily digested food, not to overload the intestinal
tract, causing constipation and consecutive diarrhea. Special care must
be taken for some weeks not to esposo the animal to cold.

SEQUELS OF INFLUENZA.

Anasarca. — A previous attack of influenza is the most common pre-
disposing cause of a serious disease of the nervous system ; paralysis
of the vaso-motor nerves which govern the circulation in the smaller
blood vessels and capillaries. This trouble, which is also known as
purpura hemorrhagia and as scarlatina, appears most frequently a few
weeks after convalesceuco is established. It occurs more frequently in
those animals which have made a rapid convalescence and are appar-
ently perfectly well, and in those which have evidently periectly
regained their health, than it does in those which have made a slower
recovery. The exciting cause of this trouble is usuallj* exposure to
cold ; and again, exposure to cold draughts of air on the heated but not
necessarily sweating animal is more apt to cause the trouble than ex-
posure to rain or wet. This latter will more frequently cause complica-
tion of the internal organs, such as pneumonia, pleurisy, etc.

Anasarca commences by symptoms which are excessively variable.
The local lesions may be couliued to a small portion of the animal's body
and the constitutional phenomena be nul. The appearance and gravity
of the local lesions may be so unlike, from difference of location, that
they seem to belong to a separate disease, and complications may com-
pletely mask the original trouble.

In the simplest form the first symptom noticed is a swelling, or sev-
eral swellings occurring on the surface of the body, on the forearm, the
leg, the under surface of the belly, or on the side of the head. The tu-
mefaction is at first the size of a hen's egg ; not hot, little sensitive, and
distinctly circumscribed by a marked line from the surrounding healthy
tissue. These tumors gradually extend until they coalesce, and in a
few hours we have swelling up of the legs, legs and belly, or the head,

488

to an enormous size; they have always the characteristic constricted
border, which looks as if it had been tied with a cord. In the nostrils
are found small reddish spots or petechise, which gradually assume a
brownish and frequently a black color. Examination of the mouth will
frequently reveal similar lesions on the surface of the tongue, along the
lingual gutter and on the frcenum. If the external swelling has been
on the head the petechise of the mucous membranes are apt to be more
numerous and to coalesce into patches of larger size than when the
dropsy is confined to the legs. The animals may be rendered stiff by
the swelling of the legs, or be annoyed by the awkward swollen head,
which at times may be so enormous as to resemble that of a hippopot-
amus rather than that of a horse. During this period the temperature
remains normal, the pulse, if altered at all, is ouly a little weaker, the
respiration is only hurried if the swelling of the head infringes on the
caliber of the nostrils. The appetite remains normal. The animal is
attentive to all that is going on, and, except for the swelling, appar-
ently in perfect health.

In from two to four days the tissues can no longer resist the pressure
of the exuded fluid. Over the surface of the skin which covers the dropsy
we find a slight serous sweating, which loosens the epidermis and dries
so as to simulate the eruption of some cutaneous disease. If this is ex-
cessive we may see irritated spots which are suppurating. In the nasal
fossse the hemorrhagic spots have acted as irritants, and, inviting an
increased amount of blood to the Schneideriau membrane, produce a
coryza or even a catarrh. We may now find some enlargement and
peripheral cedema of the lymphatic glands, which are fed from the af-
fected part. The thermometer indicates a slight rise in the body tem-
perature, while the pulse and respiration are somewhat accelerated.
The appetite usually remains good. In the course of a few days the
temperature may have reached 102°, 103°, or lOi^ F.

Fever is established, not an essential or specific fever in any way, but
a simple secondary fever produced by the dead material from the sur-
face or superficial suppuration, and by the oxidization and absorption
of the colloid mass contained in the tissues. Just such a fever as would
be produced by an excoriation of a considerable surface of the skin in
an animal, otherwise sound, or by the absorption of the cedema result-
ing from a blow.

Suppuration may become excessive from the great distension and loss
of vitality of the skin. Here the lesion is visible and the constitutional
phenomena are marked.

Lymphangitis may be established from the large amount of irritating
material which the ducts and glands of the lymphatic system are forced
to carry from the affected part.

Gangrene may be developed in spots from the size of a xiea to that of
a hen's egg. The great distension of the subcutaneous layer of con-
nective tissue or the excessive hemorrhage in the submucous layer may

489

completely destroy tlie vitality of the part, and brown and then black
masses of slough appear, to be eliminated and leave a deep rosy ulcer
in their place. This is more common in the nose and under the tongue.

Excessive swelling of the head. — The swelling of the head may increase
and extend outside to the throat or to the nostrils until the latter are
closed, or to the larynx, which is so pressed upon as to render respira-
tion difficult or impossible. The same complication renders mastication
'and deglutition equally difficult.

Metastasis. — This is a frequently dreaded complication. If the trouble
has originally been in the legs and belly it may suddenly commence to
appear in the head, and disappear from the part first affected, or the
opposite more favorable change sometimes occurs, the dangerous swell-
ing of the head disappearing to attack the belly or legs.

Enteric oedema. — The effusion on the exterior may take another course
and pass to the intestine, causing symptoms of colic, which either ends
fatally or more rarely terminates by a profuse diarrhoea, which is some-
times hemorrhagic in character.

Pulmonary oedema. — Marked dyspnoea, without swelling of the head,
is indicative of metastasis into the parenchyma of the lungs, which will
rapidly show dullness on percussion and tubular murmurs on ausculta-
tion. The tumefaction leaves the exterior and attacks the lungs, and
the animal dies of asjihyxia.

Septicaemia. -Th^vQ is certainly no disease in veterinary practice
which offers a more favorable field for the development of septicaemia.
The large mass of colloid matter held at the temperature of the animal
body could not be surpassed in the gelatine tube of bacteriological lab-
oratory as a nutriment for the putrefactive ferments. Septicaemia is
ushered in by general rigor, sudden elevation of temperature, and
marked symptoms of coma.

TERMINATIONS.

Resolution. — The simple form of the disease most frequently termi-
nates favorably on the eighth or tenth day by absorption of the effusion,
with usually a profuse diuresis, and with or without diarrhea. The ap-
petite remains good or is at times capricious. The surface of the body
is dirty from desquamated epithelium, and at times there is a complete
loss of hair, giving the appearance of a bad case of sarcoptic mange. At
other times the absorption is slow, lasting for some weeks with tendency
to relapses. Again there may be left some permanent induration, the
result of embryonic growth.

Death. — Death may occur from mechanical asphyxia, produced by
closure of the nostrils or closure of the glottis. Metastasis to the lungs
is almost invariably fatal, causing death by asphyxia. Metastatis to
the intestines may cause death from pain, enteritis, or hemorrhage.

Excessive suppuration^ lymphangitis, and gangrene are causes of a fatal
termination by exhaustion. Mortal exhaustion is again produced by
inability to swallow in cases of excessive swelling of the head.

490

Peritonitis may arise secondary to the enteric CEclema, or by perfora-
tion of the stomach or intestines by a gangrenons spot.

Scpticcvmia terminates fatally with its usual train of symptoms.
The essential alterations of anasarca are exceedingly simple; the
capillaries are dilated, the lymphatic spaces between the fibers of the
connective tissue are filled with serum, and the coagulable portion of
the blood presents a yellowish or citrine mass, jelly-like in cousisteucj-,
which has stretched out the tissue like the meshes of a sponge. Where'
the cfl'usiou has occurred between the muscles, as in the bead, these are
found dissected and separated from each other like those of a hog's head
by the masses of fat. The surface of the skin is desquamated and fre-
quently denuded of the hair. Frequently there are traces of suppuration
and of ulceration. The mucous membrane of the nose is found studded
with small, hemorrhagic spots, sometimes red, more frequently brown or
black, often coalesced with each other in irregular sized patches and sur-
rounded by a reddish zone, the product of irritation. If oedema of the in-
testines has occurred the membrane is found four or five times its normal
thickness, reddish in color with hemorrhages on the free surface, ffidema
of the lungs leaves these organs distended. On section a yellowish fluid
runs out, like the fluid does from lungs which have been filled with water
in the dissecting room. The secondary alterations vary according to the
complications. There are frequently the lesions of asphyxia; externally
we find ulcers, abscesses, and gangrenous spots and the deep ulcers
resulting from the latter. The lymphatic cords and glands are found,
with all the lesions of lymphangitis. Again are found the traces of ex-
cessive emaciation, or the lesions of septicaemia. Except from the com-
plications the blood is not altered in anasarca. If previous to the
attack the animal had oenemia the tissues will be infiltrated and the
pallor and other appearances of cenemia will be found. If prior to the
attack the animal is in moderate health, with unaltered blood, the blood
will be found to clot with the typical change of the buffy coat of the
horse. In death by asphyxia the blood will be found fluid, black in
color, but gradually turns red, and clots on exposure to the air. Dick-
erhoff mentions fibrinous pneumonia among the alterations. I myself
Lave never seen it occur.

The diagnosis of anasarca must principally be made from farcy or
glanders. In anasarca the swelling is nonsensitive, while sensitive in
the acute swelling of farcy. The nodes of farcy are distinct and hard
and never circumscribed, as in the other disease. The erui)tion of
glanders on the mucuous membranes is nodular, hard, and pellet-like.
The redness disappears on pressure. In case of excessive swelling of
the head, in anasarca, there may occur an extensive sero-fibriuous exu-
dation from the mucous membranes of the nose, poured out as a semi-
fluid mass or as a cast of the nasal fossre, never having the appearance
or typical oily character, which it has in glanders. The inflammation
of the lymphatic cords and glands in anasarca does not produco the
hard, indurated character which is found in farcy.

491

Septicemia may bavo occurred primarily, or as a complication of ana-
sarca. The diagnosis must be from the history, and the prognosis is
of little import.

While this is not an excessively fatal di.^ease the prognosis must al-
ways be guarded. The majority of cases run a simple course and ter-
minate favorably at the end of eight or ten days, or possibly after one
to two relapses, requiring several weeks for complete recovery. Effu-
sion into the head renders the prognosis much more grave from the pos-
sible danger of mechanical asphyxia. Threatened mechanical asphyxia
is especially dangerous on account of the risk of blood-poisoning after
an operation of tracheotomy.

Metastasis to the viscera, or from. the legs to the head, is a most seri-
ous complication, while metastasis from the head or other portions to
the belly and legs is ftivorable, as removing, for a moment at least, all
danger of immediate death. The prognosis is otherwise based on the
complications, their extent and their individual gravity, existing, as
they do here, in an already debilitated subject.

Treatment. — The treatment of anasarca may have been as variable as
are the lesions. The indicatioue are at once shown by the alterations
and mechanism of the disease, which we have just studied. These are;

(1) Eegulation of the disordered circulation of the blood and
strengtheniug of the vasomotor system.

(2) Promotion of absorption of the colloid mass, which has infiltrated
the tissues. This, of course, is based upon oxidization in order to meta-
morphose the exudation into absorbable crystalloids.

(3) Prevention of metastasis, which is the most frequent fatal termi-
nation of this trouble, if not directly by oedema of the lung or enteritis,
indirectly by further weakening the already debilitated system.

(4) The immediate treatment of the complications, each, perse, as-
phyxia and gangrene, being the two which most frequently call for ac-
tive interference.

These indications call for constitutional and local remedies.

Blood-letting would at first seem totally contra-indicated, but in cer-
tain cases it acts like a charm. Debilitated, as an animal usually is
when attacked by anasarca, we have yet seen that one of the great pre-
disposing causes is the plethoric habit. The current of blood, like a
swollen river after a spring storm, can be thrown from its usual course
by the slightest side channel. The use of bleeding requires the acute
perception of the practitioner to be put upon the alert to regulate it.
Not only the present condition, but the previous state of health, and the
probable future hygienic and medical care must be taken into consider-
ation. Given a case that will admit of bleeding, the quantity to be
taken is always a minimum one, and it is to be regulatedby the effect
upon the pulse during the bleeding.

With the weakened walls of the vessels but a little lessening of the
pressure will produce a vacuum, when compared with the condition

492

found in an ordinary blood-vessel system, Tvitli normal elastic walls.
Bleeding is only permissible at the outset of the disease when the
tumors are still isolated. When the tumefaction has coalesced all the
blood is required to oxidize the mass of effused colloid matter.

Hygiene now comes into play as the most important factor. Oats,
oat and liay tea, milk, eggs, anything which the stomach or rectum can
be coaxed to take care of, must be employed to give the nutriment
which is the only thing that will permanently strengthen the tissues,
and they must be strengthened in order to keep the capillaries at their
proper caliber.

Laxatives, diaphoretics, and diuretics must be used to stimulate the
emunctories so that they shall carry off the large amount of the prod-
ucts of decomposition, which result from the stagnated effusions of
anasarca. Of these the sulphate of soda in small repeated doses, and
the nitrate of potash and bicarbonate of soda in small quantity, and
the chlorate of potash in single large doses, will be found useful.
Williams cites the chlorate of potash as an antiputrid ; it is useful, I
believe, because it frees oxygen, and oxygen is a chemical purifier.

Stimulants and astringents are directly indicated. The animal wants
wakening up, everything in it wants a shock, and a belt to hold it in
place. Spirits of turpentine serves the double purpose of a cardiac
stimulant and a powerful warm diuretic, for the kidneys in this disease
will stand a wonderful amount of work. Camphor can be used with
advantage. Coffee and tea are two of the diffusible stimulants which
are too much neglected in veterinary medicine ; both are valuable ad-
juncts in treatment in anasarca, as they are during convalescence at
the end of any grave disease which has tended to render the patient
anfemic. Dilute sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid are perhaps the
best examples of a combination of stimulant, astringent, and tonic
which can be employed. The simple astringents of mineral origin, sul-
phates of iron, copper, etc., are useful as digestive tonics ; I doubt if
they have any constitutional effect. The vegetable astringents, tannic
acid, etc., have not proved efficacious in my hands. Iodide of potash
in small doses serves the triple purpose of digestive tonic, denutritive
for inflammation, and diuretic.

^.rfenia//]/.— Sponging the swollen parts, especially the head, when
the swelling occurs here, is most useful. The bath should be at an ex-
treme of temperature — either ice-cold to constrict the tissues, or hot
water to act as an emollient and to favor circulation. Vinegar may be
added as an astringent. When we have excessively denuded surfaces^
suppuration, or open wounds, disinfectants should be added to the
wash.

In cases of excessive swelling, especially of the head, mechanical re-
lief may be required. Punctures of the part should be made with the
hot iron even in country practice, as no other disease so predisposes to
septic contamination. When mechanical asphyxia is threatened tra-

493

cheotomy may be demanded. Here, again, the hot iron should be used,
and disinfectant applications should be constantly applied. "With the
first evidence of dyspnoea, not duo to closing of the nostrils or glottis,
or with the first pawing which gives rise to a suspicion of colic, a
mustard plaster should be applied over the whole belly and chest. The
sinapism will draw the current of the circulation to the exterior, the
metastasis to the lungs or intestines is prevented, and the enfeebled,
nervous system is stimulated to renewed vigor by the peripheral irrita-
tion. The organs are encouraged by it to renewed functional activity j
the local inflammation produced by it favors absorption of the exuda-
tion. The objection to the use of blisters is their more severe action
and the danger of mortification. Septicaemia, when occurring as a
complication, requires the ordinary treatment for the putrid diseases,
with little hope of a good result.

After recovery the animal regains its ordinary health, and in my own
experience there has been no predisposition to a return of the disease.

STRANGLES.

Synonyms: Distemper, colt-ill, catarrhal fever, one form of ship-
ping fever, Febris pyogenwa.

Definition. — Strangles is an infectious disease of the horse, mule, and
ass; seen most frequently in young animals, and usually leaving an
animal which has had one attack protected from future trouble of the
same kind. It appears as a fever, lasting for a few days, with forma-
tion of matter or pus in the air tubes and lungs, and frequently the
formation of abscesses in various parts of the body, both near the sur-
face and in the internal organs. It usually leaves the animal after con-
valescence perfectly healthy and as good as it was before, but some-
times leaves it a roarer, or is followed by the development of deep-
seated abscesses which may prove fatal.

Causes. — The cause of strangles is infection by direct contact with
an animal suffering from the disease, or indirectly through contact with
the discharges from an infected animal, or by means of the atmosphere
in which an infected animal has been. There are many predisposing
causes which render some animals much more subject to contract the
disease than others. Early age, which has given it the popular name
of colt-ill, offers many more subjects than the later periods of life do,
for the animal can contract the disease but once, and the large majority
of adult and old animals have derived an immunity from previous at-
tacks. At three, four, or five years of age the colt, which has been at
home, safe on a meadow or in a cozy barnyard, far from all intercourse
with other animals or sources of contagion, is first put to work and
driven to the market town or county fairs to be exposed to an atmos-
phere or to stables contaminated by other horses sufiering from disease
and serving as infecting agents. If it fails to contract it there, it ia
sold and shipped in foul, undisiufected railway oars, to dealers' stables,

494

equally unclean, where it meets many opportunities of infection. If it
escapes so far, it reaches the time for heavier work and daily contact
on the streets of towns or large cities, with numerous other horses and
mules, some of which are sure to be the bearers of the germs of this or
some other infectious disease, and at last it succumbs.

The period of the erui)tion of the last permanent teeth, or the end of
the period of development from the colt to an adult horse, at which time
the animals usually have a tendency to fatten and be excessively full-
blood- d, also seems to be a predisposing periotl for the contraction of this
as well as of the other infectious diseases. Thoroughbred colts are very
susceptible, and frequently contract strangles at a somewhat earlier age
than those of more humble origin. Mules and asses are much less sus-
ceptible and are but rarely affected. Other animals are not subject to
this disease, but there is a certain analogy between it and distemper in
dogs. After exposure to infection there is a period of incubation of the
disease, lasting from two to four days, during which the animal enjoys
its ordinary health.

Symptoms. — The horse at first is a little sluggish if used, or when
jjlaced in its stable, is somewhat dejected, paying but moderate atten-
tion to the various disturbing surroundings. Its appetite is somewhat
diminished in many cases, while in some cases the animal eats well
throughout. Thirst is increased, but not a great deal of water is taken
at one time. If a bucket of water is placed in the manger, before the
patient, it will dip its nose into it and swallow a few mouthfuls, allow-
ing some of it to drip back, and then stop, to return to it in a short
time. The coat becomes dry and the hairs stand on end. At times the
horse will have chills of one or the other leg, the fore quarters or hind
quarters, or in severe cases of the whole body, with trembling of the
muscles, dryness of the skin, and its hairs standing on end.

If the eyes and mouth are examined the membranes are found red-
dened to a bright rosy color. The pulse is quickened and the breathing
may be slightly accelerated. At the end of a couple of days a cough is
heard and a discharge begins to come from the nostrils. This discharge
is at first watery ; it then becomes thicker, somewhat bluish in color,
and sticky, and finally it assumes the yellowish color of matter and
increases greatly in quantity.

At the outset the colt may sneeze occasionally and a cough is heard.
The cough is at first repeated and harsh, but soon becomes softer and
moist as the discharge increases. Again the cough varies according to
the source of the discharge, for in light cases this may be only a
catarrh of the nasal canals, or it may be from the throat, the windpipe,
or the air-tubes of the lungs, or even from the lungs themselves. Ac-
cording to the organ affected the symptoms and character of cough
will be similar to those of a laryngitis, bronchitis, or lung fever caused
by ordinary cold.

Shortly after the discharge is seen a swelling takes place under the

495

jaw, or in tlie iutcrinaxillary space. This is at first pufTy, swollen,
somewhat hot and teiuler, and finally becomes dirstinclly so, and an
abscess is felt, or having broken itself the discharge is seen dripping
from a small opening. When the discharge from the nostrils lias fully
developed the fever nsually disappears and the animal regains its appe-
tite, unless the swelling is sufQcieut to interfere with the function of
the throat, causing -pain on any attempt to swallow. At the end of
four or six days the discharge lessens, the soreness around the throat
diminishes, the horse regains its appetite, and in two weeks has re-
gained its usual condition. Old and strong horses may have the disease
in so light a form that the fever is not noticeable ; they may continue
to eat and i^erform their ordinary work as usual and no symptom may
be seen beyond a slight discharge from the nose and a rare cough,
which is not sufficient to worry any but the most particular owner.
But, on the other hand, the disease may assume a malignant form or
become complicated so as to become a most serious disease, and even
prove fatal in many cases. Inflammation of the larynx and bronchi, if
excessive, will {produce violent, harsh coughing, which may almost
asphyxiate the animal. The large amount of discharge may be mixed
with air by the difficult breathing, and the nostrils, the front of the
animal, manger and surrounding objects become covered with a white
foam. The inflammation may be in the lung itself (lobular pneumonia)
and cause the animal to breathe heavily, heave at the flanks, and show
great distress. In this condition marked symptoms of fever are seen;
the appetite is lost, the coat is dry, the horse stands back in its stall at
the end of the halter strap with his neck extended and his legs propped
apnrt to favor its breathing. This condition may end by resolution,
leaving the horse for some time with a severe cough, or the animal may
die from choking up of the lungs (asphyxia).

