Frequently present in the horse s urine

Frequently present in the horse s urine

Frequently present in the horse s urine

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 Gallois's test. Evaporate the suspected urine at a gentle heat almost to dryness, then add a drop of a solution of mercuric nitrate and evaporate 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 reappears on heating.

Costiveness or irregularity of the bowels

Costiveness or irregularity of the bowels

Costiveness or irregularity of the bowels

Symptoms. 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, unthrifty 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 teaspoonful of liquid yeast to 4 ounces of the urine and keeping it lightly stopped at a temperature of 70° to 80° F. for 12 hours, when the sugar will be found to have been changed into alcohol and carbon dioxid. The loss of density will give indication of the quantity of sugar transformed; thus a density of 1.035 in a urine which was formerly 1.060 would indicate about 15 grains of sugar to the fluid ounce.

Saccharine Diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus, Glycosuria, or Inosuria).

Saccharine Diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus, Glycosuria, or Inosuria).

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.

Causes. 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 glycogen, 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 quantity of sugar produced is more than can be disposed of in the natural way, and it appears in the urine. A temporary sweetness of the urine often occurs after a hearty meal on starchy feed, but this is due altogether to the super-abundant supply of the sugar-forming feed, lasts for a few hours only, and has no pathological significance. In many cases of fatal glycosuria the liver is found to be enlarged, or at least congested, and it is found that the disorder can be produced experimentally by agencies which produce an increased circulation through the liver. Thus Bernard produced glycosuria 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 (vasomotor) which presides over the contractions of the minute blood vessels. The pricking and irritation of this center leads to congestion of the liver and the excessive production of sugar. Irritation carried to this point through the pneumogastric nerve causes saccharine urine, and, in keeping with this, disease of the pancreas has been found in this malady. The complete removal of the pancreas, however, determines glycosuria, the organ having in health an inhibitive action on sugar production by the liver. The same result follows the reflection of irritation from other sources, as from different ganglia (corpora striata, optic thalami, pons, cerebellum, cerebrum) of the brain. Similarly it is induced by interruption of the nervous control along the vasomotor tracts, as in destruction of the upper or lower cervical sympathetic ganglion, by cutting the nervous branch connecting these two, in injury to the spinal marrow in the interval between the brain and the second or fourth dorsal vertebra, or in disease of the celiac plexus, which directly presides over the liver. Certain chemical poisons also cause saccharine urine, notably woorara, strychnia, morphia, phosphoric acid, alcohol, ether, quinia, chloroform, ammonia, arsenic, and phlorizin.

Treatment consists in stopping the ingestion of the faulty drugs

Treatment consists in stopping the ingestion of the faulty drugs

Treatment consists in stopping the ingestion of the faulty drugs

Treatment consists in stopping the ingestion of the faulty drugs, poisons, or feed, and supplying sound hay and grain free from 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 sheathe 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 hastening repair. To these may be added agents calculated to destroy the fungus and eliminate its poisonous products. In that form which depends on musty food nothing acts better than large doses of iodid of potassium (2 drams), while in other cases creosote, carbolic acid (1 dram), or oil of turpentine (4 drams), properly diluted, may be resorted to.

So great is the quantity passed

So great is the quantity passed

So great is the quantity passed

Symptoms. The horse drinks deep at every opportunity and passes urine on every occasion when stopped, the discharge being 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 24 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 may die early of exhaustion. In the slighter cases, or when the cause ceases to operate, a somewhat tardy recovery may be made.

Diuresis (Polyuria, Diabetes Insipidus, or Excessive Secretion of Urine).

Diuresis (Polyuria, Diabetes Insipidus, or 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 rapidly advancing emaciation, and great loss of strength and spirit.

Causes. 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 feed; 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 become musty and permeated by fungi. Thus hay, straw, or oats obtained in wet seasons and heating in the rick or stack is especially injurious. Hence this malady, like coma somnolentum (sleepy staggers), is widespread in wet seasons, and especially in rainy districts.

Examination of The Urine.

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 in 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; yellow or orange from bile or blood pigment; pale from excess of water; or variously colored from vegetable ingredients (santonin makes it red; rhubarb or senna, brown; tar or carbolic acid, green). (2) Density: The horse's urine may be 1.030 or 1.050, but it may greatly exceed this in diabetes and may sink to 1.007 in diuresis. (3) Chemical reaction, as ascertained by blue litmus or red test papers. The horse on vegetable diet has alkaline urine turning red test papers blue, while in the sucking colt and the horse fed on flesh or on his own tissue (in starvation or abstinence during disease) it is acid, turning blue litmus red. (4) Organic constituents, as when glairy from albumen coagulable by strong nitric acid and boiling, when charged with microscopic casts of the uriniferous tubes, with the eggs or bodies of worms, with sugar, blood, or bile. (5) In its salts, which may crystallize out spontaneously, or on boiling, or on the addition of chemical reagents.

