If the practitioner is consulted somewhat too late, when the constitution has become affected, and typhoid fever has ensued, he should still lance the tumours, and apply the chloride of lime and the tincture of myrrh, and give a gentle aperient. He should endeavour to rouse and support the system by tonic medicines, as gentian and colomba with ginger, adding to two drachms of the first two, and one drachm of the last, half an ounce of nitre; but he should place most dependence on nourishing food. Until the mouth is tolerably sound, it is probable that the animal will not be induced to eat; but it will occasionally sip a little fluid, and, therefore, gruel should be always within its reach. More should occasionally be given, as thick as it will flow, with a spoon or small horn.

[INFLAMMATION OF THE TONGUE.

Glossitis or inflammation of the tongue is not an unfrequent disease, but is occasionally met with in its simple form or in connexion with inflammatory affections of the throat. Under all and any circumstances this affection must be considered a dangerous malady, as it not unfrequently proves fatal in the course of a few hours from suffocation, occasioned by the swelling of the organ itself and other portions of the throat. The disease comes on suddenly with fever, heat, swelling and redness of the tongue. The tongue protrudes from the mouth and exhibits a dry, hot, inflammatory appearance, the respiration is hurried, and the animal expresses great uneasiness, and constant desire to lap water, which he can with difficulty accomplish. If not arrested, the inflammation may terminate in suppuration, by which process the swelling is relieved, and a cure often effected.

'Causes'.—Independent of the natural agents before referred to in the production of inflammatory affections, there are some few causes to which we can especially attribute this disease. Direct injuries done to the member itself, either by wounds or stings of insects, the taking of poisonous or irritating substances into the mouth, want of water while hunting in hot weather, &c.

Several years ago we witnessed the death of a very valuable pointer, suffering from this disease produced by poison maliciously administered. He was affected so suddenly and violently with inflammation of the throat and tongue that his owner, Mr. F—, was lead to believe that a bone had lodged in the throat, which was the occasion of all the trouble. After proper examination and considerable delay, he was forced to abandon this erroneous idea, but not in time to save the poor animal, who soon died from strangulation or congestion of the lungs. This valuable dog might have been saved if promptly and energetically treated.

The stings of wasps or bees may also produce this affection.

'Treatment'.—Nothing can be done with this malady without the use of the lancet, by which six or eight ounces of blood should be drawn at the commencement of the disease. If the tongue is much swollen and very tender, longitudinal incisions should be made in it, extending as far back as possible, and their bleeding assisted by sponging the mouth out with tepid water. Astringent applications may then be used as washes, such as alum water, strong vinegar, infusions of oak bark or solutions of nitrate of silver, four or six grains to the ounce, to be applied once or twice a day. A large blister may also be placed under the throat, and when the inflammation is sufficiently reduced to allow the introduction of articles into the stomach, a powerful purge of aloes should be given. Nothing, however, can be done without copious bleeding.—L.]

THE LIPS

of the dog discharge, with somewhat less efficiency, the same office as in the horse, cattle, and sheep; and are usefully employed in gathering together the food, and conveying it to the mouth. The lips also secrete the saliva, a fluid that is indispensably necessary for the proper comminution of the food.

Swellings on the inside of the cheek or upper lip, and extending nearly to the angle of the lip, are of frequent occurrence. A superficial sore spreads over it, slightly covered by a yellowish, mattery pellicle; and on the teeth, and extending down the gums, there is a deposition of hardened tartarous matter, which is scaled off with a greater or less degree of difficulty. It must be removed, or the sore will rapidly spread over the cheek. A lotion of equal parts of tincture of myrrh and water, with a few drops of the tincture of cantharides, will be usually sufficient to cause the swelling to subside, and the pellicle to be detached. The lip, however, will generally remain slightly thickened. A little soreness will sometimes return, but be easily reduced.

THE TEETH

next claim attention.

According to the dentition of the dog by M. Girard and Linnaeus, the following is the acknowledged formula:

Incisors, 5/6; Canines, (1-1)/(1-1); Molars, (6-6)/(7-7),=42.

The following cuts exhibit the front teeth of the dog in various stages of growth and decay:

[Seven illustrations, shown in full in the html version of this text.]