The swelling under the jaw may be excessive, and if the abscess is not
opened it burrows toward the throat or to the side and causes inflam-
mation of the parotid glands and breaks in annoying fistulas at the
sides of the throat and even up as high as the ears. Eoaring may occur
either during a moderately severe attack from inflammation of the throat
(larynx), or at a later period as the result of continued lung trouble.
Abscesses may develop in other parts of the body, in the poll, in the
withers, or in the spaces of loose tissue under the arms, in the fold of
the thigh, and, in entire horses, in the testicles.

Daring the course of the disease or later, when the animal seems to
be on the road to perfect recovery, abscesses may form in the internal
organs and i)roduce symptoms characteristic of disease of those i)arts.

Delirium. — Roaring, plunging, wandering in a circle, or standing with
the head wedged in a corner of the stall, indicates the collection of
matter in the brain. Sudden and severe lung symptoms, without pre-
vious discharge, point to on abscess between the lungs, in the medias-
tinum; colic, which is often continuous for days, is the result of the

496

formation of an abscess in some part of tlie abdominal cavity, usually
in the mesentery.

Pathology. — The lesions of strangles are found on the surface of the
mucous membranes, essentially of the respiratory system and in the
loose connective tissue libers of the internal organs and glands, and
consist of acute inflammatory changes, tending to the formation of
matter. The blood is unaltered, though it is rich in fibrine, and if the
animal has died of asphyxia it is found dark colored and uncoagulated
when the body is first opened. If the animal has died while suffering
from high fever the ordinary alterations throughout the body, which
are produced by any fever not attended by alteration of blood, are
found.

Treatment. — Ordinary light cases require but little treatment beyond
diet, warm washes, moistened hay, warm coverings, and protection from
exposure to cold. The latter is urgently called for, as lung complica-
tions, severe bronchitis, and laryngitis are often the results of neglect
of this precaution. If the fever is excessive the horse may receive small
quantities of Glauber salts (handful three times a day), as a laxative,
bicarbonate of soda or niter in dram doses every few hours, and small
doses of antimony, iodide of potash, aconite, or quinine. Steaming the
head with the vapor of warm water poured over a bucket of bran and
hay, in which belladonna leaves or tar have been placed, will allay the
inflammation of the raucous membranes and greatly ease the cough.

The swelling of the glands should be promptly treated by bathing
with warm water and flaxseed poultices, and as soon as there is any
evidence of the formation of matter it should be opened. Prompt action
in this will often save serious complications. Blisters and irritating
liniments should not be applied to the throat. When lung complica-
tions show themselves the horse should have mustard applied to the
belly and to the sides of the chest. When convalescence begins great
care must be taken not to expose the animal to cold, which may bring
on relapses, and while exercise is of great advantage it must not be
turned into work until the animal has entirely regained its strength.

SCALMA.

The differentiation of the various diseases which have popularly been
included under the terms of distemper and influenza up to a comparatively
recent date, has been so slow and so tardily accepted by the majority
of practitioners that we have been subjected to constantly seeing an-
nounced and heralded as news in the daily papers the appearance of
some new disease. These new diseases of the populace and of the em-
piric are to us but the epizootic outbreak or the more severely mani-
fested form of some ordinary contagious disease. We treat several
cases of different troubles in the same stable without having the time
or seeing the necessity of explaining them to the owner, when suddenly
one of them spreads to the rest of the stable in an epizootic form, and

497

our clients will not understand tbat all of the animals have not sufiFered
from the same illness.

There is, however, one of the contagions fevers of the horse which has
constantly- been confounded with other diseases, and which has not been
separated from them in our English text-books. As this disease has re-
ceived no proper name in English, I shall use for it the name given by-
Professor Dieckerhoff, of Berlin, who first described it in the Adams
Wochenschrift, XXIX, in 1885.

Etymology. — The term " scalma " is derived from the old German word
scalmo, scelmo, schehn, which indicates roguishness or knavishuess, as
great nervous irritability, especially of the temper, is one of the charac-
teristics, almost diagnostic, symptoms of this disease. The term
" HeimtucMsche Krankheit,^^ signifying malicious, treacherous, or mis-
chievous, is also employed in German for the same trouble. I am not
aware of any name in English or French which has been applied to it.

As I am opposed to employing in veterinary medicine any of the
nomenclature of human medicine, except for identical, simple, and in-
flammatory diseases, or for intercommuuicable contagious diseases, I
■will not offer the term " whooping cough" as a name, but I will suggest
a certain similarity between the latter disease in man and scalma in the
horse.

Definition. — Scalma is a contagious and infectious febrile disease or
the horse, with local lesions of the bronchi, trachea, and larynx, wbich
is evidenced by cough. It is further characterized by great irritability
of temper. It occurs as a stable plague; that is, in enzootic form, with,
however, great variations in the susceptibility of the animals to con-
tract it. It is rarely fatal except from complications.

Incubation. — The period of incubation is from six to seven days, but
the disease may develop in two days after exposure or it may delay its
appearance for ten days. It spreads through a stable slowly, develop-
ing at times in a horse placed in a stall where the previously sick one
had stood, or it may pass next to an animal several stalls away. One
attack is usually i)rotective.

Symptoms. — The symptoms are ushered in by fever, in which the ac-
celeration of the pulse and respiration is in no way in accord with the
great elevation of temperature. With the appearance of the fever is
developed a diffuse bronchitis, which is, however, subacute both in its
character and in its course. At times the trouble of the bronchi may
extend to the trachea, larynx, pharynx, or even to the nasal fossae.

In two or three days a trifling grayish, albuminous discharge from
the nostrils occurs, which continues, variable in quantity, for eight to
fourteen days, or may even last for three weeks. The cough is short,
rough, and painful, spasmodic in its occurrence and in character. The
slight watery or slimy discharge may become more profuse, purulent,
or even "rusty," if the bronchitis has extended to the neighboring
structures. Pharyngeal discharge may take place. The respiration is
11035 32

498

moderate and only affected during an excess of coughing, or in compli-
cated cases. The i)ulse undergoes but little quickening. The tempera-
ture rises rapidly to 39^, 40°, and in some cases even to 41.5° C (107^° F).
The latter temperature usually, but not always, indicates complication
by pleurisy. In ordinary cases the temperature drops in two or three
days after the appearance of the cough. The hide is dry and rough,
with the hairs on end, but the horse appears rather as an animal out of
condition, than a sick one. Emaciation may be rapid. The mucous
membranes are moderately reddened. The appetite is diminished, but
the animal chews constantly. Deglutition, either of food or water, is
frequently the cause of spasms of coughing, and these in turn seem to
warn the animal against attempts at swallowing. On percussion no
alteration of resonance is to be detected. On auscultation of the lungs
mucous rales are heard, with at times tubular breathing j the latter,
however, we will study under the complications, as also the friction
warning of pleurisy. Throughout the course of the disease we have
still one constant and characteristic symi^tom — nervous irritability.
With temperature of 104° to 107°F., the horse still flinches to the touch
on the loins ; it stands frequently with the head up, and it is on the
alert for the entrance of any one to the stall. The previously good tem-
pered and quiet horse will turn and bite, will strike with the hind legs,
or at the first touch to the side, head, or throat will half rear and back
into the corner of the box, or breaking the halter turn backward out
of the stall.

The course of the disease is from five to eight days, but the cough
maj" continue for two or three weeks with variable elevation of tempera-
ture. As a stable plague the course is from two to three mouths, as
the contagion is much more uncertain than in strangles or influenza.
The termination is by resolution and recovery, or by complications. In
resolution the temperature drops, the cough becomes less frequent and
less spasmodic in character, the appetite returns, and no sign is left of
the disease except the fever mark on the hoof.

The complications are excessive spasms and pleurisy. In the former
the cough may be so violent as to convulse the whole animal, the legs
arc spread and fixed, with the hind ones drawn slightly under the body.
The head and neck are extended, with the muscles tense. The cough
comes out by rapidly succeeding efforts, or with the first sound the
larynx seems to close for a moment before the rest can follow. In two
cases of my own the spasm has been so great that the animal has fallen
to the ground. During these accesses the respiration bccomos acceler-
ated, and on auscultation of the trachea and lungs the tubular murmur
of an apparent pneumonia can be heard. This false murmur, however,
disappears at the end of the attack. In the case which fell to the ground
the horse would lie for a moment or two absolutely motionless. (In the
first I believed that he had broken his neck.) The rapid respiration was
then followed by a long inspiration, the animal regained his feet, the

499

respiration became almost normal and the tabular murmur had dis-
appeared. 1 have seen no fatal termination from this spasm of the
pneumo-gastric, but can readily believe that traumatisms resulting from
such attacks might prove fatal, or that the spasm might continue long
enough to produce asphyxia. The fatal complication is pleurisy. This
occurs when the horse has been kept at work after the development of
the disease while suffering from a high fever, and is probably in no way
specific, but the result of work on an animal with high temperature.
The additional symptoms are those of an ordinary pleurisy.

Diagnosis. — The diagnosis is based upon the elevation of the tempera-
ture without corresponding acceleration of the pulse and of the respira-
tions ; upon the retention of appetite and spinal reflex, with the great
irritability of temper in the presence of a high temperature, and upon
the spasmodic cough and auscultatory sounds of bronchitis with but
trifling discharge.

The diagnosis is made from cedematous pneumonia by the absence of
the yellow colorations, the absence of pneumonia, and the less continu-
ous high temperature ; from influenza by the absence of oedema, of the
ochre coloration, and of the typhoid symptoms ; from strangles by want
of enlargement of the lymphatics, absence of purulent discharge and ab-
scesses ; from variola by the nonappearance of pustules and enlarged
lymphatics; from simi)le bronchitis, as the latter is sporadic, and in it
great fever is accompanied by profuse discharge; from rheumatic pleu-
risy and pleurodynia, by the history in these of repeated attacks and
great temporary pain ; from surgical fever by the absence of cause.

Prognosis. — The prognosis is usually favorable. This disease entails
only the loss of ten days to three weeks' use of the animal, and leaves
the subject with no complicating sequence. In some cases I have seen
the irritable disposition remain for a length of time, but in every case
it has finally disappeared. As I have suggested, violent spasms might
prove fatal. Pleurisy would render the prognosis serious, as the same
disease would when occurring from simple causes.

Treatment. — The treatment of a stable should be at once prophylactic.
Tlie infected animals should be removed, and complete disinfection of
the stalls and area should be made. The individual treatment is sim-
ple. The hygienic measures of cleanliness, fresh air without drafts,
frequent rubbing and tempting food should be thorough. The diges-
tive tract is to be regulated by small doses of bicarbonate of soda,
sulphate of soda, gentian and tannic acid. The appetite is to be stimu-
lated by drinks of cold breakfast tea and cow's milk. Antispasmodics
are to be used when the cough is excessive. The best of these are
camphor, belladonna, stramonium, and steaming with turx)entiue. (Tur-
pentine 1 ounce, water half bucket.) External frictions of alcohol and
turpentine, with hot packs to the loins, will also afford relief. Quinine
and salicylic acid may be used during the elevation of temperature.
Professor Dieckerhofif recommends tracheal injections in ounce doses of

500

the following solution: Acetate of aluminium, 1 per cent.; alum, one-
half to 1 per cent.; bromide of potash, 1 to 2 per cent.; water, 100.

CEDEMATOUS PNEUMONIA.

Synonyms: Adynamic i^neumonia; hospital or stable pneumonia;
influenza; Pectoralis equorum; 'pleuropneumonia; Contagiosa equorum;
Brustseuche, German.

Definition. — This disease is the adynamic pneumonia of the older vet-
erinarians who did not recognize any essential difference in its nature
from an ordinary inflammation of the lungs, except in the profound
sedation of the force of the animal affected with it, which is a promi-
nent symptom from the outset of the disease. Again, this same pros-
tration of the vital force of the animal, combined with the staggering
movement and want of coordination of the muscles of the animal,
caused it for a long time to be confounded with influenza, with which
at certain periods it certainly has a strong analogy of symptoms, but
from which, as from sporadic pneumonia, it can be separated very read-
ily if a case can be followed throughout its wbole course.

OLdematous pneumonia is a specific inflammation of the lungs, pro-
ducing an interstitial cedema and inflammation of the tissues of these
organs, and a constitutional disturbance or fever of a low or adynamic
type. It causes a profound sedation of the nervous system which may
be so great as to cause death. It is sometimes attended by pleurisy,
inflammatiou of the heart, or septic complications which also prove
fatal.

Etiology. — While, as an infectious disease, its original cause is due to
a specific virus, there are many predisposing causes which act as impor-
tant factors in aiding in its development. Old horses, especially those
which have been rendered anoemic or debilitated by hard use or by di-
minished quantities of food, and those which are obliged to work con-
stantly in water or are exposed to continual cold and wet, as in the case
of canal horses, old hack horses and their congeners, and those younger
animals which have a sudden weakened vitality produced by being put
too rapidly to work, or to too hard work before their muscles are har-
dened and their organs have been accustomed to the unusual demands
placed upon them by want of training, are much more susceptible to
the contagion than adult animals in a good condition of health. Lym-
phatic, narrow-chested, thick-hided and big-hoofed animals will contract
the disease much more easily than the finer-skinned, richer-muscled
animal of a sanguinary temperament, and robust ccustitution.

Old, cold, damp, foul, unclean, and badly drained and ventilated stables
allow rapid dissemination of the disease to other horses in the same
stable, and act as rich reservoirs for preserving the contagion which,
in one of these cases, the writer knew to be retained for over a year.
Every few weeks during this time, in the corner of a large livery stable,
one or more cases of (edematous pneumonia broke out, usually in one of

501

two stalls, but sometimes several stables away. When the stable was
remodeled and new woodwork was placed in for mangers and floors the
disease disappeared. The virus is but moderately volatile, and in a
stable seems rather to follow the lines of the walls and irregular courses
than the direct currents of air and the tracts of ventilation. Professor
Dieckerhoff found that the contagion of influenza was readily diffusi-
ble throughout an entire stable and through any opening to other build-
ings, and substantiates the writer's experience that it will pass through
solid walls of considerable thickness ; but he also found that the con-
tagion of cedemateous i)neumonia is not transmissible at any great dis-
tance, nor is it very diffusible in the atmosphere. A brick wall 8 feet in
height served to prevent the infection of other animals placed on that
side of a horse ill with the disease, while others placed on the opposite
side and separated from the focus of contagion only by open bars in
the stall, were infected and developed the disease in its typical form.

Symptoms.— The symptoms differ slightly from those of a frank, flbri-
nous pneumonia, but not so much by the introduction of new symptoms
as by the want of or absence of the distinct evidences of local lesions
which are found in the latter disease. All of the pneumonias through-
out the whole course of the trouble are less marked and less clearly

deiined,

At first the symptoms are latent; the animal gives a rare cough

which resembles that of a heavy horse affected with a slight chronic
bronchitis; it becomes somewhat dejected and dull, at times somnolent,
and has a diminished appetite. This condition lasts for several days.
No history can be obtained of causes for symptoms of acute troul)le,
and the absence of organic lesions to account for the general condition
leaves the attendant, however expert he may be, in much doubt as to
the nature of the trouble unless previous cases in the same stable, or
special tact on the part of the veterinarian, aids in foreseeing the prob-
able termination of the slight local trouble and commencing adynamic
changes in the organic functions of the animal. No crepitant rale is
heard as in fibrinous pneumonia, as in this disease the local trouble
commences in the neighborhood of the large air tubes and not on the
periphery of the lungs. During several days these symptoms increase
and a fever of a low type gradually develops. The respiration in-
creases to twenty-four, thirty, or thirty-six to the minute, and a small,
running, soft pulse, indicating great exhaustion of the capillaries and
their surrounding tissues, attains a rhythm of fifty, seventy, or even more
beats in the sixty seconds. The heart, however, contrary to the debil-
itated condition of the pulse, is found beating violently and tumultu-
ously, like it does in anthrax and septic intoxication. The mucous
membranes of the eyes and mouth and of the genital organs are found
somewhat oedematous, and they rapidly assume a dirty, saffron color,
at times approaching an ocher, but distinguishable from the similar
coloration in influenza by the want of the luster belonging to the latter

502

and by the uindcly, dull tiut wliicli is characteristic throughout the dis-
ease.

Suddenly, without the preliminary rides which precede grave lesion
of the lungs in other diseases, the blowing murmur of pneumonia is
heard over a variable area of the chest, usually", however, much more
distinctly over the trachea at the base of the neck and directly behind
the shoulder on either side of the chest. In some cases the evidence
of lung lesion can only be detected over the trachea. The body tem-
perature has now reached 101°, 105°, F. or in extreme cases even a de-
gree higher. The debility of the animal is great witlioutthe stupefac-
tion or evidence of cerebral trouble, which is constant with such grave
constitutional j)heuomeua iu influenza or severe pueumouias. The ani-
mal is subject to occasional chills, and on movement staggers in its gait.
The yellow coloration of the visible mucous membrane is rendered pale
by infiltration of the liquid of the blood into the tissues ; the pulse may
become so soft as to be almost imperceptible, the heart movement aud
sounds being at the same time exaggerated. The animal loses flesh
rapidly, aud dropsies of the extremities, of the under surface of the
belly, or of the internal organs may show themselves. We then have
all the general phenomena of a jirofound anaemia.

Terminations. — These symptoms may gradually subside; with an
improved appetite the inanition may cease and the animal com-
mence to nourish its impoverished blood and tissues; the pulse be-
comes stronger, the heart more regular and less tumultuous; the mu-
cous membranes assume a brighter and more distinct color; the diffi-
culty of respiration is removed, and the animal may make a recovery,
but at best the convalescence is a long one, and in many cases it is
questionable if it is an economical proceeding to carry the animal
through it. More frequently the disease terminates by death. This is
usually directly due to heart failure; in some cases it is caused by
asphyxia, owing to the great amount of exudation into the lung tissue,
rendering its further function impossible; inmost cases the anaemia
and marasmus debilitate the animal until it dies as it would from the
same condition i^roduced by any other cause.

Complications.— T\\Q complications of cederaatous pneumonia are in-
flammatory or necrotic changes in the lungs themselves. Suppuration
at times takes place in the bronchi and may extend to the lung tissue.
In this case we may find the mucous rales of a bronchitis appearing
where there were only negative signs of pulmonary trouble, or we may
find them grafted upon the tubular murmur of the pneumonia if the
latter had been detected in the earlier stages of the disease. Tiicse are
mostly distinctly heard over the trachea and on the sides of the chest
directly behind the shoulders. With the development of the mucous
rales, to be heard on auscultation, we have a more purulent discharge
from the nostrils, similar to that of a chronic or subacute bronchitis.
If the iuflammation has been of some standing, cavernous rales may be

503

heard indicating the destruction of a considerable portion of lung tis-
sue and the formation of a cavity. Tlie eiiects of this more acute inflain-
matory process are not appreciable iu the general condition of the ani-
mal, except to still further weaken it and add to its debilitated and ema-
ciated cachexia. Gangrene frequently occurs. A sudden rise of the
body temperature one or two degrees, with a more enfeebled pulse and
a stdl more tumultuous heart, develop simultaneously with the appear-
ance of a discharge from the nostrils. This discharge is gray in color,
serous or watery in consistency, mixed with the detritus of broken-
down lung tissue, and sometimes contains clots of blood, or in more
serions cases may bo marked by a quantity of fluid blood from a hem-
orrhage, which proves fatal. Tlie discharge is fetid to the smell. The
animal emaciates rapidly. On examination of the lungs mucous rales
are heard in the larger bronchi, cavities may be found at any part of
these organs, and points of lobular pneumonia may be detected.