PLATE VIII.
LONGITUDINAL SECTION THROUGH KIDNEY.

PLATE IX.
MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY OF KIDNEY.

PLATE X.
MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY OF KIDNEY.

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 the 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 is probably urate or hippurate of ammonia. Albumen is normally present in advanced gestation; abnormally it is seen in diseases 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 pleurae, and even tympany (bloating), doubtless from the same cause, and in all congestive or inflammatory diseases of the kidneys, acute or chronic.

Casts of the uriniferous tubes can be seen only by placing the suspected urine under the microscope. They are usually very elastic 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 may be 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.

General Symptoms of Disease.

General Symptoms of Disease.

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 modified in density or constituents. Difficulty in making a sharp turn, or in lying down and rising with or without groaning, dropping the back when mounted or when pinched on the loins is suggestive of kidney disease, and so to a less extent are swelled legs, dropsy, and diseases of the skin and nervous system. The oiled hand introduced through the rectum may feel the bladder beneath and detect any overdistention, swelling, tenderness, or stone. In ponies the kidneys even may be reached.

VIII resembles a heart of cards

VIII resembles a heart of cards

VIII resembles a heart of cards

The right kidney, weighing 23-1/2 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 (Pl. VIII) resembles a heart of cards, and extends from the loins forward beneath the head of the last rib only. Each consists 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; (b) the internal (medullary) part, made up in the main of blood vessels, lymphatics, and 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 (d) a large, saccular reservoir in the center of the kidney, into which all uriniferous tubes pour their secretions and from which the urine is carried away through a tube g (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 circular, 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 vulva, about 4-1/2 inches from its external opening.

Diseases of the heart and lungs

Diseases of the heart and lungs

Diseases of the heart and lungs

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 feed 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 in musty hay or oats. The kidneys may be irritated by feeding green vegetables covered with hoar frost or by furnishing an excess of feed rich in phosphates (wheat bran, beans, peas, vetches, lentils, rape cake, cottonseed cake) or by a privation of water, which entails a concentrated condition and high density of the urine. Exposure in cold rain or snow storms, cold drafts of air, and 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.

Prominent Causes of Urinary Disorders.

Prominent Causes of Urinary Disorders.

A disordered liver contributes to the production under different circumstances 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 formation of stone, of taurocholic acid, and other bodies that tend when in excess to destroy the blood globules and to cause irritation of the kidneys by the resulting hemoglobin excreted in the urine, and of glycogen too abundant to be burned up in the system, which induces 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 disorders, prominent among which are diabetes, chylous urine, and albuminuria. Certain affections, with imperfect nutrition or destructive waste of the bony tissues, tend to charge the urine with phosphates of lime and 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.

Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, Etc., in Cornell University. Uses of The Urinary Organs.

Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, Etc., in Cornell University. Uses of The Urinary Organs.

The urinary organs constitute the main channel through which are excreted the nitrogenous or albuminoid principles, whether derived directly from the feed or from the muscular and other nitrogenized 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 bacterial or other germs that have entered the body from without. Bacteria themselves largely escape from the body through the kidneys. To a large extent, therefore, these organs are the sanitary scavengers and purifiers of the system, and when their functions are impaired or arrested 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 secretions of the skin and kidneys during hot and cold weather. In summer, when so much liquid exhales through the skin as sweat, comparatively little urine is passed, whereas in winter, when the skin is inactive, 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 off of the water by the skin leaves too little to keep the solids of the urine safely in solution, and these are liable to crystallize 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.

Rupture of The Diaphragm.

Rupture of The Diaphragm.

Post-mortem examinations after colic or severe accident sometimes reveal rupture of the diaphragm. This may take place after death, from the generation of gases in the decomposing carcass, which distend the intestines so that the diaphragm is ruptured by the great pressure against it. The symptoms are intensely difficult respiration and great depression. There is no treatment.