The full-grown dog has usually 20 teeth in the upper, and 22 in the lower jaw, with two small supernumerary molars. All of them, with the exception of the tushes, are provided with a bony neck covered by the gums, and separating the body of the tooth from the root. The projecting portion of the teeth is more or less pointed, and disposed so as to tear and crush the food on which the dog lives. They are of a moderate size when compared with those of other animals, and are subject to little loss of substance compared with the teeth of the horse. In most of them, however, there is some alteration of form and substance, both in the incisors and the tushes; but this depends so much on the kind of food on which the animal lives, and the consequent use of the teeth, that the indication of the age, by the altered appearance of the mouth, is not to be depended upon after the animal is four or five years old. The incisor teeth are six in number in each jaw, and are placed opposite to each other. In the lower jaw, the pincers, or central teeth, are the largest and the strongest; the middle teeth are somewhat less; and the corner teeth the smallest and the weakest. In the upper jaw, however, the corner teeth are much larger than the middle ones; they are farther apart from their neighbours, and they terminate in a conical point curved somewhat inwards and backwards.

As long as the teeth of the full-grown dog are whole, and not injured by use, they have a healthy appearance, and their colour is beautifully white. The surface of the incisors presents, as in the ruminants, an interior and cutting edge, and a hollow or depression within. This edge or border is divided into three lobes, the largest and most projecting forming the summit or point of the tooth. The two lateral lobes have the appearance of notches cut on either side of the principal lobe; and the union of the three resembles the 'fleur de lis', which, however, is in the process of time effaced by the wearing out of the teeth. (Figs. 3 and 4.)

While the incisor teeth are young, they are flattened on their sides, and bent somewhat backwards, and there is a decided cavity, in which a pulpy substance is enclosed. This, however, is gradually contracted as the age of the dog increases.

M. F. Cuvier speaks of certain supernumerary teeth occasionally developed in each of the jaws. There is much irregularity accompanying them; and they have even been supposed to have extended to seven or eight in number.

THE INDICATIONS OF AGE.

The dog displays natural indications of age. The hair turns gray to a certain extent as in the human being. This commences about the eyes, and extends over the face, and weakens the sight; and, at ten years old, or earlier, in the majority of dogs, this can scarcely be mistaken. At fifteen or sixteen years the animal is becoming a nuisance, yet he has been known to linger on until he has reached his two-and-twentieth year.

Among the diseases from which the dog suffers, there are few of more frequent occurrence than decayed teeth, especially in towns, or in the habitations of the higher classes of society: the carious teeth, in almost every case, becoming insufferably fetid, or so loose as to prevent mastication; or an immense accumulation of tartar growing round them.

The course which the veterinary surgeon pursues is an exceedingly simple one. If any of the teeth are considerably loose, they must be removed. If there is any deposit of tartaric acid, it must be got rid of by means of the proper instruments, not very different from those which the human surgeon employs. The teeth must be perfectly cleaned, and every loose one taken away. Without this the dog will be an almost insufferable nuisance. The decayed and loose teeth being removed, chlorinated lime diluted with 15 or 20 times its bulk of water should be applied to the gums. By the use of this the ulcers will quickly heal; the fetor will be removed, and the deposition of the tartar prevented. Mr. Blaine first introduced the chlorinated lime for the accomplishment of these purposes.

Two little histories out of a great number will sufficiently illustrate these cases. A terrier had scarcely eaten during more than a week. He dropped his meat after attempting to chew it, and the breath was very offensive. Several of the teeth were loose, and the rest were thickly encrusted with tartar. The gums had receded from the teeth, and were red, sore, and ulcerated.

I removed all the loose teeth; for experience had taught me that they rarely or never became again fixed. I next, with the forceps and knife, cleaned the others, and ordered the diluted chlorinated lime to be alternated with tincture of myrrh and water. The extraction of the loose teeth, and the removal of the tartar from those that were sound, occupied a full hour; for the dog resisted with all his might. He, however, soon began to eat; the lotions were continued; and five months afterwards, the mouth of the dog was not in the slightest degree offensive.

An old dog should not be quite abandoned. A pug had only four teeth remaining beside the canines. They were all thickly covered with tartar, and two of them were very loose. The gums and lips were in a dreadfully cankerous state, and the dog was unable to eat. All that he could do was to lap a little milk or broth.

I extracted the two loose teeth, cleaned the others, and ordered a lotion of equal parts of tincture of myrrh and water to be applied.