Diagnosis. — The diagnosis of cedematous pneumonia at the outset is
aided greatly by a rigid examination of the surroundings, and still
more so by the history or knowledge of previous cases in the same sta-
ble. The cough and commencing fever of the first few days have noth-
ing diagnostic in them, but when combined with repeated chills, a soft
l)ulso, a tumultuous heart, the rapidly staiued dull yellow mucous mem-
branes, and the staggering gait of the animal without marked brain
trouble, the diagnosis becomes more easy. In pneumonia the fever is
always of a more sthenic character, the fever is concomitant, or pre-
cedes the marked lung trouble; the yellowish discoloration is a phe-
nomenon of the later stages of the disease; the debility of the muscles
is simple weakness, or, if complicated by want of coordination, it ac-
companies an evident brain trouble and loss of consciousness. In pneu-
monia there has alwaj^s been in the kings the regular series of absence
of vesicular murmur, crepitant rales, and then tubular murmur. While
the pulse in a simple pneumonia may in the later stages become very soft
and weak, it commences as a tense and full one. The heart only becomes
irregular as the result of cardial complication, and never assumes the
tumultuous character of the septic diseases unless gangrene occurs, in
which case the animal is only of value as a scientific study to the vet-
erinary atteudaiit. In influenza the symptoms of fever develop before
any local lesions are noticed. The feebleness of the muscles and want
of coordination are from the outset the evident result of a poisoned
condition of the brain, as shown by the stupor of the animal; the saf-
fron or ochre coloration of the visible mucous membrane is of a decided
tint, and while these membranes may be cedematous, they become so as
the result of an increase in the quantity of blood iu their capillaries, or
by congestion, and not from the cedematous infiltration of the watery
portion of the blood as in the disease in question.

Prognosis.— CEdematoviS pneumonia is an excessively fatal disease.
We have seen that it usually attacks animals which are already in more

504

or less of a depraved condition or weakened in tbeir vital forces by the
bad hygienic surroundings to which they have been subjected. Eapid
increase in the area of infiltration in the lungs, as shown by dullness on
percussion and the extent of the tubular murmur, is an unfavorable
symptom. Increased prostration in the early part of the disease augurs
badly for the chances of future resistance to the effects of the local
lesions. Suppuration with the formation of abscesses and gangrene in
the lungs are even more serious in this disease than as a complication
of other diseases, on account of the debilitating character of the original
trouble.

Alterations. — At the time of death from oedematous pneumonia we
frequently find septic changes and the evidences of putrefaction. The
Bolidification of the lung tissue is found irregular in shape and high up
around the root of the lungs and around the large bronchi, and is gen-
erally covered by sound lung tissue. The anterior lobes of the lungs
are usually entirely affected. The diseased portion appears of a gray-
yellowish color, somewhat watery, and tears readily. Matter is found
in the air tubes which form gutters through the jelly-like mass of the
diseased lung. Abscesses, from the size of a nut to larger masses, may
be found disseminated through the lungs. The blood is dark in color,
fluid, or only clotted into soft, jelly like masses. Masses of gangrenous
or dead black tissue may be present.

Treatment. — A study of the symptoms will indicate at once that the
antiphlogistics, or those remedies which we employ in such sthenic dis-
eases as fibrinous pneumonia, strangles, etc., are not to be employed in
this disease. Bleeding would only still further weaken an already en-
feebled animal ; antimony or the alterants would increase the depression
of a too depraved constitution. There is in this disease no acute con-
gestion of a particular organ to draw off by depletive measures, nor
any violent blood current to be retarded, for fear of hyper-nutrition of
any special i)art.

Eevulsives do good, as they excite the nervous system and awaken
the tori^ur of the weakened blood vessels, which aid in the reestablish-
ment of the functions. Mustard poultices may be applied over the belly
and sides of the chest, as in other diseases, but caution must be used in
the employment of blisters, as ugly ulcers may result from their action
on a tissue of weakened vitality. Setons are dangerous from the great
tendency in this disease to septic complications. Repeated friction of
the legs by hand-rubbing and warmth by bandaging and by rubbing
the surface of the body with turpentine and alcohol, which is imme-
diately to be dried by rough towels, will excite the circulation and
stimulate the emuuctories of the skin.

Stimulants are given internally from the outset of the disease. Tur-
pentine in dram doses regulates the heart and excites the kidneys to
carry off waste matter, but if repeated too frequently may disturb the
already delicate digestive system. Alcohol rectifies the latter danger,

505

•
and is a useful stimulant to the heart and digestive system, if given
■with care in small doses. It must be remembered that this remedy is
not a food. It is a hydrocarbon which is not burnt, but is eliminated
in the urine and in the expired air. If given in too large quantities it
becomes a depressant, and lowers the vitality of all of the tissues of the
body, as can too frequently be seen in the mental and physical condi-
tion of the drunkard. It is an antiputrid, and is especially indicated when
septic complications and gangrene are present. The aromatics and bit-
ter tonics are useful; gentian, tannin, and English breakfast tea in
warm decoction from a useful menstruum for other remedies. The vari-
ous preparations of iron are astringents and excitants to the digestive
system. Carbolic acid is an antiputrid, which is of marked benefit in
(edematous pneumonia; it should be given iu small doses diluted in
alcohol.

Salicylic acid may be given in 1 or 2 dram doses every few hours. It
is a specific for troubles of the serous membranes, lowers the tempera-
ture, and is of value in this disease in preventing the exudation into
the tissue of the lungs. The alkalines, as the sulphate and bicarbonate
of soda, the nitrate of potash, and very small doses of the iodide of pot-
ash should be employed to regulate the digestive tract, the kidneys,
and the other excreting glands, and to stimulate absorption of the waste

matter.

The diet demands the strictest attention from the outset. In many
of the fevers the food has to be diminished in quantity and regulated in
the quality of its heat-producing components during-the acute part of
the disease, so as to lessen the material for combustion in the inflamed
organs. In (Edematous pneumonia, on the contrary, all the food that
can possibly be digested and assimilated must be given. Choice must
be made of the richest material which can be handled by the weakened
stomach and intestines without fatiguing them. Good, sound hay
should be chopped short and dampened or partly boiled ; in the latter
case the hay tea can be reserved to use as a drink. Oats may be pre-
ferred dry or in other cases will be taken better scalded ; in most cases,
however, it is better to give slops of oatmeal, to which can be added a
little bran, barley flour, or boiled milk and wheat flour. Pure cow's
milk, not too rich in fatty matter, can be given alone or with beaten
eggs ; frequently the horse will have to be coaxed with the milk diluted
with several parts of water at first, but will soon learn to drink the pure
milk. Apples and carrots cut up raw or boiled are useful, and fresh
clover in small quantities will frequently stimulate the appetite.
Throughout the course of the disease and during convalescence the
greatest attention must be taken to cleaning the coat thoroughly so as
to keep the glands of the skin in working order, and light, warm cov-
ering must be used to protect the animal from cold or draughts of air.

506

nORSEPOX — EQUINE VARIOLA.

Synonyms: Variola equina — Pustular Grease— PJily ctenoid Rerpes.

Bejinition. — The liorsepox is a specific infectious fever of the liorse
attended by an eruption of pustules or pocks over any part of the sliin
or on the mucous membraues lining the various cavities in the body.
When the eruption takes place on the mucous membrane of th.e re-
spiratory tract it produces an irritation and discharge of matter which
greatly resembles that of strangles. This disease was for a long time
confounded with the latter disease, and there is no doubt that many
light cases in which the eruption is not well marked are still mistaken
for distemper.

The horsepox was described by the early Eoman agricultural writers
and by the veterinarians of the last century. It received its first im-
portant notice from the great Jenuer, who confounded it with grease in
horses, as animals with this disease are very apt to have the eruption
of variola appear on the inflamed fetlocks if they are affected with
grease at the same time. He saw these cases transmit the disease to
cattle in the byres and to the stablemen and milkmaids who attended
them, and furnish. the latter with immunity from smallpox, which led
to the discovery of vaccination. The horsepox is again frequently
mistaken for the exanthemata attending some forms of venereal disease
in horses.

Variola in the horse, while it is identical in principle, general course,
complications, and lesions with variola in other animals, is a disease of
the horse itself, and is not transmissible in the form of variola to any
other animal; nor is the variola of an^' other animal transmissible to
the horse. Cattle and men, if inoculated from a case of horsepox, de-
velop vaccinia, but vaccinia from the latter animals is not so readily
reinoculated into the horse with success. If it does develop, it pro-
duces the original disease.

Etiology. — The direct cause of the horsepox is infection. A large
number of predisposing causes favor the development of the disease
as in the case of strangles, for this trouble, like almost all contagious
diseases, renders the anima^l which has had one attack immune from
future ones. The causes are, young age, for then the animal is still
susceptible to contract the disease, but old horses which have not been
affected are less apt to become infected when exposed than younger
ones. The exposure incident to shi])ment through public stables, cars,
etc., again acts as a i^redisposing cause as in the other infectious dis-
eases. The period of final dentition is a moment of the animal's life
which renders it peculiarly susceptible.

Dupaul states that the infection is transmissible through the atmos-
phere for several hundred yards. The more common means of conta-
gion is by direct contact or by means of fomites. Feed boxes and
bridles previously used by horses affected with variola are probably the

607

most frequent carriers of the virus, and we find the lesions in tlie ma-
jority of cases developed in the neighborhood of the lips and nostrils.
Coition is a frequent cause. A stallion suffering from this disease may
be the cause of a considerable epizootic, as he transmits it to a number
of brood mares and they in turn return to the farms where they are
surrounded by young animals to whom they convey the contagion.
Th3 saddle of the harness and croup straps are frequent agents of in-
fection. The presence of a wound greatly favors the inoculation of the
disease, which is also sometimes carried by surgical instruments or
sponges. Trasbot recites a case, in which a set of hobbles, which had
been used on an animal suffering from variola, were used on ahorse for
a quittor operation and transmitted the disease which developed on the
edges of the wound. There is no elective point for the first development
of the disease, but it commences most frequently around the natural
openings, as these are the points which are most exposed to inoculation.

Sijmj>to)ns. — There is a period of incubation, after an animal has been
exposed, of from five to eight days, during which there is no appreciable
alteration in the health. This period is shorter in summer and longer
in winter. At the end of this time, small nodes develop at the point of
inoculation and the animal becomes feverish. The nodes, which feel
like small shot under the skin, soften into small pustules and break
into little, shallow, superficial ulcers, exuding a creamy, thick matter,
which rapidly dries and forms scabs. The horse is dull and dejected,
loses its appetite, and has a rough dry coat with the hairs on end.
There is moderate thirst. The respirations are somewhat quickened
and the pulse becomes rapid and full. The body temperature is ele-
vated, frequently reaching lO-i^ or 105° F., within thirty six or forty-
eight hours from the appearance of the first symptoms.

The visible mucous membranes, especially the conjunctivae, are of a
bright rosy red. In the lymphatic, cold-blooded, and more common
horses these symptoms of fever are less marked; even with a compara-
tively high temperature the animal may retain its appetite and even
work comparatively well, but these cases, if worked and overheated,
are apt to develop serious complications.

At the end of from three and a half to four days the eruption breaks
out, the fever abates, and the general symptoms improve. The eruption
in severe cases may be generalized ; it may be confined to the softer
skin of the nose and lips, the genital organs, and the inside of the thighs,
or it may be localized in the neighborhood of a wound or in the irri-
tated skin of a pair of greasy heels. It consists of a greater or less
number of little nodes which, on a mucous membrane, as in the nostrils
or vagina, or on soft unpigmented skin, appear red and feel at first like
shot under the epidermis. These nodes soften and show a yellowish
spot in the center when they become pustules. The epidermis is dis-
solved and the matter escapes as a viscid fluid at first citrine and later
cloudy and purulent, which dries rapidly, forming scabs; if these fall

508

off or are removed they leave a little shallow concave ulcer which heals
in the course of five or six days. In the softer skin if pigmented the
cicatrices are white and frequently remain so for about a year, when
the pigment returns. The lips or genital organs of a colored horse, if
covered with a number of small white spots about the size of a pea, will
usually indicate that the animal has been affected with the horsepox.

At times the pustules may become confluent and produce large super-
ficial serpentine ulcers on the membrane of the nostrils, around the
lips or eyelids, or on the borders of wounds and in greasy heels ; in
this case the part becomes swollen, hot, painful, and is covered with
a profuse discharge of matter. In this form there is frequently a sec-
ondary fever lasting for a day or two.

In severe cases there may be a suppurative adenitis or inflammation
of the lymphatic glands which are fed from the affected part. If the
eruption is around the nostrils and lips, the glands between the jaw3
(submaxillary) form abscesses, as in a caseof strangles ; if the eruption
is in a pair of greasy heels abscesses may form in the fold of the groin
(inguinal). There may be so much tumefaction of the nostrils as to
produce difficulty in breathing.

Complications. — A case of horsepox may be attended with various
complications of greater or less importance. Adenitis or suppuration
of the glands has just been mentioned. Confluent eruptions irritate
the part and induce the animal to rub the inflamed part against the
manger or scratch it in other ways, and produce troublesome ulcers,
which may leave ugly scars. Irritation of the mucous membrane of the
nose causes severe coryza with purulent discharge.

The eruption may occur in the throat or in the air tubesto the lungs,
developing an acute laryngitis or bronchitis. These commence with a
harsh cough, which becomes moister and more fatty as the discharge
increases, and is followed for several days by a fever, which is often
severe. If the larynx is affected it becomes inflamed and swollen, caus-
ing the animal to roar and discharge quantities of foamy mucous and
matter from the nostrils, as in troubles of the same organ from other
causes. If the animal is exposed to cold, or worked so as to engorge
the lungs with blood at the termination of the specific fever, just when
the eruiJtion is about to localize, it may be determined to the lungs. In
this case we have a short dry cough, labored breathing, the develop-
ment of a secondary fever of some gravity, and all of the external
symptoms of a pneumonia. This pneumonia differs, however, from an
ordinary pneumonia in the symptoms furnished by the examination of
the lungs themselves. In place of a large mass of the lung tissue be-
ing affected the inflammation is disseminated in smaller spots over the
entire lung. The total of these areas may be equal, however, to the
half or more of the lungs and i^rove fatal. The crepitant rales and
tubular murmur of pneumonia is absent, and is replaced by sibilant
and small mucous rales. When the fever has been intense and the

509

animal is unduly exposed or worked, it may be attacked with a conges-
tion of the lungs, which will prove fatal within a few hours, aud no
localization be developed ; or, if in this case relief is afforded, it may
be followed by a lobar pneumonia, showing itself with all the symptoms
of this disease when it is produced by ordinary causes.

Diagnosis. — The diagnosis of the horsepox is to be based on the pres-
ence of a continuous fever, with rosy mucous membranes, for several
days, and the appearance of the characteristic eruption. If the erup-
tion is in the nasal cavities, marked by a considerable discharge and at-
tended by submaxillary abscesses, it may be confounded with strangles.
If the throat is affected it may be confounded with an angina (laryngitis
or pharyngitis), but in the latter the local trouble precedes or is concomi-
tant with the fever, while in the former the fever precedes the local
trouble by several days. Variola may be confounded with bronchitis
or pneumonia if complicated with these troubles and the eruplion is
absent from the exterior, but it is of little moment, as the treatment for
both will be much the same. When the eruptiou is in the neighbor-
hood of the genital organs this disease has been mistaken for the dou-
rine. In variola the eruption is a temporary one; the nodes and pus-
tules are followed by shallow ulcers and rapid cicatrization, unless con-
tinued in the vagina or on the penis by the rubbing of the wuMs and
filth which accumulates; there are apt to be pustules at other parts of
the body. In the venereal disease the local trouble commences as a
papule and breaks into an ulcer without having formed a pustule. The
ulcer has not the convex rosy appearance of that of the less serious dis-
charge; the symptoms last for a longer period, by which time others
aid in differentiating the two. In glanders the tubercle is hard, and,
after breaking into an ulcer, the indurated bottom remains, grayish or
dirty-white in color, ragged and exuding a viscous, oily discharge.
There is no disposition to suppuration of the neighboring glands. In
variola the rosy shallow ulcer and healthy laudable pus, with the
acutely tumified glands, should not be mistaken, at least after a day.
I have seen acute glanders in mules which required a day's delay to
differentiate from strangles ; at that time the farcy buds appeared.

Prognosis. — The average case of the horsepox runs a course of dejec-
tion, loss of appetite, and more or less fever for about four days, followed
by a rapid convalescence, and leaves the animal as well and as sound
as before. If the eruption has been excessive or confluent, the ulcera-
tions may act as irritants and render the animal unfit for use for several
weeks. Laryngitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, and pneumonia in this dis-
ease are not of greater gravity than they are when occurring from other
causes. The spots denuded of pigment left by the pustules on the lips
and genitals may temporarily depreciate the value of the animal to a
slight degree.

Treatment.— As this is a disease unattended by alterations of the
blood itself, although a specific fever, and is of a sthenic type, active

510

remedies are admissible and indicated. The horse should bo placed on
alow diet — little or no oats — bran mashes, a moderate quantity of good
sound ha^', a few carrots or apples, which will act as laxatives, and slop
feed. Barley flour is more cooling for mashes than bran or oat meal.
Water may be given as the animal desires it, but it should not be cold ;
if a half bucketful of water is kept in the manger the horse will take
but a few swallows at a time. Dram doses of nitrate of potash, or
ounce doses of sweet spirits of niter are useful in the drinking water.
If the fever is high the antipyretics are indicated: Tincture of aconite
in fifteen to twenty drop doses ; sul])hate of quinine in dram doses ;
iodide of potash in dram doses ; two or three half-dram doses of tartar
emetic or Kermes mineral are often useful ; bleeding will often reduce
the temperature at once and prevent complications, but is sometimes
the cause of an ugly inflammation surrounded by an eruption in the
neighborhood of the wound ; infusion of pine tops, of juniper leaves,
of the aromatic herbs, or of English breakfast tea are useful in the later
stages. If complications of the air passages or lungs are threatened a
large mustard poultice should be applied to the belly and sides of the
chest. Oxide of zinc ointment should be used on confluent erui)tions,
and if the ulceration is excessive it may have to be touched with caustic.

Great care must be taken to keep the animal protected from cold
draughts of air or other exposure. Blankets or sheets should be used
on the body and bandages on the legs. After convalescence is estab-
lished nutritious food of easy digestion and walking exercise are all
that is needed, except perhaps a little Glauber's salts, to prevent con-
stipation.

Proplnjlactic treatment. — When the horsepox breaks out amongst a
large number of horses, especially on a farm where there are a number
of colts, it may be assumed that the greater majority will contract the
disease, and it is more economical that they should have it and be
through with it at once. If the weather is moderate all the animals
which have not been affected can be inoculated, which will produce the
disease in a mild form, with the eruption at a point of election, and
render the danger of complication a minimum one. For inoculation the
discharge from the pustules of a mild case should be selected and inoc-
ulated by scarification on the belly or the under surface of the neck.

ANTHRAX.

Synonyms.— >S'acer ignis^ Pustula maligna, Antlirax, Latin ; Cliarhon,
Sang de Bate, FrenGh ; Miltzhrand, German; Carhone, Carhonchio, Fuoco
de St. Antonio, Italian ; Jasica, Sibc7-skaji Jastva, Eussiau ; Carbuncle,
Splenic Fever, Splenic Apojylexy, Braxy (in sheep), etc.

Anthrax is a severe and usually fatal contagious disease, charac-
terized by chills, great depression and stupor of the animal, and a
profound alteration of the blood, due to destruction of the red blood
corpuscles. It is caused by the admission into the animal body of bac-

511

teria, or low order of living organisms, or their spores, known as the
^^ bacillus of Davaine'"' ov '■'• bacillus anthracls.'"