The jerky motion affects the whole body

The jerky motion affects the whole body

The jerky motion affects the whole body

There should be no difficulty in distinguishing this affection from palpitation 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 diaphragm and the beating 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 perceptible than natural. Thumps is produced by causes similar to those that produce congestion of the lungs and dilatation or palpitation of the heart, and may occur in connection with these conditions. If not relieved, death usually results from congestion or edema of the lungs, as the breathing is interfered with by the inordinate action of this important muscle of inspiration so much that proper aeration of the blood can not take place. The treatment should be as prescribed for congestion of the lungs, and, in addition, antispasmodics, such as 1 ounce of sulphuric ether in warm water or 3 drams of asafetida.

Thumps, or Spasm of The Diaphragm.

Thumps, or Spasm of The Diaphragm.

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

In the beginning of this article on the diseases of the organs of respiration, the diaphragm was briefly referred to as the principal and essential 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 similar to hiccoughs in man although in all cases the peculiar noise is not made in the throat of the horse.

The wound should then be closed immediately

The wound should then be closed immediately

The wound should then be closed immediately

It is evident that the treatment of wounds that penetrate the thoracic cavity should 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, 1 part in 40 parts of water. The wound should then be closed immediately. If it is an incised wound, it should be closed with sutures or with adhesive plasters; if torn or lacerated, adhesive plaster may be used or a bandage around the chest over the dressing. 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 consist principally in keeping the parts clean with a solution of carbolic acid, and applying fresh dressing as often as required to keep the wound in a healthy condition. Care should be taken that the discharges from the wound have an outlet in the most dependent part. (See Wounds and their treatment, p. 484.) If pleurisy supervenes, it should be treated as advised under that head.

Wounds Penetrating The Walls of The Chest.

Wounds Penetrating The Walls of The Chest.

A wound penetrating the wall of the chest admits air into the thoracic cavity outside the lung. This condition is known as pneumothorax and may result in collapse of the lung. 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 manner as entirely to close the wound; thus a small quantity of air gains 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 be even an opening in the walls of the chest. In such cases the air may be absorbed, when a spontaneous cure is the result, but when the symptoms are urgent it is recommended that the air be removed by a trocar and cannula or by an aspirator.

Pleurodynia.

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 round; 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 much pain. It is distinguished from pleurisy by the absence of fever, cough, the friction sound, the effusion into the chest, and by the existence of rheumatism in other parts. The treatment for this affection is the same as for rheumatism affecting other parts.

Chronic Cough.

Chronic Cough.

A chronic cough may succeed the acute disease of the respiratory organs, such as pneumonia, bronchitis, laryngitis, etc. It accompanies chronic roaring, chronic bronchitis, broken wind; it may succeed influenza. As previously stated, cough is but a symptom and not a disease 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.

Arsenic is efficacious in palliating the symptoms

Arsenic is efficacious in palliating the symptoms

Arsenic is efficacious in palliating the symptoms

Arsenic is efficacious in palliating the symptoms. It is best administered in the form of a solution of arsenic, as Fowler's solution or as the white powdered arsenious acid. Of the former the dose is 1 ounce to the drinking water three times daily; of the latter one may give 3 grains in each feed. These quantities may be cautiously increased as the animal becomes accustomed to the drug. If the bowels do not act regularly, a pint of raw linseed oil may be given once or twice a month, or a handful of Glauber's salt may be given in the feed twice daily, so long as necessary. It must, however, be borne in mind that all medicinal treatment is of secondary consideration; careful attention paid to the diet is of greatest importance. Broken-winded animals should not be used for breeding purposes. A predisposition to the disease may be inherited.

When the disease is established there is no cure for it

When the disease is established there is no cure for it

When the disease is established there is no cure for it

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 intensity the first time the animal overloads the stomach or is allowed food of bad quality. Clover hay or bulky feed which 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. It has been asserted that the disease is unknown where clover hay is never used. The diet should be confined to feed of the best quality and in the smallest quantity. The bad effect of moldy or dusty hay, fodder, or feed of any kind can not be overestimated. A small quantity of the best hay once a day is sufficient. This should be cut and dampened. The animal should invariably be watered before feeding; never directly after a meal. 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. Half a pint to a pint of thick, dark molasses with each feed is useful.

When the veterinarian is examining a horse for soundness

When the veterinarian is examining a horse for soundness

When the veterinarian is examining a horse for soundness

Certain 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 examining 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 if the horse is so afflicted, but will not cause the symptoms of heaves in a healthy horse. All broken-winded horses have the cough peculiar to the affection, but it is not regular. A considerable time may elapse before it is heard and then it may come on in paroxysms, 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.