It affects all animals exposed to its contagion. The herbivora are
especially susceptible in the following order : the sheep, the ox, and the
horse. The Guinea pig, the hog, the rabbit, mice, and other animals
die quickly from its effects. Man, the dog, and other omnivora and
carnivora may be attacked by it in a constitutional form as fatal as in
the herbivora, but fortunately, in some cases, develop from it only local
trouble, followed by recovery. Fowls may be inoculated and develop
the disease if they are partially immersed in cold water, to reduce their
natural body temperature from 101° to about 100° F. Frogs may be in-
oculated successfully if kept in warm water, which will elevate their body
temperature to one approximating that of the warm-blooded animal,
9GO-9SO F.

Anthrax has been a scourge of the animals of the civilized world since
the first written history we have of any of their diseases. It existed in
Asia Minor at the time of the siege of Troy ; it was a plague of the
cattle of Egypt during the time of Moses. It was a severe pest among
the agricultural animals in the early Greek and Eomau days, and we
have very accurate accounts of its symptoms from the writings of
Columella, Varro, Virgil, and others. By the writers of the Middle
Ages it was frequently confounded with the rinderpest, but is described
with sufficient j)recision to identify outbreaks of it in epizootic form in
99G A. D, and 1090 A. D. in France ; in 1552 at Lucca, Italy : in 1617
at !N"aples, where numbers of human beings died from eating the flesh
of animals which were affected with the disease.

In 1593 the senate of Venice interdicted the sale of meat, butter, or
cheese coming from animals affected with anthrax. In 1709-1712 A.
D, extensive outbreaks of anthrax occurred in Germany, Hungary, and
Poland. In the first half of the present century it had become an ex-
tensively spread disease in Russia, Holland, and England, and for the
last century has been gradually spreading in the Americas ; more so in
South America. In ISGl, in the five governments of Petersburg, Nov-
gorod, Olonetz, Twer, and Jaroslaw, in Russia, over ten thousand
horses and nearly one thousand persons perished from the disease.

The causes of anthrax were for a long time attributed entirely to
climatic influence, soil, and atmospheric temperature, and they are
still recognized as most important iiredisposing factors in the develop-
ment of the disease, for it is usually found, especially when outbreaks
over any number of animals occur, in low, damp, marshy countries
during the warm seasons. It is more frequent in districts where marshy
lands dry out during the heat of summer and are then covered with
light rains. Decaying vegetable matter seems most favorable for nour-
ishing and preserving the virus.

The direct cause of anthrax is always contagion or infection of a pre-
viously sound animal, either directly from a diseased animal or through

512

various media which contain excretions or the debris from the body of
a previously infected animal. The specific virusof anthrax was first dis-
covered by Davaine in 1851. He recognized in the blood of animals suf-
fering from anthrax microscopic bodies in the form of little rods with
bright spots at their extremities. It was not, however, till a quarter of a
century later that Pasteur defined the exact nature of the bacillus, the
mode of its propagation, and its exact relationship to anthrax as the sole
cause of the disease. The bacillus of Davaine, or the virus of anthrax, is
a low organism, in the form of a rod with a bright spot or spore at either
end, which develops in the blood of an animal, or in other favorable
media, as chicken broth or meat jellies kept at the temperature of the ani-
mal body. In the animal body the bacilli have a tendency to be filtered
from the blood by the tissues of the organs through which the fluid
passes, and to accumulate in the spleen, liver, and elsewhere, so that
these organs are much more virulent than the muscles or less vascular
tissues. When eliminated from the animal in the excretions, or when
exposed to outside influences by the death of the animal and the disinte-
gration of the tissues, the body of the rod is destro^'ed and the spores
only remain. These spores, which are the germs of the virus, retain
their vitality for a long period ; they resist ordinary i^utrefaction ; they
are unchanged by moisture, and they are not affected by moderate heat.
If scattered with the d6bris of a dead animal on the surface of the
ground, they may remain around the roots of the grass in a i^asture, or
may be washed to the nearest low-lying ground or marsh. If buried in
the body of an animal dead from anthrax, they may be washed deep in
the ground, and in later years (in one proven case seventeen years) be
brought to the surface and infect other animals. They are frequently
brought to the surface of the earth, having been swallowed by earth-
worms, in the bodies of which they have been found.

This accounts for the outbreaks at the time of the first rains after a
dry season. During the latter the earthworm goes deep in the ground
in search of moisture ; it finds the spore which has been washed there
in past years, swallows it, and brings it to the surface, when the rain
furnishes the moisture which drives the worm itself from its deeper
home. The virus is carried with the wool from infected sheep and re-
mains in it through the process of manufacture into cloth. The spores
remain in the hides of animals which have died of anthrax and retain
their vitality throughout months of soaking in the tanners' pits, the
working of the harness-maker or the cobbler and after the oiling of the
completed leather. The dried spores in the dust from any of these prod-
ucts may be carried by the atmosphere.

Infection of an animal takes place through inoculation or contact of
the-bacillus or its spores with an abraded surface or mucous membrane
on a sound animal. In an infected district "horses may eat the rich
pasturage of spring and early summer with impunity, but when grass
becomes low they croi) it close to the ground, pull up the roots around

513

which the virus may be lodged, and. under these conditions the animals
are more apt to have abrasions of the lips or tongue by contact with
dried stubble and the dirt on the roots, which favors the introduction
of the germs into the system. The virus may be introduced with food
and enter the blood-vessel system from the stomach and intestines. If
contained in the dust, dried hay, or on the parched pasture of late sum-
mer, the virus may be inhaled and be absorbed from the lining of the
lungs. If contained in harness leather, it needs but an abrasion of the
skin, as the harness rubs it, to transfer the spore from the leather to
the circulation of the animal.

The writer saw a case of anthrax occur in a groom from the use of a
new horse brush. The strap which passes over the back of the hand
inoculated an abrasion ou the knuckle of the first finger, and in twelve
hours a " pustule " had formed and the arm had become affected.

Symptoms. — The symptoms of anthrax develop with extreme rapid-
ity ; they are frequently so sudden that it appears but a few minutes
for the animals to have passed from a condition of perfect health to a
dangerously diseased one. The horse is dejected and falls into a state
of profound stupor, attended by great muscular weakness. The feeble,
indolent animal, if forced to move, drags its legs. There are severe
chills, agitation of the muscles, symptoms of vertigo, and at times colicky
pains. The mucous membranes turn a deep ochre or bluish-red color.
The body temperature is rapidly elevated to 104° and 105° F. The
breathing is increased to thirty or forty respirations in the minute and
the pulse is greatly accelerated, but the arteries are soft and almost im-
perceptible, while the heart-beats can be felt and heard, violent and
tumultuous. In other words, it resembles a very severe case of in-
fluenza, except in regard to the heart's action. The symptoms last but
two, three, or four days, at most, when the case usually terminates
fatally. An examination of the blood shows a dark fluid Avhich is not
clot, and which remains black after exposure to the air. After death
the bodies putrify rapidly and bloat up; the tissues are filled with gases
and a bloody foam exudes from the mouth, nostrils, and anus, and fre-
quently the mucous membranes of the rectum protrude from the latter.
The hairs detach from the skin. Congestion of all the organs and tis-
sues is found, with interstitial hemorrhages. The muscles are friable
and are covered with ecchymotic spots. This is specially marked in
the licart.

The black, uncoagulated and incoaguable blood shows an iridescent
scum on its surface, which is due to the fat of the animal dissolved by
the ammonia, produced by the decomposed tissues. The serum oozes
out of every tissue and contains broken-down blood, which, when ex-
amined microscopically, is found to have the red globules crenated and
the leucocytes granular. A high power of the microscope also reveals
the bacteria in the shape of lictle rod-like bodies of homogeneous tex-
ture with their brilliant spores.
11035 33

514

The lymphatic ganglia are increased four, five, six, or ten times their
natural size, enlarged by the engorgement of blood. The spleen shows
nodulated black spots containing a nmdtly blood, which is found teem-
ing with the virus. The mucous membranes of the intestines are con-
gested and brown ; the surface of the intestines is in many places de-
nuded of its lining membrane, showing fissures and hemorrhagic spots.
The liver has a cooked appearance; the kidneys are congested and
friable; the urine is red ; the pleura, lungs, and the meninges are con-
gested and the bronchi of the lungs contain a bloody foam.

Un resinr,e : The symptoms rre those -which are found in any disease
with a rapidly decomposing blood.

The treatment cf anthrax was entirely useless and ineffectual until
within a comparatively few years. The curative treatment, for which
almost every drug in the pharmacopoeia has been used, was without
avail, except, perhaps, the use of iodine, injected in the circulation in
as large quantities as could be tolerated by the system. This treatment
gives good results in the human being, but requires too much personal
attention to be economical in animals when the disease occurs in epi-
demic form, although it may be used iu the horse when occurring in an
animal of great value.

The prophylactic treatment formerly consisted in the avoidance of
certain fields and marshes which were recognized as contaminated dur-
ing tlie months of August and September and had been occupied the
years in which the outbreaks usually occurred. It underwent, however,
a revolution after the discovery by Pasteur of the possibility of a pro-
phylactic inoculation which granted immunity from future attacks of
the disease equal to that granted by the recovery of an animal from an
ordinary attack of the disease.

This treatment consists in an artificial cultivation of the virus of an-
thrax in broths, jellies, or other media, and in the treatment of it by
means of continued exposure to the atmosphere or to a high tempera-
ture for a certain length of time, which weakens the virus to such an
extent that it is only capable of producing an ephemeral fever in the
animal in which it is inoculated, and which yet has retained a sufficient
amount of its power to protect the animal from inoculation of a stronger
virus. The production of this virus, which is carried on in some coun-
tries at the expense of the government and is furnished at a small cost
to the farmers in regions where the disease prevails, in this country is
made only in private laboratories.

GLANDERS,

Synonyms : Glanders, Farcy, One form of I\^a$al Gleet, English ;
Malleus huinidus, Equina nasalis. Equina aposicviatos, Latin ; liotz,
Botzkrankhcit, German ; Snot, VerroUng, Dutch ; Moccio, Cia^^orrOf
Italian; Muenno, Spanish; Jlorve, Farcin, Freucii.

515

Definition.— het it be understood at the outset that glanders and farcy-
arc one and the same disease, dilieriug only in that the first term is
applied to the disease -when the local lesions predominate in the internal
organs, especially in the lungs and the air tubes ; and that the second
term is applied to it when the principal manifestation is an outbreak of
the lesions on the exterior or skin of the animal. The term glanders
applies to the disease in both forms, while the term farcy is limited to the
visible appearance of external trouble only ; but in the latter case
internal lesions always exist, although they may not be evident.

Glanders is a contagious constitutional disease of the genus cquus
(the horse, ass, and mule), readily communicable to man, sheep, goats,
to dog, the cat, the rabbit, and Guinea pig. It runs a variable course
until it produces the death of the animal affected with it. It is
characterized by the formation of neoplasms of connective tissue, or
tubercles which degenerate into ulcers from which exudes a peculiar
discharge. It is accompanied by a variable amouut of fever according
to the rapidity of its course. It is subject to various complications of
the lymphatic glands, of the hmgs, of the testicles, of the internal
organs, and of the subcutaneous connective tissue.

History. — Glanders is one of the oldest diseases of which we have
definite knowledge in the history of medicine. Absyrtus, the Greek
veterinarian in the army of Coustantinc the Great, described this dis-
ease with considerable accuracy^ and recognized the contagiousness of
its character. Another Greek veteriuarian, Yegetius Eenatus, who
lived in the time of Theodosius (3S1 A. D.), described under the name
of malleus humidus, a disease of the horse characterized by a nasal dis-
charge and accompanied by superficial ulcers. He recognized the con-
tagious properties of the discharge of the external ulcers, and recom-
mended that all animals sick with the disease should be separated at
once with the greatest care from the others, and should bo pastured in
separate fields for fear the other animals should become affected.

In 1GS2 Sollysel, the stable mas:er of Louis XIV, i>ublished an ac-
count of glanders and farcy, which he considered closely related to
each other, although he did not recognize them as identical. He ad-
mitted the existence of a virus which communicated the disease from
an infected animal to a sound one. lie called special attention to the
fe; d-troughs and water-buckets as being the medium of contagion. He
divided glanders into two forms, one malignant and contagious, and the
other benign, and he stated that there was always danger of infection.

Garsault, in 1740, said " that as this disease is communicated very
easily, and can infect in a very short time a prodigious number of horses
by means of the discharges which may be licked up, animals infected
with glanders should be destroyed."

Bourgelat, the founder of veterinary schools, in his " Elements of Hip-
piatary," published in 1755, establishes glanders as a virulent disease.
Extensive outbreaks of glanders are described as prevailing in the

516

great armies of continental Europe and England from time to time dur-
ing the periods of all the wars of the last few centuries.

Glanders was imported into America at the close of the last century,
antl before the end of the first half of the present century had spread to
a considerable degree among the horses of the Middle and immediately
a-ljoining Southern States. This disease was unknown in Mexico until
carried there during the Mexican war by the badly diseased horses of
the United States Army. During the first half of the present century
a large school of veterinarians and medical men protested against the
contagious character of this disease, and prevailed by their opinion to
such an extent against the common opinion that several of the govern-
ments of Europe undertook a series of experiments to determine the
right between the contesting j^arties.

At the veterinary school at Alfort, and at the farm of Lamirault in
France, several hundred horses which had passedexaminatiou as sound
had placed among them glandered horses under various conditions.
The results of these experiments proved conclusively the contagions
character of the disease.

In 188L Professor Bouchard, of the faculty of medicine in Paris, as-
sisted by Drs. Capitau and Charrin, undertook a series of experiments
with matter taken from the farcy ulcer of a human being. They after-
ward continueil their experiments with matter taken from animals of
the equine genus. In 1883 these gentlemen presented the results of
their researches to the Academy, through Professors Bouley and Vul-
piam, conclusively demonstrating that the disease was caused by a bacte-
rium or low order of parasitic organism, which is capable of propagation
and reproduction of others of its own kind if placed in the proper media.

When we come to study the etiology of glanders, the difference of sus-
ceptibility on the part of different species of animals, or even on the part
of individuals of the same species, and when we come to find proof of
the slow incubation and latent character of the disease as it exists in
certain individuals, we will understand how in a section of country
containing a number of glandered animals others can seem to contract
sind develop the disease without having apparently been exposed to
contagion.

Etiology. — The contagious nature of glanders, in no matter what form
it appears, being to-day definitely demonstrated, we can recognize but
one cause for all cases, and that is contagion by means of the specific
virus of the disease.

In studying the writings of the older authors on glanders, and the
works of those authors who contested the contagious nature of the dis-
ease, we find a large number of predisposing causes assigned as factors
in the development of the malady.

While a virus from a case of glanders if inoculated into an animal of
the genus equus will inevitably produce the disease, we find a vast
difference in the contagious activity of the products of different cases

517

of glanders. We flud a great variation in the manner and rapidity of
the development of the disi-ase in different individuals, and we find
that the contagion is much more apt to be carried to sound animals
under certain circumstances than it is under others. Only certain
species of animals are susceptible of contracting the disease, and while
some of these contract it as a general constitutional malady, in others
it only develops as a local sore.

In acute glanders the contagion is found in its most virulent form, as
is shown by the inevitable infection of susceptible animals inoculated
with the disease, while the discharge from chronic semilatent glanders
and farcy may at times be inoculated with a negative result; agaiu, in
acute glanders, as we have a free discharge, a much greater quantity
of virus coutainiug matter is scattered in the neighborhood of an in-
fected horse to serve as a contagion to others than is found in the suiall
amount of discharge of the chronic cases.

The chances of contagion are much greater when sound horses, asses,
or mules are placed in the immediate neighborhood of glandered horses,
drink from the same bucket, stand in the next stall or work in the same
wagon, or are fed from the same bales of hay or straw which have
been impreguated by the saliva and soiled by the discharge of sick ani-
mals. The contagion must terminate by direct contact of the discharges
of a glandered animal with the tissues of a sound one, either on the
exterior or when swallowed mixed with food into the digestive tract.

Glanders is not infectious in the old acceptation of the word. Renault
made a large numberof experiments, forcing sound horses to breathe the
expired air of glandered horses for an hour and a half a day for seven
days, by means of a tube of canvas, and was unable to produce the
disease in any case.

The stable attendants serve as one of the most common carriers of
the virus. Dried or fresh discharges are collected from the infected
animal in cleaniug, harnessing, feeding, and by means of the hands,
clothing, the teeth of the currycomb, the sponge, the bridle, and halter,
and are carried to other animals.

An animal affected with chronic glanders in a latent form is moved
from one part of the stable to another, or works hitched with one horse
and then with another, and may be an active agent in the provocation
of the disease without the cause being recognized.

Glanders is found frequently in the most iusidious forms, and we rec-
ognize that it can exist without being apparent ; that is, it may affifct
a horse for a long period withOnt showing any symptoms that will allow
even the most experienced veterinarian to make a diagnosis. An old
gray mare belonging to a tavern keeper was reserved for family use
with good care and light work for a period of eight years, during which
time other horses in the tavern stable were from time to time affected
with glanders without an apparent cause. The mare, whose only
trouble was an apparent attack of heaves, was sold to a huckster, who

518

placed Ler at hard work. "Want of feed and overwork and exposure
rapidly developed a ease of acute glanders, from which the animal
died, and at the autopsy were found the lesions of an acute pneumonia
of glanders grafted on chronic lesions, consisting of old tubercles, \^hich
had undoubtedly existed for years.

In a recent case under the care of the writer a coach horse was ex-
amined for soundness and passed as sound by a prominent veterinarian,
who a few montlis afterwards treated the horse for a skin eruption
from which it recovered. Twelve months afterwards it came into the
hands of the writer, hidebound, with a slight cough and a slight
eruption of the skin, which was attiibuted to clipping and the rubbing
of the harness, but which had nothing suspicious in its character. The
horse was placed on tonics and put to regular light driving. In six
weeks it developed a bronchitis without having been specially exposed,
and in two days this trouble was followed by a lobular imeunionia and
the breaking of an abscess in the right lung. Farcy buds developed
on the surface of the body and the animal died. The autopsy- showed
the existence of a number of old tubercles in the lungs which must
have existed previous to purchase, more than a year before.

Public watering troughs and the feed boxes of boarding stables and
the tavern stables of market towns are among the most common recip-
ients forthevirus of glanders, which is most dangerous in its fresh state,
but cases have been known to be caused by feeding animals in the box
or stall in which glanJered animals had stood more than a year before.
While the discharge from a case of chronic glanders is much less apt
to contain the virus than that from a case of acute glanders, the former,
if it infects an animal, will produce the same disease as the latter. It
may assume from the outset an acute or chronic form according to the
susceptibility of the animal infected, and this does not depend upon the
character of the disease from which the virus was derived.

The genus equus, the horse, the ass, and the mule, are the animals
which are the most susceptible to contract glanders, but in these we
find a much greater receptivity in the ass and mule than we do in the
horse. In the ass and mule in almost all cases the period of incubation
is short and the disease develops in an acute form. We find that the
race of horse infected influences the character of the disease; in full-
blooded, fat horses, of a sanguinary temperament, the disease usually
develops in an acute form, while in the lymphatic, cold-blooded, more
common race of horses, the disease usually assumes a chronic form. If
the disease develops first in the chronic ffJVm in a horse in fair condition,
starvation and overwork are apt to bring on an acute attack, but when
the disease is inoculated into a debilitated and impoverished animal it
is apt to start in the latent form. Inoculation on the lips or the ex-
terior of the animal is frequently followed by an acute attack, while in-
fection by ingestion of the virus and inoculation by means of the diges-
tive tract is often followed by the trouble in the chronic latent form.

519

In the dog the inoculation of glanders may develop a constitutioual
disease with all the symptoms which are found in the horse, but more
frequently the virus pullulates ouly at the point of inoculation, remain-
ing for some time as a local sore, which may then heal, leaving a per-
fectly sound animal ; but while the local sore is continuiug to ulcerate,
and specific virus exists in it, it may be the carrier of contagion to other
animals. In man we find a greater receptivity to glanders than in the
dog, and in many unfortunate cases the virus spreads from the point
of moculation to the entire system and destroys the wretched mortal
by extensive ulcers of the face and hemorrhage, or by destruction of
the luug tissue; in other cases, however, most fortunately, glanders
may develop as in the dog, only in local form, not infecting the consti-
tution and terminating in recovery, while the specific ulcer by proper
treatment is turned into a simple one. In the feline species glanders
is more destructive than in the dog. The point of inoculation ulcerates
rapidly and the entire system becomes infected.