Indigestion is often present in these cases

Indigestion is often present in these cases

Indigestion is often present in these cases

As before remarked, indigestion is often present in these cases. The animal may have a depraved appetite, as shown by a desire to eat dirt and soiled bedding, which he often devours in preference to the clean feed in the trough or manger. The stomach is liable to be overloaded with indigestible feed. The abdomen may assume that form called "potbellied." The animal frequently passes wind of a very offensive odor. 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. Round-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.

Almost every experienced horseman is able to detect heaves

Almost every experienced horseman is able to detect heaves

Almost every experienced horseman is able to detect heaves

Symptoms. Almost every experienced horseman is able to detect heaves. The peculiar movement of the flanks and abdomen point out the ailment at once. In recent cases, however, the affected animal does not always exhibit the characteristic breathing unless exerted to a certain extent. The cough which accompanies this disease is peculiar to it. It is difficult 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 be remembered that the lungs have lost much of their elasticity, and in consequence 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 contract, then pause for a moment, then complete the act of contracting, thus making a double bellowslike movement at each expiration, a sort of jerky motion with every breath. The double expiratory movement may also be detected by allowing the that the expiratory current is not continuous, but is broken into two jets. When the animal is exerted a wheezing noise accompanies the breathing. This noise may be heard to a less extent when the animal is at rest if the ear is applied to the chest.

In itself broken wind is not a fatal disease

In itself broken wind is not a fatal disease

In itself broken wind is not a fatal disease

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 evidenced 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. 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 second form is called interlobular, or interstitial, emphysema, and follows the first. In this variety the air finds its way into the lung tissue between the air cells or the tissue between the small lobules.

Feeding on clover hay or damaged hay or straw

Feeding on clover hay or damaged hay or straw

Feeding on clover hay or damaged hay or straw

Heaves is usually associated with disorder of the function of digestion or to an error in the choice of feed. Feeding on clover hay or damaged hay or straw, too bulky and innutritious feed, and keeping the horse in a dusty atmosphere or a badly ventilated stable produce or predispose to heaves. Horses brought from a high to a low level are predisposed.

Heaves, Broken Wind, or Asthma.

Heaves, Broken Wind, or Asthma.

Much confusion exists in the popular mind in regard to the nature of heaves. Many horsemen loosely apply the term to all ailments where the breathing is difficult or noisy. Scientific veterinarians are well acquainted 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 caused by spasm of the small circular muscles that surround the bronchial tubes. The continued existence of this affection of the muscles leads to a paralysis of them, and the forced breathing to emphysema, which always accompanies heaves.

Tuberculosis of The Lungs.

Tuberculosis of The Lungs.

Pulmonary consumption or tuberculosis has been recognized in the horse in a number of instances. The symptoms are as of chronic pneumonia or pleurisy. There is no treatment for the disease.

Hemoptysis, or Bleeding From The Lungs.

Hemoptysis, or Bleeding From The Lungs.

Bleeding from the lungs may occur during the course of congestion of the lungs, bronchitis, pneumonia, influenza, purpura hemorrhagica, or glanders. An accident or exertion may cause a rupture of a vessel. Plethora and hypertrophy of the heart predispose to it. Following the rupture of a vessel the blood may escape into the lung tissue and cause a serious attack of pneumonia, or it may fill up the bronchial tubes and prove fatal by suffocating the animal. When the hemorrhage is from the lung it is accompanied with coughing; the blood is frothy, of a bright red color, 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 with coughing. The ear may be placed against the windpipe along its course, and if the blood is from the lungs a gurgling 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 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 perchlorid 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 hemorrhage into the lung may occur and cause death by suffocation without the least manifestation of it by the discharge of blood from the nose.

Mortification.

Mortification.

Gangrene, or mortification, means the death of the part affected. Occasionally, owing to the intensity of the inflammation or bad treatment, pneumonia and pleuropneumonia terminate in mortification, which is soon followed by the death of the animal. Perhaps the most common cause of this complication is the presence of a foreign body in the lung, as food particles or medicine. Rough drenching or drenching through the nostrils may cause this serious condition.

Suppuration And Abscess in The Lung.

Suppuration And Abscess in The Lung.

There are instances, and especially when the surroundings of the patient have been bad or the disease is of an especially severe type, when pneumonia 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 among the most frequent causes of this termination. The symptoms of suppuration in the lung are chronic pneumonia, a solidified area of lung tissue, continued low fever, and, in some cases, offensive smell of the breath, and the discharge of the matter from the nostrils.