While a. student the writer saw a lion in the service of Prolessor
Trasbot, at ^fort, which had contracted the disease by eating glaudeied
meat and died with the lung farcied with tubercles. A litter of kittens
lapped at the blood from the lungs of a glandered horse on which an
autopsy was being made, and in ftmr days almost their entire faces, in-
cluding the nasal bones, were eaten away by rapid ulceration. Tuber-
cles were found in the lungs.

A pack of wolves in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden died in ten
days alter being fed with the meat of a glandered horse. The rabbit,
Guinea pig, and mice are specially susceptible to the inoculation of
glanders, and the recent discoveries in regard to this disease have made
these animals most convenient witnesses and proofs of the existence of
suspected cases of the glanders in other animals by the results of suc-
cessful inoculations.

The sheep and the goat are both capable of developing the disease.
The goat is more suscei)tible and frequently develops it by means of
the digestive tract, from its habit of eating droppings, rags, etc., which
are found in the neighborhood of the .stall. The pig is considered not
to be susceptible to glanders, and a large number of inoculations, to-
gether with the feeding of glandered meat to a pen of pigs at the vet-
erinary school at Alfort, failed to give these animals the disease, but
Bollinger reports that GerlacU has seen glanders in the i)ig nine months
after inoculation. An experiment of Spmola has also produced positive
results, so that we should consider it dangerous to allow a pig the use
of glandered meat.

Horned cattle and barnyard fowls are absolutely exemi)t from attacks
of glanders, whether the virus is given to them by the digestive tract
or inoculated into their tissues.

The previous reference to the existence of glanders under the two
forms more commonly difierentiated as glanders and as farcy, and our

520

reference to the various conditions in wliich it may exist as acute,
chrome, and latent, show that the disease may assume several different
phases. Without losing sight for a moment of the fact that all of these
varied conditions are identical in their origin and in their essence, for
convenience of study we may divide glanders into three classes : Chronic
farcy, chronic glanders, and acute farcy glanders.

The primary lesions in any form is a local point of eruption in which
we have a rapid prolification of the cell elements which make up the
animal tissue with formation of new connective tissue, with a crowd-
ing together of the elements until their own pressure on each other
cuts off the circulation and nutrition, and death takes place in them in
the form of ulceration or gangrene. Following this primary lesion we
have an extension of infection by means of those tissues immediately
surrounding the first infected spot, which is most suitable for tlie de-
velopment of simple inflammatory phenomena or the specific virus.
The primary symptoms are the result of inoculation developed at the
point of inoculation, but at a later time the virus is carried by means
of the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels to other parts* of the body
and becomes lodged at different places and develops m them ; again,
when the disease has existed in the latent form in the lungs of the
animal and the virus is wakened into action from any cause, we have
it carried to various parts of the body and developing in the most
favorable localities. The points of develoijmeut are most frequently
determined by the activity of the circulation and the effects of exterior
irritants. For example, if a horse which has been so slightly affected
with the virus of glanders that no symptoms are visible is exposed to
cold, rain, or sleet, or by the rubbing of the harness on the body and
the irritation of mud in the legs, the disease is apt to develop on the
exterior in the form of farcy, while a full-blooded horse which is em-
ployed at speed and has its lungs and respiratory tract gorged with
blood from the extreme use of these organs will develop glanders as
the local manifestation of the disease in the respiratory tract.

Chronic farcy. — In farcy the symptoms commence by formation of
little nodes on the under surface of the skin, which rapidly infringe on
the tissues of the skin itself. These nodes, which are known as farcy
"buds" and farcy "buttons," are from the size of a bullet to the size
of a walnut. They are hot, sensitive to the touch, at first elastic and
afterwards become soft ; the tissue is destroyed, and infringing on the
substance of the skin the disease produces an ulcer, which is known as
a chancre. This ulcer is irregular in shape, with ragged edges which
overhang the sore j it has a gray, dirty bottom and the discharge is
sometimes thin and sometimes purulent ; in either case it is mixed with
a viscous, sticky, yellowish material like the white of an eg^ in con-
sistency, and like oUve oil in appearance. The discharge is almost diag-
nostic: it resembles somewhat the discharge which we have in greasy
heels and in certain attacks of lymphangitis, but to the expert the

521

specific discbarge is characteristic. The discharge accumulates on the
hair surrouudiug the ulcer and over its surface aud dries, forming
scabs which become thicker by successive deposits on the undersurface
until they fall off, to be replaced by others of the same kind; and the
excess of discharge may drop on the hairs below and form similar
brownish yellow crusts. The farcy ulcers may retain their specific form
for a considerable time — days or even weeks ; but eventually the dis-
charge becomes purulent in character and assumes the appearance of
healthy matter. The surface of the gangrenous bottom of the ulcer is
replaced by rosy granulations, the ragged edges beveled off, and the
chancre is turned into a simple ulcer which rapidly heals.

The farcy buttons occur most frequently on the sides of the lips, the
sides of the neck, the lower part of the shoulders, the inside of the
thighs, or the outside of the legs, but may occur at any part of the body.

We have next an irritation of the lymphatic vessels in the neighbor-
hood of the chancres. These become swollen and then indurated and
appear like great ridges underneath the skin ; they are hot to the touch
and sensitive. The cords may remain for a considerable time and then
gradually disappear, or they may ulcerate like a farcy bud itself, form-
ing elongated, irregular, serpentine ulcers with a characteristic, dirty,
gray bottom and ragged edges, and pour out a viscous oily discharge
like the chancres themselves.

The essential symptoms of farcy are the above; the button^ the chan-
cre, the cord, and the discharge. We have in addition to these symp-
toms a certain number of accessory symptoms, which, while not diag-
nostic in themselves, are of great service in aiding the diagnosis in cases
where the eruption takes place in small quantities, and when the ulcers
are not characteristic.

Epistaxis, or bleeding from the nose without previous work or other
apparent cause, is one of the frequent concomitant symptoms in glan-
ders, and such a hemorrhage from the nostrils should always be regarded
with suspicion. The animal with farcy frequently develops a cough,
resembling much that which we find in heaves — a short, dry, aborted,
hacking cough, with little or no discharge from the nostrils. With this
we find an irregular movement of the flanks, and on auscultation of the
lungs we find sibilant or at times a few mucous rales. Another com-
mon symptom is a sudden swelling of one of the hind legs; it is suddenly
found swollen in the region of the cannon, the eulargemeut extending
below to the pastern and above as high as the stifle. This swelling is
hot and painful to the touch, and renders the animal stiff and lame.
On pressure with the finger the swelling can be indented, but the pits
so formed soon fill up again on removal of the pressure. In severe
cases we may have ulceration of the skin, and serum pours out from the
surface, resembling the oozing which we have after a blister or in a
case of grease. This swelling is not to be confounded with the stock-
ing in lymphatic horses, or the cedema which we have in chronic heart

522

or in kidney trouble, as in the last tlio swelling is cool and not painful
and tlie pitting ou pressure remains for some lime after the latter is
withdrawn. It is not to be confounded with greasy heels. In these the
disease commences in the neighborhood of the pastern and gradually
extends up the leg, rarely passing beyond the neighborhood of the
hock. The swollen leg in glanders almost invariably- swells for the en-
tire length in a single night, or within a very sliort period. When
greasy heels are complicated hy Ij'mphangitis we have a condition
very much resembling that of farcy. The swelled leg in fare}' is fre-
quently followed by an outbreak of farcy buttons and ulcers over its
surface. In the entire horse the testicles are frequently swollen, hot
and sensitive to the touch, but they have no tendency to suppuration.
The acute inflammation is rapidly followed by the specific induratloLi,
which corresponds to the local lesions in other i)arts of the body.

Chronic farcy in the ass and mule is an excessively rare condition,
but sometimes occurs.

ChroniG glanders. — In chronic glanders sve have the same train of
inflammatory phenomena, varying in appearance from those of chronic
farcy only by the difference of the tissues in which they are located.
In chronic glanders we have first the tubercle, which is a small node
from the size of a shot to that of a small pea, which forms in the mucous
membranes of the respiratory tract. This may be just inside of the wings
of the nostrils or on the septum which divides the one nasal cavity
from the other and be easily detected, or they may be higher in the
nasal cavities ou the turbinated bones, or they ma3- form in the larynx
itself, or on the surface of the trachea or deep in the lungs.

The tubercles, which are first red and hard and consist of new connect-
ive tissue, soon soften and become yellow; the yellow spots break and
we have a small ulcer the size of the preceding tubercle, which has a
gray, dirtj^ bottom and ragged edges and is known as a chancre. This
ulcer pours from its surface a viscous, oily discharge similar to that
which we have seen in the farcy ulcer.« The iriitation of the discharge
may ulcerate the lining mucous n:embrane of the nose, causing serpen-
tine gutters with bottoms resembling those of the chancres themselves.
If the tubercles have formed in large numbers we may have them causing
an acute inflammation of the Schneiderian membrane, with a catarrhal
discharge which may mark the specific discharge, or that which comes
from the ulcers and resembles the discharge of strangles or simple in-
flammatory diseases.

The eruption of the ulcers and discharge soon cause an irritation of
the neighboring lymphatics; and in the intermaxillary space, deep inside
of the jaws, we find an enlargement of the glands, which for the first
few days may seem soft and cedematous, but which raiiidly becomes
confined to the glands, these being from the size of an almond to that of a
small bunch of berries, exceedingly hard ;iii(l nodulated. This enlarge-
ment of the glands is found high up oa the inside of tlie jaws, firmly

523

adlierent to the base of the tongue. It is not to be confounded with the
swelling, i)uffy, oedeniatous, and not to be separated from the skin and
subcutaneous connective tissues, which we fintl in strangles, in laryn-
gitis, and in other simple inflammatory troubles.

These glands bear a great resemblance to the hard, indurated glands
which we find in connection with the collection of {)us in the sinuses ;
but in the latter disease the glands have not the nodulated feel which
they have in glanders. With the glands we find indurated cords, feel-
ing like balls of tangled wire or twine, fastening the glands together.
The essential symptoms of glanders are the tubercle, the chancre, the
glands, and the discharge. With the development of the tubercles on
the respiratory tract, according to their number and the amount of
eruption which they cause, wo may have a cough which resembles
that of a coryza, a laryngitis, a bronchitis, or a broncho-pneumonia,
according to the location of the lesions. In chronic glanders we have
the same accessory symptoms which we have in chronic farcy, the hem-
orrhage of the nose, the swelling of the legs, the chronic cough, and in
the entire horse the swelling of the testicles.

On healing, the chancres on the mucous membranes leave small,
whitish, star-shaped scars, hard and indurated to the touch, and which
remain for almost an indefinite time. The chancres heal and the other
local symptoms disappear, with the exception of the enlargement of
the glands, and we find these so diminished in size that they are scarcely
perceptible on examination. During the subacute attacks, with a uiini-
muiJi quantity of local troubles, in chronic glanders and in chronic farcy
the animal rarely shows any amount of fever, but does have a general
depraved appearance; it loses flesh and becomes hide bound; the skin
becomes dry and the hairs stand on end. There is a cachexia, however,
which resembles greatly that of any chronic, organic trouble, but is not
diagnostic, although it has in it certain appearances and conditions
which often render the animal suspicious to the eye of the expert veterin-
arian, while without the presence of local lesions he would be unable to
state on what he has based his opinion.

Acute glanders. — In the acute form of glanders we have the symptoms
which we have just studied in chronic farcy and in chronic glanders in
a more acute and aggravated form. We have a rapid outbreak of
tubercles in the respiratory tract which rapidly degenerate into chan-
cres and pour out a considerable discharge from the nostrils. We have
a cough of more or less severity according to the amount and site of
the local eruption. We have over the surface of the body swellings
which arc rapidly followed by farcy buttons, which break into ulcers;
we have tlie indurated cords and enlargement of the lymphatics.

Bleeding from the nose, sudden swelling of one of the hind legs, and
the swelling of the testicles are apt to precede an acute eruption of
glanders. As the s^'mptoms become more marked the animal lias difia-
culty of resi)iration, the flanks heave, the resxjiratiou becomes rai)id,

524

tbe pulse becomes quickened, and the temperature becomes elevated to
103°, 1040, or 105° F.

With tbe otlier symptoms of an acute fever tlie general appearance
and station of the animal is that of one suffering from an acute imeu
monia, but upon examination, while we may find sibilant and mucous
rales over the side of the chest, and may possibly hear tubular murmurs
at the base of the neck over the trachea, we fail to find the tubular
murmur or the large area of dullness on percussion over the sides of the
chest which belongs to simple imeumonia.

The posf-mortem examination of the lungs shows that the pneumonia
of glanders is a lobular, V-shaped pneumonia scattered through the
lungs and caused by the specific inflammatory process taking place at
tbe divergence of the smaller air tubes of the lungs. In some cases of
acute glanders the formation of tubercles may so irritate the mucous
membrane of tbe respiratory tract and cause such a profuse discharge
of muro-purulent, or purulent matter that the specific character of tbe
original discharge is entirely masked. In this case, too, the submaxil-
lary space may for a few days so swell as to resemble the oedematous
inflamed glands of strangles, equine variola, or laryngitis. This condi-
tion is especially apt to be marked in an acute outbreak of glanders in
a drove of mules.

Cases of chronic farcy and glanders, if not destroyed, may live in a
depraved condition uutil the animal dies from general emaciation and
anaemia, but in the majority of cases, from some sudden exposure to
cold, it develops an acute pneumonia or other simple inflammatory
trouble which starts up the latent disease and the animal bas acute
glanders.

In tbe ass, mule, and plethoric horses, acute glanders usually termi-
nates by lobular pneumonia. In other cases the general symptoms
may subside. The symptoms of pneumonia gradually disappear, tbe
temperature lowers, the pulse becomes slower, the ulcers heal, leaving
small indurated cicatrices, and the animal may return to apparent
health, or may at least be able to do a small amount of work with but
a few symptoms of the disease remaining in a chronic form. During
the attack of acute glanders the inflammation of tbe nasal cavities fre-
quently spreads into tbe sinuses or air cells, which are found in tbe
forehead and in front of tbe eyes on either side of tbe face, and cause
abscesses of these cavities, which may remain as tbe only visible symp-
tom of the disease. An animal which has recovered from a case of
acute glanders, like the animals which are affected by chronic glanders
and chronic farcy, are apt to be affected with emphysema of tbe lungs
or the heaves, and to have a chronic cough. In this condition they
may continue for a long period, serving as dangerous sources of conta-
gion, tbe mofe so because the slight amount of discharge does not
serve as a warning to the owner or driver as profuse discharge does in
the more acute cases.

525

With good care, fjood food, and good surroundings and little work,
an animal affected with glanders may live for months or even years in
an apparent state of perfect health, but with the first deprivation of
food, with a few days of severe hard work, with exposure to cold or with
the attack of a simple fever or inflammatory trouble from other causes,
the latent seeds of the disease break out and develop the trouble again
in an acute form.

At the post-mortem examination of an animal which has been de-
stroyed or has died of glanders we find evidences of the various lesions
which we have studied in the symptoms. In addition to this, wo find
tubercles similar to those which we have seen on the exterior through-
out the various organs of the body. Tubercles may be found in the
liver, in the spleen, and in the kidneys. We may have inflammation of
the periosteum of the bones, and we have excessive alterations in the
marrow in the interior of the bones themselves. Both of these con-
ditions during the life of the animal may have been the cau.se of the
lamenesses which were difficult to diagnose.

In one case which came under the observation of the writer, a lame
horse was destroyed and- found to have a large abscess of the bone of
the arm, with old tubercles of the lungs. When an animal has died im-
mediately after an attack of a primary acute case of glanders, we find
small V-shaped spots of acute pneumonia in the lungs. If the animal
has made an apparent recovery from acute glanders, and in cases of
chronic farcy and chronic glanders no matter how few the external and
visible symptoms may have been, there is a deposit of tubercles-
small, hard, indurated nodes of new connective tissue to be found in the
lungs. When these have existed for some time we may find a deposit
of lime salts in them. These indurated tubercles retain the virus and
their power to give out contagion for almost an indefinite time, and pre-
dispose to the causes which we have studied as the common fiictors in
developing a chronic case into an acute case; that is, an inflammatory
process wakwiis up their vitality and produces a reinfection of the en-
tire animal. The blood of an animal suffering from chronic glanders
and farcy is not virulent and is unaltered, but during the attack of
acute glanders, while the animal has fever, the blood becomes virulent
and remains so for a few days.

Treatme7it.—Fn\]y the entire list of drugs in the pharmacopoeia have
been tested in the treatment of.glanders. Good hygienic surroundings,
good food, with alteratives and tonics, frequently ameliorate the symp-
toms and often do so to such an extent that the animal would pass the
examination of any expert as a perfectly sound animal. But while in
this case the number of tubercles of the lungs, which are invariably
there, may be so few as not so cause sufQcient disturbance in the respi-
ration as to attract the attention of the examiner, they exist, and will
remain there almost indefinitely with the constant possibility of a return
of acute symptoms.

526

In several celebrated cases liorses wliicli Lave been affected with
glanders have been kuowu to work for years and die from other causes
without ever having had the return of symptoms j but, allowing that
these cases may occur, they are so few and far between, and the danger
of infection of glanders to other horses and to the stable attendants is
so great, that no animal which has once been affected with the disease
should be allowed to live.

In all civilized countries, with the exception of some of the States
in the United States, the laws are most stiiugent regarding the prompt
declaration on the part of the owner and attending veterinarian at the
first suspicion of a case of glanders, and they allow a liberal indemnity
for the animal. When this is done, in all cases the animal is destroyed
and the articles with which it has been in contact are thoroughly dis-
infected. When the attendants have attempted to hide the presence
of the disease in a community, punishment is meted to the owner, at-
tentling veterinarian, or other responsible parties. Several States have
passed excellent laws in regard to glanders, but with few exceptions
these laws are not carried out with the rigidity with which they sLould
be. In other States where an indemnity is allowed on declaration on
the partof the owner, the appraisement of the animal is not fairly made.
If the owners of infected animals are to be encouraged to declare the
presence of the disease in order to protect their neighbors from the dan-
ger of contagion they should be paid, not what the animal affected with
the disease is considered worth, when it is valueless, but the one-half
or two-thirds of what would belts market value without the disease,
and the community" should share the loss which the owner should make
in order to protect others.

RABIES IN THE HORSE.

Synonyms : Ilydropliobia, madness, lyssa, rage, Wiithlcranlcheit.

Eabies is a contagious disease, which is usually transmitted by abito
and by the introduction of a virus contained in the saliva«f an affected
animal, but may be transmitted in other ways. It is characterized by
symptoms of aberration of the nervous system, and invariably termi-
nates fatally. It is a disease essentially of the dog, but is transmitted
to the horse, either from dogs or from any other animal affected with it.

As a disease of the horse it is useless to enter into the etiology far-
ther than to assume that in this animal it is invariably the result of the
bite of a rabid animal, usually a dog.

Perhaps no disease in medicine has been the object of more contro-
versy than rabies. Certain medical men of prominence have even
doubted the existence of the disease. Many medical men have claimed
for it a spontaneous origin. The experience, however, of ages has
shovrn that contagion can be proved in the great majority of cases, and
by analogy with other contagious diseases, we may only believe that
the development of one case requires the prsesistence of a previous

527

case from wliicli tho virus has been transmitted. M. Pasteur has fur-
ther added to our knowledge of the disease by showing that a virus
capable of cultiratiou exists iu the nervous system, especially in the
lower part of the brain (medulla oblongata), and in the anterior part of
the spinal column. M. Pasteur has farther shown that that portion
of the nervous system which contains the virus, the exact nature of
which has not yet been demonstrated, will retain it for an indefinite
time if kept at a very low temperature, or if left surrounded by car-
bonic acid ; but if the nerve matter, which is virulent at first, is ex-
l)0sed to the air and by substances which will absorb tho surrounding
moisture is kept from putrefaction, it will gradually lose its virulence
and become inoffensive in about fifteen days. He has further shown
that the action of a weak virus on an animal will prevent the develop-
ment of a stronger virus, and from this he has formulated his method
of prophylactic treatment. This treatment consists of the successive
inoculation of portions of the nerve matter, containing the virus from
a rabid animal, which has been exposed to the atmosphere for thirteen
days, -ten days, seven days, and four days, until the virulent matter
which will produce rabies in any unprotected animal can be inoculated
with impunity. A curious result of the experiments of M. Pasteur is
that an animal which has first been inoculated with a virus of full
strength can be protected by subsequent inoculations of attenuated
virus repeated in doses of increasing strength.

In the horse rabies is invariably the result of the bite of a rabid dog
or other rabjd animal. From the moment of inoculation a variable time
elapses before the development of any'symptoms. This time may be
eight days, or it may be several months ; it is usually about four weeks.
The first symptom is an irritation of the original wound. This wound,
which may have healed completely, commences to itch until the horse
rubs or bites it into a new sore. The horse then becomes irritable and
vicious. It is especially susceptible to surrounding media; excessive
light, noises, the entrance of an attendant, or any other disturbance
will cause the patient to be on the defensive. It apparently sees imag-
inary objects; the slightest noise is exaggers-ted into threatening vio-
lence ; the approach of an attendant or another animal, especiall^^ a dog,
is interpreted as an assault and the horse will strike and bite. The
violence on the part of the rabid horse is not for a moment to be con-
founded with the fury of the same animal suffering from meningitis or
any other trouble of the brain. In rabies there is a volition, a pre-
meditated method, in the attacks which the animal will make, which is
not found in the other diseases. Between the attacks of fury the animal
may become calm for a variable period. The writer attended a case in
which, after a violent attack of an hour, the horse was sufficiently calm
to bo walked 10 miles and only developed violence again an hour after
being placed in the new stable. In the period of fury the horse will
bite at the reoijoned original wound; it will rear and attempt to break

528

its halter and fastenings ; it will bite at the woodwork and surrounding
objects in the stable. If the animal lives long enough it shows paralytic
symptoms and falls to the ground, unable to use two or more of its
extremities, but in the majority of cases, in its excesses of violence, it
does physical injury to itself. It breaks the jaws in biting at the man-
ger, or fractures other bones in throwing itself on the ground, and dies
of hemorrhage or internal injuries. At times throughout the course of
the disease there is an excessive sensibility of the skin, which, if irritated
by the touch, will bring on attacks of violence. The animal may have
appetite and desire water throughout the course of the disease, but on
attempting to swallow has a spasm of the throat, which renders the act
impossible. This latter condition, which is common in all rabid animals,
has given the disease the name of hydropJiobia (fear of water).

In a case recently under the care of the writer a horse, four weeks
after being bitten on the forearm by a rabid dog, developed local irri-
tation in the healed wound and tore it with its teeth into a large ulcer.
This was healed by local treatment in ten days and the horse was kept
under surveillance for over a month. On the advice of another prac-
titioner the horse was taken home and put to work, and within three
days it developed violent symptoms and had to be destroyed.

The diagnosis of rabies in the horse is to be made from the various
brain troubles to which the animal is subject; first, by the history of
a previous bite of a rabid animal or inoculation by other means; sec-
ondly, by the evident volition and consciousness on the part of the
animal in its attacks, offensive and defensive, on persons, animals, or
other disturbing surroundings. The irritation and reopening of the
original wound or point of inoculation is a valuable factor in diagnosis.

Recov^ery from rabies may be considered as a question of the cor-
rectness of the original diagnosis.

No remedial treatment has ever been successful. All of the anodynes
and amcsthetics, opium, belladonna, bromide of potash, ether, chlo-
roform, etc., have been used without avail. The prophylactic treat-
ment of successive inoculations is being used on human beings, and has
experimentally proved efiBcacious in dogs, but would be impracticable
in the horse, which must invariably be destroyed or be so guarded as to
protect the surrounding attendants and other animals in the same sta-
ble, when it will die iu a day or two from self- in dieted traumati:;m or
paralysis.

PLATE XXXVIL.

l-Urtintlained viing of the bat.

2-In.flcuned wing of th-e bat.

Haines, after Agnew:

I N F L A M MAT 1 O A^

PLA.TE xxx\au.

cL

I .\on-iii/7fuiicf/ mesfn/i'iv of Utt; t'ro'/.40(} ilia/nefer\s , reduced 'j.'i.a, Ve/ii//i'
ni/A red rrn// white corpusc/e.f; 0,L>^ Oflatifioiis neT-\p fihr'' ,■ rj'apil/a/y,- d,d,
/)(irJ,-hi)rtlered nerve fibre ,■ e.e, fori /i erf ive li.^stie n-frA roniiective fissii^
cor/tiisrJes (iitd fei/eocvfes scaffered s/jaisrfy throngli it.

2-/7if7a/ned me^fenterv or the frr\g, -400 diameters, reduced ^. a,b.VeTtuZe
fil/ed vfith red arid iv/iife corphscles; f/te red in t/>e centre and tJie whUe
crowding aioru/ the wails,- c,c, CapiJlciry distended with red. and whit^e cor-
jjiisriesyniiniher of the white naicfi decreased,- d,d. Connective tissue betweeiu
\enute and rapi/lar-y fdied wifAniigrcUed leTicocyteS; e ,e. Connective ti^ssiie.
with, less in tiJtration.,- fyOarh-borde-red nerve fibre,; ^, Xuinber of rtixcLei,
in siiea/fis increased.

[allies, del after Agnew.

IN F L a.:m ]vi at I O X.

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SHOEING.

By WILLIAM DICKSON,
F'eterinarian to the State Farmers' Instilute of Minnesota.

Although the subject discussed iu the present chapter may not,
strictly speaking, be entitled to a place in a category of the ailments
to which horseflesh is heir, bad and indifferent shoeing are such pro-
lific sources of both disability and disease in the noblest of all our
dumb animals, that no excuse is necessary in claiming for it equal at-
tention at the hands of those interested.

It has sometimes been asserted that the history of every horse is a
record of human endeavor to mar his utility. While the accuracy of
such a sweeping assertion may fairly be called iu question, there are
undoubtedly res])ects in which the horse in domestication is very often
the victim of his owner's ignorance, indifference, or even mistaken
kindness, and in no particular is this more strikingly conspicuous than
in the ordinary treatment of organs so vitally essential to his useful-
ness as his feet. IsTo horseman questions the truth of the aphorism
" no foot, no horse," and yet in no portion of that animal's economy
has he suffered so many wrongs, or as a natural consequence endured
so much uncalled-for suffering, as in his feet, and to shoeing a very large
proportion of these evils is, beyond all doubt, directly or indirectly
referable.

Unfortunately, under certain conditions, shoeing is an almost un-
avoidable consequence of the horse's domestication, and, although we
may have no wish to uphold the traditional methods, we are driven to
the conclusion that an artificial protection of some kind for the horse's
foot is very frequently one of the penalties which civilization inexorably
exacts. That the ordinary iron shoe is the best and least hurtful means
that could be devised, I am reluctant to admit ; but, so far, even Ameri-
can ingenuity has failed to develop anything better suited to the pur-
pose. That the system of horseshoeing as it obtains, even in the most
skillful hands, is pregnant with mischief to the foot, no one who is con-
versant with the facts will venture to deny. As a matter of physiolog-
ical fitness the shoe and its mode of attachment are utterly indefensible.
Each time a horse is shod — every nail driven— means so much injury
to the foot. The better the job the less that injury is; but there is no
11035 34 629

530

sueli thing as absolute immunity from an evil wliich must always exist
in inverse ratio to the skill displayed in tbe execution of the work. Wo
have, however, to deal with facts as we find them, and if we have, day
after day, to impose upon our horses work of a nature which entails
upon their feet more waste of horn than nature can replace during the
ordinary interval of rest, we are obliged to adopt a defense of some
kind. It would be futile to inveigh against the form of protection in
universal use, unless we were prepared with a substitute not open to
the same or equally serious objections.

There is, however, at least one very large and imi)ortant class of
horses to which shoes are by no means an habitual necessity, namely,
our agricultural horses. The nature of their work, the pace at which
they are required to perform it, and the character of the ground over
which they ordinarily move, all unite to render artificial protection for
their feet, save under exceptional circumstances, alfogether uncalled
for. When this is so, and when it is conceded that shoeing is, even
under the most favorable circumstances, an evil (albeit in some cases a
necessary one), a frequent cause of disease, and therefore a direct
source of loss, it is a matter of deep regret that such a large majority
of our farm horses, the very mainspring of our agricultural existence,
should be needlessly subjected to a mutilation which curtails the period
of their natural efficiency and too often renders their life thus short-
ened one long-continued agony. For it must be borne in mind that our
ordinary village blacksmith, of whose daih^ work horseshoeing forms
but an insignificant and by no means either an easy or pleasant part,
is not always the most competent of workmen.

Without wishing to do injustice to our rural knights of the anvil, it
is nevertheless a lamentable truth that these votaries of the buttress and
drawing-knife are, all the world over, so wedded to a number of tra-
ditionary practices, so heinous, so irrational, so prejudicial to the inter-
ests alike of the horse and his owner, that one might well be excused
for wondering whether their mission were not to mar instead of to
protect the marvelously perfect handiwork of the Creator. Ignorant
alike of the anatomy, physiology, and economic relations of the parts,
they mutilate, they cut and carve as whim, prejudice, or time-honored
custom dictates. Disaster, it may be slowly, but surely, follows, and
all too often the poor dumb creature's suffering foots the bill. Let us
glance in passing at some of these traditional practices.

Foremost among them is the insane habit of trimming the frog and
thinning out the sole till it visibly yield to the pressure of the opera-
tor's thumbs. The frog is nature's cushion and hoof-expander, jdaced
there by an all-wise hand ; by its elasticity it wards off concussion from
the less elastic portions of the structure, and by its resilience assists in
maintaining the natural expansion of its horny ambit; that is to say,
it does so in its natural state, but the drawing knife's touch is fatal to
it. Once cut and carved and deprived of pressure, those very acts

631

cause it to shrink, dry, and harden, and at once lose those very attri-
butes which constitute its usefulness to the foot. Robbed of its elasticity
and resilience, it is incapableof discharging its allottedfuuctious— both
a3 a cushion and as an expander it is a dead failure; indeed it is worse,
as in its altered character if; is now a menace instead of a protection,
a bane rather than a boon to the foot that wears it.

The destruction of this important factor having been thus provided
for, the operator probably next turns his attention to the sole, which,
by all traditions of the craft, must bo pared down until only a tnin film
of soft, partially formed horn is left to protect the living structures
within against injury from the substances with which the foot neces-
sarily comes in contact. Nor does the mischief stop here. The sole
itself, or what is left of it, consists now of soft, moist, half-formed horn,
which dries and shrinks on exposure to the air, and thereby entails a
further and a still more serious injury on the foot.

We have seen in the preceding chapters how the sole is secreted by
the velvety tissue dependant from the membrane which invests the
pedal bone, the minute, hollow, fibrous processes of which penetrate it
and minister to its support. In the mutilated, shrunken sole these
delicate fibers are pinched in the lessened caliber of the pores; the
source of supply is cut off, and the process of repair retarded if not ab-
solutely arrested. There seems to be a fascination about this work of
destruction, and the incompetent workman next addresses himself to
the self-imposed task of improving upon nature by removing the bars
and what he calls, on the Incus a non lucendo principle, " opening" the
heels, a process which, in plain language, means opening a road for
them to close over. On this poor, maimed foot a shoe, often many
sizes too small, is tacked, and the rasp is most likely called into requi-
sition to reduce the foot to fit the shoe; for although it is apparently of
little moment whether the shoe fits the foot, it is indispensabl3^ neces-
sary that the foot should, somehow or other, be got to fit the shoe, and
horseshoeing, like other arts, must needs sacrifice on the altar of ap-
pearances. It is sad that art and nature should so often be at vari-
ance, and that what satisfies the one should outrage the demands of
the other.

The foot is now shod and protected from undue wear, to be sui-e, but at
what a sacrifice! Eobbed of its cushion, its natural expander; its lat-
eral braces removed ; its sole mangled and its natural repair arrested ;
the hairlike fibers which make up the horny wall crushed, deflected, and
their nutritive function impeded by an unnecessary number of nails;
robbed by the rasp of its cortical layer of natural varnish, which retains
the moisture secreted by the economy, the strong walls become desic-
cated and weakened, and the foot is in a very sorry plight indeed. To
some this picture may seem overdrawn, but it is nevertheless a matter
of daily occurrence.

Of course, even among agricultural horses, there are individuals which

532

can not work unshod ; but these are exceptional cases. Then, again, in
winter, when the usual snowfall is wanting, most horses' feet will re-
quire protection ; but nowadays an owner has himself to blame if ho
submits to having the work done in that wrong-headed and ridiculous
manner, which has called into existence such a long and dismal cate-
gory of disease and misery'.

The horse's foot is, after all, a good deal of what we make it, and if our
horses, from their colthood up. had their feet more carefully attended
to, and especially were they invariably to stand while in confinement
on some material less deleterious to the hoof than dry wooden flooring,
from which the foot suffers no attrition whatsoever, and by which it is
moreover depleted of its natural moisture, their feet would, in the period
of the animals' active usefulness, be found to be better shaped, harder,
less brittle, and in every way better suited for the work required of
them.

In the East Indies, where pony racing is very popular and the purses
exceedingly valuable, many expedients are resorted to to smuggle a pony
that is over height under the 13.2 standard (the maximum height for
ponies) among them, of course cutting down the feet as far as can be done
with impunity. I frequently observed that those of the handsome little
Arabs and Walers (Australians), which came up oftenest for measure-
ment, and whose feet were in consequence most frequently pared down
(albeit by an artist at the business, as these little animals were too valu-
able for their owners to accept any risk of injury) were those whose feet
subseq uently stood best the try in g ordeal of trainin g and racing on the ada-
mantine going of the tropics. The moral of this is obvious. It might
even be possible (I do not mean necessarily in this particular way) in the
course of generations to develop a horse whose feet should be so improved
that he could do all sorts of work on all sorts of going barefoot with im-
punity ; but this would imply an amount of self-sacrifice in the present
for the benefit of remote j)rosperity which is hardly to be looked for
in this practical age, and the contention of enthusiasts that all horses
could and should, under all circumstances, go unshod is, I fear, Utopian
and impractical,

I have endeavored to show that shoeing, as generally, or at all events
very frequently, practiced is a fruitful source of injury to our horses'
feet; but as we can not altogether dispense with the custom, let us turn
to a consideration of the means which lie in our power of minimizing
the attendant evil as much as i^ossible.

There is one instrument which I should like to see, if possible, omitted
from the shoeing outfit of every larrier, and that is the drawing-knife.
If our blacksmiths would use their knives less and their heads more in
the execution of their very important and by no means eas}' duty, our
horses would be the better for it, and so would their owners. There is
no great mystery surrounding the subject, and the application of ordi-
nary common sense, in lieu of the barbarous routine which has been so

533

loug handed down from generation to generation until it has actually
become a i>ortion of the blacksmith's creed, would go a long way to-
wards obviating many, if not most, of the cruel wrongs to which our
horses' feet are day by day needlessly subjected.

The outside, or horny wall, and that portion of the sole which is in
immediate contact with it, on which the shoe should rest, are the
only portions of the foot which require to be interfered with in prepar-
ing the foot for the shoe, and all the trimming that is necessary can and
ought to be effected by means of the rasp. The frog and sole should
on no pretext whatever be meddled with, save to the extent I have in-
dicated. Their presence in their entirety, and in their natural state,
is essentially necessary to the well-being of the foot, and neither brooks
the touch of the steel.

There may be differences of opinion among authorities as to minor
details in shoeing, but there is at all events one issue on which it is
satisfactory to know that there is absolute unanimity ; one practice
which all alike utterly condemn 3 and that is the irrational treatment
of the frog and sole, to which I have already alluded. There is, how-
ever, no particular in which the thinking horse-owner finds himself
more frequently at variance with his blacksmith, for there is no detail
in all the latter's misconceived procedure to which he clings with such
colossal obstinac}', which is not open to argument, and which sets
common sense at defiance.

It is a strange fact, but none the less true, that all the world over the
farrier is the one among all our artisans who is least amenable to sug-
gestions from his employer. Other mechanics permit their patrons at
least some discretion as to the size, shape, and structure of the article
desired, but when the ordinary horse owner takes his animal to the
shoeing forge he has usually to place himself absolutely in the black-
smith's hands, and give him carte blanche to cut and carve at his un-
holy will, or else take his horse elsewhere, and there probably find him-
self no better off'. The result is that his horse's feet are mercilessly
mutilated instead of being left as nearly as possible as nature in her in-
effable wisdom made them.

Plate xxxxii, Fig. 1, shows the only parts which should be re-
duced -when a foot is properly prepared for the shoe. Sufficient care is
not always given to shortening the hoof so that its angle should con-
form exactly to the inclination of the limb. It would be misleading to
la,y down any arbitrary degree of obliquity. The angle differs in differ-
ent cases, and the natural bias of the superimposed structures is the
only safe guide to follow. More than one instrument has been devised
for ascertaining the correct degree of obliquity, some of them simple and
efficacious; but an inspection of the foot in profile is usually the best
way of deciding. Too much importance can not possibly be attached
by the workman to this and the succeeding step, namely, leveling the
ground surface of the foot, as the slightest departure from absolute

534

exactitude liere renders whatever amount of care he may devote to the
completion of his work worse than useless. The very smallest devia-
tion from the perpendicular entails disastrous consequences not only
on the foot but on the entire limb. In the foot itself, when the weight
is borne unevenly, the lowest parts receive an undue share ; the pressure
retards the growth of new horn, and the foot in consequence becomes
weakened, distorted, and deformed. In the limb, deflected as it is by
an uneven basis, from the ground surface to its union with the trunk,
the angle of incidence of the weight is imposed unequally, and bone
and tendon mutually suffer from the strain.

THE SHOE.

The shoe should be as light as the weight of the animal and the na-
ture of the work he is expected to perform will admit of. I am not now
writing for the trotting horseman, who knows his own business better
than I can teach him. In referring to shoeing smiths it is possible that
I should have made an exception in favor of the finished artist who
arms the feet of the trotter with those masterpieces of skill and inge-
nuity which balance his gait, level his action and perfect the rhythm of
the motion with which he spurns the flying track behind him, when
thousands of anxious eyes watch his every footstep, and fortunes de-
pend on the length and tirelessness of his stride. That is a branch of
the business which has received an amount of attention and achieved
triumphs unrivaled or unapproached in other lands. Yet have I seen
that artist (for ho is nothing less), after fitting and setting a shoe, per-
fect in workmanship as a piece of jewelry, reach out for his tool box
and rasp the foot from the coronary band to the plantar border, and
thus wantonly court disaster, for what reason let him tell us if he can.

Heavy shoes not only burden the animal which is condemned to wear
them, for there is truth in the old adage, " an ounce at the toe means a
pound at the withers ; " but they also increase the concussion insepara-
ble from progression, and even in the trotter, whose work is meted out
to him with judicious care, although the weight doubtless accomplishes
the work for which it was intended, it is a draft at usury on the
horse's future soundness, which that animal is bound to take up at ma-
turity.

The legitimate mission of the shoo is to prevent undue wear of the
walls, and a light shoe will do this quite as well as a heavy one 5 it is
moreover entirely erroneous to suppose that a heavy shoo necessarily
wears longer than a light one, as experience proves the contrary, in many
instances, to be the case. Even among our mammoth draft horses,
whose shoes must of course be made with reference to the weight they
have to bear and the inordinate strain to which they are subjected when
the animal which wears them is at work, I am not prepared to admit
that it is by any means necessary to add to the concussion to which his
feet are unavoidably subjected, by several pounds of unyielding iron

535.

on oacb foot, wlien shoes weigbiiig lialf as much would serve the pur-
pose equally well. The lamentably short career of our city draft horse,
which is usually determined by foot lameness of one kind or another, is
hirgely attributable to the aggravated amount of battering on hard
pavements which his ueedless weight of armament entails.

The upper surface of the shoe should be perfectly level. If the plane
of the web inclines from outside inward, it greatly adds to the unavoid-
able tendency to contraction which shoeing invariably entails, and there
is a wealth of unwisdom in most of the clumsy attempts at mechanically
spreading the heels by making the inclination in the contrary direction^
It is true that in cases of malformation, or grave alteration of the con-
tour of the foot, good results are obtainable by this or other mechanical
means, but all such heroic remedies should be undertaken only at the
instance and under the immediate supervision of the veterinary prac-
titioner 5 otherwise they are liable to do harm instead of good.

In France dilatation of the hoof by mechanical means is advocated and
practiced more than elsewhere, but the operation is performed with the
utmost exactitude, scrupulous care and delicacy, and under the closest
professional supervision. Even under these favorable conditions the
slightest accidental deviation not only defeats the object in view, but
occasionally leads to untoward results. When contracted feet have to
be expanded there is a far more simple, safe and at the same time effec-
tive means of attaining that end to be found within the foot itself. By
lowering the walls at the heels, so as to restore frog pressure, the latter
speedily recovers its lost characteristics, and in a healthy condition
gradually and naturally accomplishes one of the very purposes for
which the Great Architect placed it there.

It would seem to be unnecessary to say that the shoe should be so
shaped as to conform exactly to the natural tread of the foot, yet a very
common practice obtains of using a shoe of a uniform shape, often less
in circumference, if such a term is i^ermissible, than the foot on which
it is to bo nailed, and then rasping down the foot to fit it. It is ob-
viously easier to make the foot to fit the shoe than it is to make the-
shoe to fit the foot ; a stroke or two of the rasp effects the former, but it
is a far more arduous undertaking to modify the size and shape of the
shoe. The outcome of this pernicious practice is disastrous in the last
degree, more especially so in a dry climate like ours, as the walls thus
robbed of their natural covering permit the moisture of the foot rapidly
to evaporate, and the horn fibers, which make up the outside walls,
instead of being compactly knit together, readily disintegrate, and in
the course of a shoeing or two those very jiortions in which the nails
should obtain firm hold possess little more adhesion than a bundle of
broom corn. If the shoe fitted as it ought to do, a touch of tlie rasp
under each clinch would be all that was necessary, and even this much
might advantageously be dispensed with. Plate xxxxiv illustrates
correct and incorrect fitting, figure 1 being the right and figure 2 the
wrong way.

536

FITTING.

In many countries what is called hot-fitting— that Is to say, after the
foot has been triiumed and leveled, momentarily applying the shoe at
a red heat to the foot — is generally practiced to the almost entire exclu-
sion of any other method, and the system is not only found to answer,
but receives the indorsement of the most competent authorities. The
climatic conditions which render the practice open to objection in this
hemisphere fortunately enable us to dispense with a procedure against
which there exists in the minds of mauy horse-owners a not unreasona-
ble prejudice, which, however, is directed at the abuse rather than the
intelligent application of a proceeding not necessarily hurtful in itself.
The advantage conferred by hot-fitting consists in the fact that a more
accurate accommodation is by this means more readily obtained than
by any other method, and the contact between hoof and shoe can thus
be made more intimate and enduring. In moist climates it is only by
means of hot-fitting that a set of shoes can be got to remain on for a
reasonable length of time; but in no part of this country have I found
any difiBculty of this nature; indeed, on the contrary, shoes are usually
allowed to remain on too long, especially in the agricultural districts.
It has frequently occurred to me, when in the discharge of my duties
as veterinarian to the Farmers' Institute of Minnesota, I have remon-
strated with some local blacksmith at the number of gigantic nails he
employed in affixing a shoe, that I have been assured that did the shoe
not remain on for several months his employer would be dissatisfied
and would transfer his custom elsewhere. Nothing could be more
short-sighted nor more unreasonable than such conduct.

The hoof of the horse is in shape a truncated cone with the base
downwards; as it grows the circumference of the base consequently in-
creases, and the shoe fitted when it was newly put on after a time be-
comes too small. It would be just as reasonable for a horse-owner to
buy his little boy a pair of shoes which just fitted him when he was six
years old, and then expect him to wear them until he was twelve, as it
is for him to require his dumb servant, who can not protest against the
infliction, to wear his shoes for months in succession without resetting.
A badly fitting shoe is to a horse as painful as a tight boot is to his
owner, and under no circumstances should shoes be permitted to remain
on more than a month or five weeks at the outside; mauy animals re-
quire to be reshod even more frequently. It is only when an owner lets
his parsimony overcome his reason that he subscribes himself to a penny-
wise and pound-foolish policy, which can only result, as such policies
invariably do, in a loss to their exponent.

NAILS.

The fewest nails, and these of the smallest size, that will ensure the shoe
remaining on for the proper length of time, is a rule that should never

537

be departed from. The nail >ioles should not be punched too fine — that
is, too uear the outside edge of the web of the shoe (this is a very com-
mon failing of '' keg shoes"); if punched coarser the nails will take a
thicker and lowrr hold of the walls, and in this way obviate their having
to be driven so high up as to approach dangerously near the seusitiv^e
structures. Two of the commonest errors in shoeing are using too many
nails and these of an altogether unnecessary size, and then driving them
too high up into the walls. If a perfectly level bearing has been ob-
tained—as ought to be the case — it is astonishing how few and how
small nails will hold the shoe firmly in its place; but let the fitting be
carelessly done, then, no matter how the shoe may be naiied on, but a
short time elapses ere the clinches open and the shoe works loose.
When we bear in mind that the wall of the hoof consists of a number of
hair-like tubes cemented together, and that each tube is one of an infinite
number of minute canals, which diffuse throughout the horn a fluid that
nourishes and preserves it, it will be readily understood that each nail
driven into the wall deflects those little tubules, probably absolutely
closing those with which it comes into actual contact and hurtfully com-
pressing those lying half way between the nails, thus impairing if not
destroying their utility and cutting off the supplyof a material necessary
to the foot's existence. If we could dispense with nails altogether our
horses' feet would be immeasurably better off. This, unfortunately we
apparently can not do, but we have it iu our power to minimize an evil
which, at present, at all events, we can not entirely avoid. There has
recently been patented in England a nailless horseshoe, for which the
patentees claim extraordinary excellence. I have not yet been able to
see one of these shoes, but if they will enable us to dispense with the use
of nails they will confer a priceless boon on horseflesh generally. From
the description given by the patentees I fail to see, however, how the
shoes can be kept sufficiently firmly iu place, nor can I glean from the
same source, that the new method of attachment (by means of a metal
baud and studs) is equally efficacious with the old, or less injurious.

There is, however, one shoe, without some allusion to which any essay
of this kind would be incomplete, namely, the " Charlier shoe," in-
vented some years ago by M. Oharlier, a wellkuown veterinary sur-
geon of Paris, France, which has never, in my opinion, received either
the attention or trial its merits deserve. Common sense and science
alike indorse it, and were the system to become more generally known
in this country I venture to assert that there is an extremely large num-
ber of cases iu which it would be found both appropriate and benefi-
cial. For this reason I will briefly describe it. The shoes used are
about one-third the weight of an ordinary shoe, and less than one-half
the width. In preparing the foot for the shoe and sole, frog and bars
are left, as they ought to be, absolutely untouched, and a groove is cut,
by means of a knife specially designed for the purpose, in the wall, not
high enough to reach above the sole level, and less than the thickness

538

of the wall in depth. Into this groove a narrow but thick band of iron
is sunk and nailed to the foot by means of four to six conical-headed
nails, the heads being countersunk in the shoe. The advantage of this
method of shoeing is that the frog, bars, and a portion of the sole
come to the ground exactly as if the foot were unshod, and one and all
participate in weight-bearing as it was obviously intended they should,
while the wall is protected from wear by the small rim of iron let into its
ground surface.

A modification of the system has been suggested by an enthusiast
who writes under the name of "Free Lance," which possesses even supe-
rior advantages. Under this system only tips or toe-pieces of the Char-
lier pattern are used, the foot being prepared for their reception, as
shown in Plate xxxxiv. Fig. 3. The tips are made with their ground
surface broader than their upper face, and the outside edge of the web,
beveled off so as to follow the angle of the profiles of the foot. Plate
xxxxiv, Fig. 4.

I have used both the Charlier shoe and the tip in this country as well
as in the East Indies, and I am perfectly satisfied that in many respects
they are superior to any other model. They are infinitely lighter, the
nails are smaller and fewer in number ; all steps in the right direction ;
but the dominant superiority of the device consists in the fact that the
frog obtains pressure to the extent contemplated by nature, and in the
case of the Charlier tip particularly the exercise of its double function
as a buffer and dilator is absolutely uutrammeled in anyway by the
shoe.

FINISHING TOUCHES.

When the shoe has been fitted, the nails driven, drawn up, and
clinched, there should be nothing left to be done. Very frequently,
however, it is just at this stage that the incompetent workman, in the
most uncalled for manner, inflicts serious and lasting injury on the foot.
If the wall has not been sufiBcieutly reduced in leveling the foot, or if
the shoe used is too small, the rasp is required to reduce the projecting
parts. (Plate xxxxiv, Fig. 2.) Often, indeed, when there is not even
this pretext, the whole surface of the foot is subjected to its relentless
touch. No procedure could well be devised which would be more hurt-
ful to the foot. In its natural state the entire hoof, from the coronet to
the sole level, is covered by a fine coating of natural varnish, thickest at
the upper margin and gradually becoming thinner as it descends. Under
cover of this beneficent curtain the new horn is secreted and protected
until it has attained maturity. The moisture secreted by the animal
economy, necessary to the perfection of the horn, is retained within it,
and the prejudicial influences of alternating drought and moisture are
set at defiance. In a very dry atmosphere like ours it is of paramount
importance that this beautiful shield should be preserved and fostered,
and no name is bad enough for a senseless custom which, to serve no

539

good purpose, robs the foot of a necessary protection which it is beyond
the power of art to imitate or rephice.

WINTER SHOEING.

The subject of winter shoeing presents, iu many sections of thecouu-
try, fresh difficulties, for now the shoe is required, iu the case of all
classes of horses, to discharge a double duty ; to afford foothold as well
as guard against uudue wear. Various patterns of shoes have from
time to time beeu invented to meet this dual requirement, but the com-
monest of all, fashioned with shoe and heel calks or calkins, is, laulty
though it be, probably, all things considered, the one which best suits
the requirements of the case. It should, however, never be lost sight
of that the shorter, the sharper, and the smaller the calkins are,
so long as they answer the inirpose which called them into existence,
so much the better for the foot that wears them. High calkins, while
they confer no firmer foothold, are potent means of inflicting injury
both on the foot itself and the superincumbent limb at large. It is only
from that portion of the catch which enters the ground surfiice that the
horse derives any benefit in the shape of foothold, and it must be ap-
parent to the meanest capacity that long calkins, which do not pene-
trate the hard, uneven ground, are so many levers put into the animal's
possession to enable if not compel him to wring his feet, rack his limbs,
and inflict untold tortures on himself. I have laid particular stress on
this subject, as I am of opinion that the presence of navicular disease,
a dire malady from which horses used for agricultural labor should
enjoy a practical immunity, is traceable largely to the habitual use,
during our long winter months, of needlessly large calkins, only frac-
tional parts of which find lodgment in the earth or ice during progres-
sion. I will explain what I mean. When a horse is shod with the exag-
gerated calkins to which I have alluded, the toe and heel calks are, or
ought to be, the same height, to start with, at all events. Very often,
however, they are not, and even when they are, the toe calk wears
down on animals used for draft purposes far more rapidly than its
fellows at the heel. The result is that the toe is depressed while the
heel in unnaturally raised. The relative position of the bony structures
within the foot is altered, and the navicular bone, which is not one of
the weight-bearing bones, is brought within the angle of incidence of
both weight and concussion, influences which it was never contem-
plated it should withstand, and which its structure precludes its sus-
taining without injury. The bone becomes first bruised and then dis-
eased; the tendon, to which it was intended it should act as a pulley,
which passes over and is in constant contact with it, before long also
becomes implicated, and what is technically known as navicular arthri-
tis is thus engendered and developed.

540

SHOEING FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE.

Thanks to tbe amount of attention which every detail that could
possibly tend to the more perfect development of that paragon of horse-
flesh, the American trotter, has received at the hands of all classes of
men, the matter of shoeing for specific i)uri)0ses has made greater
progress in America than in any other country on the face of the globe,
and that is a department of the farrier's art which is justly entitled to
the highest eulogium that can be bestowed upon it.

The different styles of shoes which have been devised are marvels of
ingenuity, and many of them are admirably effective as remedial agents
for faulty gaits and uneven action. Their number is infinite, but as
many are applicable only, or in a large measure, to horses used solely
for speed purposes, any attempt at classification or detailed description
would be out of place in a work of this kind. When intelligently ap-
lilied a considerable number are, however, liotentauxiliaries in mitigating
in some cases the results of natural defects of conformation amongst
animals whose lot ii cast in the humbler if more useful fields of horse
enterprise. Among these are the scoop-toed or roller-motion shoe for
the fore feet (Plate xxxxii. Fig. 2) and the shoe (Plate xxxxii, Fig.
3) for the hind feet, which, while they obviate "forging" or "clicking,"
a habit hurtful to the horse and singularly annoying to his driver, do
not in any waj' tend to inflict injury on the feet or limbs. The scooped or
rolled toe confers a mechanical advantage, enabling the animal to get
over his toes more promptly and thus remove the front foot from the
stroke of the hind extremity, while the lengthening of the branches of
the hind shoes, by increasing the ground surface, retards the flexion
and extension of the hint! limbs.

The common practice of increasing the weight of the outside web of
the hind shoes, to open the action (Plate xxxxii. Fig. 4), is equally
harmless and efficacious when not carried to extremes.

Plate xxxxiii, Fig. 1, is the most effective model of shoe to square
and balance the gait of unmade horses, but the period of its use should
be strictly limited and the weight of the toe gradually reduced as the
desired gait becomes established. An ingenious shoe to prevent "dish-
ing" or "paddling" is shown in Plate xxxxtii, Fig. 2, but I can not
acknowledge so implicit confidence in its efticacy, as the vice is the re-
sult of a physical malformation, which mechanical means can go but a
small way to remove or palliate.

There are many other styles of shoe, the product of American inge-
nuity, for which probably equal merit might be claimed, but there are
others, which, while they may cure or mitigate the special defect against
which they are directed, only do so at the expense of some other por-
tion of the structure. It has many a time furnished food for thought
to the writer, that, in this' great commonwealth, while there are such a
large number of artificers who make horse-shoeing a profession, who

541

offer snch convincing testimony of a vast amount of careful thouglit
and patient study of at least some of the principles of their very im-
portant profession as many of these devices afford, tiie bulk of such
work should be permitted to fall into the hands of a set of incompetent,
ignorant, and ofttimes unprincipled bunglers, who prey upon the cre-
dulity of their employers and inflict upon the most generous of all our
dumb servants an amount of injury which curtails the period of his use-
fulness and results in his premature decadence at an age when he ouuht
still to be in his prime. It is possible, if not probable, that in the fu-
ture it may become a less invidious task to discuss this much vexed
problem. In this age of marvelous ingenuity, is it visionary to hope
that it is within the power of chemistry to develop some preparation
which, applied to our horses' hoofs in a liquid or pultaceous form, will
quickly harden into a substance closely resembling the natural horn,
which will enable us to dispense altogether with the heavy, unyielding
iron, and while it affords the necessary protection to the foot will per-
mit it to retain to the full its wondrous combination of lightness,
strength and elasticity, and enable it to perform its varied functions
under the most exacting conditions which advanced civilization can
impose, with that marvelous trinity of apparently incompatible charac-
teristics unhampered as they left the workshop of the Creator, all act-
ing together in perfect harmony and absolute efficiency ?

In the meantime it behooves us to make the most of the means Mithin
our power. Our horses are national property. Surely, therefore, it is
time that the possibility of a great national economy was recognized,
and some legislation formulated which would require an established
standard of attainment in a class of workmen to whose care property
of such value is habitually intrusted, and upon whose proficiency, or
the reverse, so much of its utility or comparative worthlessness depends,
while it, at the same time, provided for some means of practical instruc-
tion which contemplated raising the science of horseshoeing above the
baneful influences of ignorance and traditional routine, to that position
to which its importance to us as a people justly entitles it.

PLAICE XXXXII.

Tht' /hot fciidi /or //ics/ioc.shou I'ftc/
frog iiiid Ixirs as thev should hr Ic/'t .

Front view o/\s<aop toe /■olliiu/ inotion sitae

Hind /but s/ioe tobolanct; tlic action

Side weujht slioc /or Iiitid /bol .

Kigs2,3and 4 ii-oiu'Russell's SciiMiLifu- florso slu)i-iM<:

pi.ATK xxxxnr.

Toe yvci(/M shoe.

Xoft paddli/uf -s/ioc

Frcr!n"Rnsseirs Scieiitilic Horse shoeino"

PLAT E XXXXIV.

Foot p/'epa/e<J /hr (VizirUer tip.

Fooishod with Char-lier tip.

Plantar surface ot'fiwt
with Ch/irlier tip.

Biffhl fitting.

Wrong tittinef.

Haines.del.

INDEX

Page.

Abdomen, dropsy of 54

of foal, dropsy of 164

swelling of 142

Abortion 153

Abrasions by collar and saddle 454

Abscesses, acute 455

cold or chronic 456

intercostal 1-28

of the brain „ 186

heart 229

pharynx 27

Acariasis 438

Amaurosis 203, 267

Amnios, dropsy of 151

Ana-mia, cei-ebral 104

spinal 206

Anasarca 437, 490

Anchylosis from injury of joints 325

Aneurism 238

Ankles, cocked 362

diseases of 357

Antlirax 510

Ai^oplexy, cerebral 192

of the lungs 116

Arsenical poisoning 34

Arteries, aneurism of 238

constriction of 238

diseases of 236

inflammation of 236

nature and functions of 221

rupture of 239

thrombi and embolisms in 2-10, 353

Arthritis 323

Ascites 54,164

Ast hma 129

Atheroma 237

Atrophy of the brain I95

heart 235

Auscultatioa 107

Azotaraia 66

Azoluria 66

Balls, how to administer 9

Beo stings 441

543

544

Page.'

Beets as feed '-^1

Belly-ache (See al-o Colic) 39

Big leg (lynipbaugitis) 246

Black pigiiieut tumors 2o6, 4'.]6

Black-water (azoturia) C6

Bladder, diseased growths in *5

eversion of 76

inflammation of 73

irritable 74

7ft

paralysis of.

spasm of neck of 71

stone in 83, 161

worms 70

Bleeding after castration 142

from 1 lings - 12S

ruptured artery 239

womb 175

skin eruption 429

Blind staggers 210

Bloat (tympanites) 31,41

Blood spavin 322

vessels, diseases of 219, 223

Bloody flux (dysentery) '17

urine "-^

Bog spavin (blood spavin) 322

Boils, nature and treatment of "127, 430

on the eyelid 255

Bone spavin 287

Bones, anatomy of 271

diseases of 2/9

fractures of 291

Bets '^^

Bowels. (See Intestines.)

Brain, abscess of 1^6

aftections, acute 1^7

anaemia of 19-1

anatomy and physiology of 181

atrophy of 1^5

complication from influenza 482

compression of -- I'-^'S

concussion of 1"3

congestion of 189

dropsy of 1^5

envelopes, inflammation of 1 85

hemorrhage of 1''-

inflammation of 183

paralysis of 187

soften ing of 186

substance, inflammation of 186

Bran as feed 21

Broken bones. {See Fractures.)

knees 3-3

wind 129

Bronchitis 108

Broncho-ifleuro pneumonia 127

545

Page.

Broucho-pnenmonia 128

Bruises 325,449

Burns and scalds 442,454

Bursae. (.Sec Synovial sacs. )

Calculi, biliary '. .-.• 58

gastric 43

intestinal - -■ 44

preputial 86

renal 81

urethral 85

uretral 82

urinary, classes of 77

vesical 83, 161

Ciilk wounds 306

Callosities — - 435

Cancer, eucephaloid (soft) 257,268

epithelial 436

spinal 208

Canker in foot 380,431

Capped elbow 342

hock 348

knee 345

Carpitis 323,3,.'5

Carrots as fead 21

Castration, conditions favorable to 141

covered method of 143

of cryptorchids (ridgliugs) 141

mares 143

stallions 140

treatment of complications of 141, 142

Cataract . . 267

Catarrh, acute nasal 90

chronic 92

Catarrhal fever 493

Cerebri tis 186

Cerebro-spioal meningitis 209

Chaff as feed 20

Chafing by harness 454

Chapped hock 430

knee 430

Charbon (anthrax) 510

Charlier shoe 537

Chest cough 107

diseases, methods of esamiuation for 105

percussion -.. 108

pulse 105

respiration 106

secretions -- 107

temperature 106

wounds 133

Chigoe, treatment for 442

Choking, causes of 27

cervical 29

thoracic 28

Chorea 108

11035- 35

546

page.

Choroiditis 260

Clubfoot 360

Coma (sleepy staggt-rs ) 199

Cocked ankles (k-juckliiig) 362

Cold ill the head -' 90

Colic, cramp or spasmodic 39

flatulent or wind 41

from aneurism 239

Collar galls 454

Colt-ill 493

Concretions, gastric - 43

intestinal 43

Congestion, causes of - 464

of the brain 189

lungs 114

skin 422

passive 465

spinal 206

Conjunctivitis 258

Constipation 43

Corn as feed 21

Cornea, ulcers of 260

Corns "382

Costiveness 43

Cough, chronic 132

dry and moist 107

Cracked heels 430

Cramp of hind limb 197

Cramp-colic 39

Cramps 196

during parturition 152

Cranium, tumors iu 196

Crick in the back 355

Croup 101

Curb 337

Cuts - 447

Cyanosis 236

Dentition 23

Dermatorrhagica parasitica 429

Diabetes insipidus 62

mellitus (saccharine) 63

Diaphragm, rupture of 134

spasms of 134

Diarrhea, 46

Digestive organs, diseases of 15

Diphtheria 101

Dislocations, indications of 326

of the hip joint 328

patella 323

shoulder joint 3"^7

reduction of 326

Distemper '■ 493

Diuresis ^'^

Douche, nasal 1-^

Dourino .<:...., o 1«'^

547

Pago.

Drenches, how to atlmiuister 10

Dropsy of fibdoiiien 54, 151

amnios 151

brain 195

foetus 164

limbs and periuseara 151

scrotum 137

synovial sacs 321

womb 150

Dysentery 47

Ectropion 255

Eczema 424

Edema (oedema) 489

Elbow, capped 342

sprain of muscles of 332

Electric shock 216

Electuaries 10

Elephantiasis 246

Embolisms 240,353

Embryotomj" 173

Emphysema of foetus 164

Encephalitis lt:'4

Endarteritis 236

Endocarditis 224

Enemas 12, 40

Enteritis 49

Entroiiion 255

Epilepsy 199

Enithelioma 133, 426

Epizooty {See also lutlueuza) 476

Eruptions, bleeding skiu 429

Erythem.a 422

Erysipelas ^ 433

Exostosis 279

Eye, affection of cornea of 260

diseases of 247

examination of 250

lachrymal apparatus of 250

muscles of 249

parasites in 268

watering of 257

Eyeball, anatomy of •. 247

tumors of 268

Eyelids, boils on 255

diseases of 1 251

drooping 252

inflammaticu of 252

inversion and cversiou of 255

spasm of 231

tumors of 255,256

warts on 255

wounds of 256

Fainting 233

Falliu-lits 199

548

Page.

Farcy buds ., 426, 520

chrouic (See also Glanders) 520

Favus 437

Feeding 17

Fetlock, diseases of 357

sprain of „ 364

Fevers, kinds of 473

rheumatic 476

spleaic 510

treatment of : 475

Fistulffi 457

of the foot (quittor) 3G8, 4G0

Flat foot 3G0

Flatulent colic (tympanitis) 31, 4l_

Flaxseed as feed 21

Fleas 441

Flexor metatarsi, rupture of 340

Flies, protection from 441

Flooding 175

Flux, bloody (dysentery) 47

Fly-blow „ 440

Foaling (See aZso Parturition) 156,167

Fojtus, adherent to walls of womb 102

constriction of member by navel cord 163

dissection of 173

dropsy of 164

emphysema of 164

excessive size of l!'3

extra-uterine development of 149

prolonged retention of 152

tumors of 105

Foods and feeding 17

effects of changes of 19

preparation of 22

Foot, anatomy of 357

complication from influenza 483

diseases of 357

faults of conformation 360

mange 439

wounds of 387

Founder {See also Lamiuitis) 401

Fractures, causes of 292

nature of 291

of bones of face 304

cannon bones 317

coronet ., „„ 318

cranial bones 304

femur 314

first phalanx 317

forearm 313

hip bone, effect in parturition 158

hock 317

humerus 313

knee 314

lower jaw 305

549

Page.

Fractures of os innominata 309

pedis - 318

patella '-HQ

premaxillary bone 305

ribs 308

sacrum 159, 309

scapula --. 312

eesamoid bones 319

tibia 316

vertebrae - 306

prognosis of 297

reduction of - 300

retention of 302

Frog, bruise of 386

Frostbites 367

Furuncles (See also Boils) 427

Gall-stones - 58

Galls, collar and saddle 454

Gangrene --- .- 128,412

Gastritis 33

Generative organs, diseases of - - - - 135

Gestation, extra uterine 149

prolonged 152

Glanders • -- 514

acute 523

cause of 516

chronic 522

pustules of 426

treatment of = 525

Gleet, nasal 92

urethral 76

Glossitis , --- 25

Glycosuria - 63

Grains, feeding value of 20

Grasses, feeding value of 22

Gravel - 77

Grease - - - - • 431

Grubs on and under the skin 440

Grunting 103

Gullet, diseases of (-See also Esophagus) 27

G unshot wounds 453

Gut tie 46

Guttural pouches 104

Harness galls >.. - 454

Ha^iiiatiiiia - - - 65

Hiemoglobinuria 66

Haemorrhoids 48

Haw, tumor of... 256

Hay as feed 19

Heart, adventitious growths in... - 231

anatomy and Y>hy8iology of 219

atrophy of 235

congestion of... 236

dilatation of 234

diseaaea of 219,223

550

Heart, enlargement of» 233

latty (legeueration of 235

functional iind organic diseases of 232

bypertropby of 233

palpitation of 232

1 npture of 236

sounds of 222

valvular disease of 230

vrcakness of 236

Heaves 129

Heels, contracted 300

cracked 430

inflamed 431

Hemiplegia 200

Hemorrhage, cerebral 192

Hepatitis ^5

Hernia, diphragmatlc 53

inguinal 51

kinds of 51

scrotal 51

umbilical 5'^

uterine : 159

ventral 52

Herpes (shingles) 429

pblyctenoid , 506

High blowing 103

Hip bones, fractured, efiect in parturition 158

joint, dislocation of 3^8

lameness 333

Hip-joint disease 3)4

Hock, capped 3i€

chapped 430

Hoof, contracted 390

cracked 392

Hoof-bonnd 390

Horny sloughs 435

Horsepox 506

Hydrocele 137

Hydrocephalus 163, 195

Hydrophobia 215, 526

Hydro- thorax 127

Hypertrophy of the heart 233

Indigestion 36

Inflammation, character of ' .. 401,466

of the bladder , . 73

bowels 49

brain and its membranes 183

eyelids 252

heart 224

heart-case 229

kidneys 68

knee joint 323, 324

lymnhatic glands 245

Eiouth (stomatitis) .....„....o.... 25

Page,

Inflammation of the nerves S^OS

periosteum 279

skin 424,426

testicles 135

tonguo 25

\vomb and peritoneum 178

Influenza, alterations of 485

compl'catious of 480

detiuition of 476

diagnosis of - 484

etiology of 477

prognosis of 4c5

sequelce of 487, 491

symptoms of 473

terminations of 480,489

treatment of ■- 486

Injections 12, 13, 40

Inosuria - 63

Insufilatiou of medicines 11

Interfering 350,361

Intestines, complication from influenza 480

diseases of , 39

inflammation of 49

intussusception or invaginatiou of 45

large, impaction of 42

stones (calculi) in 44

twisting of 46

vrorras in 37

Icterus 57

Iritis 260

Itching from mange 438

Jaundice 57

Jerks (chorea) , 1-8

Joint water (synovia), escape of 323

Joints, diseases of 320

dislocated 326

open 323

stifiencd by injury (anchylosis) 325

Kidneys, acute inflammation of G^

chronic inflammation of 69

tumors of "0

Knees, broken 323

capped — 345

chapped ^^30

effects of injuries to 323

sprung 336

Knuckling - 362

Labor pains, premature 158

suppression from bladder disorder 161

Lameness, causes and treatment of 269

defluition of 274

location of 278

of the hip .. 333

Ghoulder 330

Lamiuitis (founder) '^01

552

Paget

Laminitis, complicationc of 410

curative measures for 417

exciting causes of 402

following parturition 179

prevention of 415

symptoms of 405

treatment of 414

Lampas 25

Larvae ou and under the skin 440

Laryngitis 96

•Laryngismus paralyticus 101, 202

LarynX; sjiasm of 100

Lead poisoning 33,215

Leucorrhcea 179

Lice 439,442

Ligament, suspensory, rupture of 365

L'useed as feed 21

Liver, diseases of 55

inflammation of 55

rupture of 57

stone in ducts of 58

Lock-jaw 212

Locomotor ataxia 202

Loins, sprains of 355

Lung fever 116

Lungs, abscess and suppuration in 128

anatomy of 112

apoplexy of 116

bleeding from 128

complication from influenza 481

congestion of 114

consumption of 129

dropsy of 129

mortification of 128

Luxations (<See also Dislocations) 326

Lymphangitis 246,488

Lymphatic glands, abscess and inflammation of 245

hypertrophied 245

system, diseases of 244

Mad staggers 185

Madness (rabies) 215

Maize as feed 21

Malignant pustule (anthrax) 510

Mai du coit 139

Mange 419,438

Masturbation 138

Medicines, how to administer 9

inhalation of 11

injection of 12, 13

insufflation of 11

Megrims 189

Melanosis 256, 436

Meningitis, cerebro-spinal 185, 209

spinal 204

Metastasis 489

553

Page.

Moles 150

Monstrosities - 150, 1G5

Moon-blindness 263

Morbus coxarius 334

Mortification 123

Mouth, diseases of 25

Muscles, anatomy of 271

diseases of 329

of foal, contraction of 165

Myelitis 205

Myocarditis 224

Nail pricks 389

Nails for shoeing 536

Nasal catairh 90

douche • 12

gleet - 92

Navel, discharge of urine by 75

Navicular disease 395

Nephritis, acute 68

Nerve, inflammation of 203

iuj ury to 209

tumor of 209

Nervous system, diseases of 181

Nettlerash 427

Neuroma 209

Neuritis 203

Nose, bleeding from 95

Nostrils, tumors in o 90

■wounds near 89

Oats as feed 20

Oedema, enteric 489

pulmonary , = 489

(Esophagus, diseases of 27

sacular dilatation of 29

stricture of - 29

Open joints 323

Ophthalmia, external.. , 253

internal , 200

recurrent or periodic - 267

Optic nerve, paralysis of 203,283

Orchitis 135

Ostitis 279

Overreach 366

Palpitation of the heart 232

Palsy {See also Paralysis) - 200

Papilloma --• 138

Paralysis (palsy) - 200

during pregnancy 152

facial - 202

intestinal 202

local 202

of bladder 203

hind extremities 152, 201

muscles of limbs 202

ontic nerve 152, 203, 267

554

"Page.

Paralysis of penis 138

rectum aucl tail 202

side of body 200

Parapliyniosis 1'13

Paraplegia ---- • 201

Parasites, animal, of the eye 2(58

kidueys 70

bkiu 438

vegetable, of tbe skiu 43G

Parasitic pityriasis 438

Parrot-mouth 24

Parturitiou,di£ticult l-';(>, 158,163

natural 156

of twins 167

symptoms of 156

PasterD, injured by knuckling ". 362

Patella, pseuuo luxation of 328

Pediculi 442

Peditis 412

Pelvis, tumors in 159

Penis, growths on 138

paralysis of 138

ruptured blood vessels of 138

swelled 142

warts on 138

Pericarditis 229

with influenza 483

PerinsBUUi, dropsy of 151

Periostitis 2T9, 412

Peritonitis ^^4

Pharnygitis 26

Pharynx, abscesses in 27

inflammation of 96

paralysis of 26

Phlebitis 241

Phyniosis 143

Pigeou-tced foot 360,361

Piles 48

Pimples with congestion 424

Pink-eye {See also Influenza) 476

Pin- worm 38

Pityriasis 428

Pleurisy 1"^3

symptoms and prognosis — 124

treatment of 126

with influenza 4S3

Pleuiodynia 132

Pleuro-pneumonia 127

Plica polonica 437

Plnmbisni 33,215

Pneumonia (lung fever) 116

metastatic 4 10

03(lematous 500

■with bronchitis 128

and pleurisy 127

555

Page.

Pneumonia Yritli pienrisy ....= 127

Poisoning, arsenical 34

lead 33,215

Poll evil 457

Polypus, nasal ^4

pharyngeal &5

Polyuria 62

Potatoes as feed 21

Powders, Low to administer 9

Presentations, natural 156

wrong 167

Pregnancy, care of mare during 148

constipation during 152

duration of 148

indications of 146

ovarian, tubal, and abdominal 119

paralysis during 152

Proud flejh 448

Pruritus 428

Psoroptic acariasis 439

Ptosis 252

Ptyaliem 25

Pulse 105,2^2

Pumiced sole 412

Purpura hcniorrliagica (anasarca) 243, 4-7

Pustules witli iuliaramation 426

Pyrsmia 410

Quarter-cracks 392

Quidding 24

Quitter 368,460

cartilaginous 377

cntancoud 303

Bubborny 375

tendinous 372

Rabies 21 5, 526

Kectum, impaction of 101

paralysis of 202

Respiration 106

Respiratory orgaus, diseases of 87

Retinitis 260

Rheumatic fever, remedies for 470

Ringbone 283,399

Ringworm, circiuato 436

honeycomb ,, 437

Roaring 101,202

Rodent ulcer 436

Roots as feed 21

Rupture {Sec also Hernia) 51

of arteries 239

the diaphragm 134

heart 236

liver 57

ebank muscle (flexor metatarsi) 340

stomach .' 32

suspensory ligament 365

56

Page.

Knpture of the womb 159

Eye as feed 21

Saddle galls 454

Saliva, excessive flow of 25

Sand-cracks 392

Sarcocele 136

Sarcoptic acariasls 43S

Scalds 442,454

Scalma 49G

Scaly skin diseases 428

Scapula, fracture of.. 312

Scarlatiua (anasarca) 487

Sclerosis, cerebral , 187

spinal 205

Scorpion, sting of 442

Scour 46

Scratches 430

Sciotum, dropsy of 137

Secretions 107

Self-abuse 138

Septicaiinia 410,489,491

Sheath, calculi in 86

swelling of 142

Shingles (herpes) 429

Shivering (chorea) • 198

Shoe boil 342

Shoeing, article on 529

bad methods of - 530

finishing touches in 538

for specific purposes 540

winter 539

nail prick in 389

preparing the foot for '--- 533

use of nails in 536

Shoes, best form of 534

Charlier pattern of. 537

fitting of 536

various styles of . 540

Shoulder, dislocation of joint of 327

lameness of 330

Shoulder-blade (scapula), fracture of 312

Sidebones 286,398,410

Sitfasts 435

Skin, bleeding eruptions of 429

disease, scaly 428

diseases of 419,422

nervous irritation of 428

structure of 420

thread worms in 430

Sleepy staggers 199

Slobbering (ptyalism) 25

Snake bites 442

Softening of the brain 1^6

Sole, pumiced ■ 412

Soro mouth 25

557

Paga

Sore throat 9^

Sores, summer, from thread worm 430

Spasms, causes of - . 196

of diaphragm 19^

glottis 196

intestines 39

larynx 100

neck cf bladder 196

womb 161

thigh or hind limb 197

Spavin, blood or bog 322

bone 287

occult - 287

Spaying 143

Speedy- cuts '■^^^t 36j.

Spermatic cord, strangulated l'*^

tumors on, from castration 143

Spinal anaemia 206

compression 2v7

concussion 203

congestion and hyperemia 206

cord 1^3

hemorrhage 207

nerves 183

sclerosis 205

tumors 208

Splenic fever 510

Splints .., 280

Sprains, causes and treatment of 329

of the elbow muscles 332

hips 333

ligaments and tendons 365

loins 355

shoulder 330

Springhalt (stringhalt) 198,352

Sprung knees 336

Staggers, mad or blind 1^55! 210

sleepy 199

stomach 30

Stallions, castration of 140

Staphyloma 208

Sterility 144

Stethoscope, use of 1*^8

Stitfness of joints (anchylosis) from injuries 325

Slifle-boue (patella), false dislocation of 328

Slings 441

Stocking 431

Stomach, diseases of 30

gorged 30

inflammation of 33

ruptu I e of 32

staggers 30

tympanites of (bloat) ...-. 31, 41

Stomatitis 25

Stone in the bladder , 83, 161

558

Page.

Stone i n the gall bladder = = = 58

intestines .„... 44

kidney 81

sheath 86

stomach 43

ureter 82

urethra 85

Strangles 493

Straw as feed 20

Striughalt 198,352

Stye 255

Summer sores 430

Sunstroke = 191

Surfeit 427

Superpurgation 47

Suspensory ligament, rupture of 365

Sweeny 331

Syncope 233

Synovial fluid, escape of 323

sacs, diseases of 321

Synovitis , 321, 323

Tail, paralysis of 202

Tape-worms 38

Tarantula, bite of 442

Tear ducts, inflamed 257

Teats, diseases of 179, 180

Teeth, aching „ 24

diseases of 23

irregularities of 23

Teething 23

Temperature 106

Tendons, diseases of 329

lacerated 338

Testicles, abnormal number of. 137

congestion and inflammation of 135

degeneration of 137

enlarged and hardened (sarcocele) 136

thickening of cord of (varicocele) 137

Tetanus 212

Thick wind 103

Thoroughpin 322

Thread worm 429

Throat, soreness of 96

Thrush 379

Thumps 134,197

Ticks , 440

Tinea tonsurans 436

Ti)» (shoe), form of 391

Tissues, animal 461

Toe, turning up of 414

Toe-cracks 392

Tongue, inflammation of 25

Toothache 24

Tracheotomy, operation of 98

Trichiasis 255

659

Pago.

Tuberculosis (consumptiou) 1-9

Tumors, black pigment 256, 436

in vagina and pelv is -• 159

of a nerve • 209

the cranium 195

eyeball 268

f CEtus 165

haw 256

kidneys ''^

nostrils 90

spermatic cord 1^3

spmo 208

udder 180

T vrius, delivery of 167

Tympanites '^1

Ty])hoid fever {See also Influenza) 476

Udder, diseases of - - 179

tumors of ■ 180

Ulcers of cornea --. • 260

Urachns, persistent « = 75

Uraemia 216

Urethra, inflammation of 76

stone in 85

stricture of 77

Urinary organs, diseases of 59

Urine, bloody .- 65

brownish or black 66

discharge of, by navel 75

examination of 61

excessive secretion of 62

sweet (glycosuria) 64

Urticaria 427

Uterus. (See Womb.)

Vachette clasp for toe- crack 394

Vagina, constriction of 162

effusion of blood in wails of 161

ruptnrc of 162

tumors in 159

Vaiicocele 137

Variola 506

Vavix 242

Veins, dilated or varicose 242

diseases of 241

entrance of air into 243

Vertigo (megrims) 189

Volvulus 46

Warts - 436

on the penis 138

teats 180

Water, amount required for drink 15

impurities of 16

time for giving 16

Wheat as feed 21

Whistling 103

Wind colic (tympanites) - 31,41

560

Page.
Wind-broken - 129

Wiudgalls 321,363

Windpipe • 104

Withers, fistulous 457

Wood-ticks 440

Womb, constriction of neck of 1G2

cystic disease of walls of , 150

dropsy of IfiO

eversion of 176

rupture or laceration of 177

spasm of neck of 161

twisting of neck of IGO

Worms, intestinal 37

Wounds and their treatment 447

by shoe-calks 366

gunshot 453

incised or cut 443, 447

lacerated and contused 443,448

near the nostrils 89

of the ekiu 443

tendons 453

punctured 443, 450

Yellows = = ....... 57

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