'13th August', 1842.—A very considerable discharge of pus was observed, with blood from the mouth, apparently proceeding from the cavity whence one of the teeth had been extracted. The dog is exceedingly thirsty, and walks round and round the water-dish, but is afraid to lap. He has not eaten for two days. Use the lotion as before, and force him with strong soup.

'15th.' The dog has not voluntarily eaten, but is still forced with soup. He is very costive. Give two grains of calomel and an equal quantity of antimonial powder.

'18th.' He has eaten a very little, but gets thinner and weaker. Continue the lotion.

'27th.' The ulcers are nearly healed, and the discharge of pus has ceased.

'31st.' The mouth is clean, the gums are healed, and there is no longer anything offensive about the dog.

THE LARYNX

is placed at the top of the windpipe, the exit from the lungs, and is also connected with the Schneiderian membrane. At its upper part is the epiglottis, the main guard against the passage of the food into the respiratory tubes, and, at the same time, of the instrument of the voice. It consists of five cartilages united together by a ligamentous substance, and, by distinct and perfect articulations, adapting itself to every change of the respiratory process and the production of the voice.

At the base is the 'cricoid cartilage,' the support and bond of union of the rest. Above are the 'arytenoid cartilages,' resting on the 'chorda vocales' and influencing their action. The 'epiglottis' is placed at the extremity of the opening into the windpipe, with its back opposed to the pharynx, so that when a pellet of food passes from the pharynx in its way to the oesophagus, the epiglottis is applied over the glottis, and by this means closes the aperture of the larynx, and prevents any portion of the food from passing into it. The food having passed over the epiglottis, that cartilage, from its elastic power, again rises and resumes its former situation.

The 'thyroid cartilage' envelopes and protects all the rest, and particularly the lining membrane of the larynx, which vibrates from the impulse of the air that passes. The vibrations spread in every direction until they reach the delicate membrane of the tympanum of the ear. That membrane responds to the motion without, and the vibration is carried on to the pulp of the auditory nerve, deep in the recesses of the ear. The loudness of the tone—its acuteness or graveness—depends on the force of the expired air and the shortening or lengthening of the chord. Hence it is, that the tone of the bark of the dog, or the neighing of the horse, depends so much on the age or size of the animal. Thus we compare the shrill bark of the puppy with the hoarse one of the adult dog; the high-toned but sweet music of the beagle with the fuller and lower cry of the fox-hound, and the deep but melodious baying of the mastiff. I may, perhaps, be permitted to add to these, the whinnying of the colt and the neighing of the horse.

Each animal has his peculiar and intelligible language. He who has long lived among them will recognise the tone of delight at meeting, rising into and terminating in a sharper sound; the strong and elevated tone when they are calling to or challenging each other at a distance; the short expression of anger—the longer, deeper, hoarser tone of fear; the murmur almost as deep, but softer, of habitual attachment, and the elevated yet melodious token of sudden recognition. I could carry on a conversation with a dog that I once possessed for several minutes, and one perfectly intelligible to both.

Inflammation of the larynx is a frequent and dangerous complaint. It usually commences with, and can scarcely be distinguished from, catarrh, except that it is attended by cough more violent and painful, and the dog expectorates considerably. Acute laryngitis is not so frequent an occurrence; but there is much danger attending it. Blood must be abstracted to as great an extent as the pulse will bear, or until it becomes evidently affected. To this must follow digitalis, nitre, tartar emetic, and aloes, and to these must be added a powerful blister. A considerable quantity is effused and organized, the membrane is thickened, perhaps permanently so, and the whole of the submucous cellular tissue becomes oedematous.

The dog is subject to sudden attacks of 'angina'. It has been imagined, from the appearances that are manifested, that some strange body is arrested in the windpipe or the throat. There is no dread of water or of the usual fluids; the dog will lap once or twice from that fluid which is placed before him, and turns slowly away from it; and this circumstance gives rise to what is called dumb madness. The dog barks in a particular manner, or rather howls like a rabid dog: he is out of spirits, has a strange, anxious, altered countenance, and is alternately cold and hot. Frequently added to this is redness of the buccal and nasal membranes. He refuses all solid food, and either will not drink or finds it difficult to swallow anything. His mouth is generally open, and contains a spumy matter exhaling an offensive smell. His tongue, charged with a great quantity of saliva, protrudes from his mouth, and the submaxillary glands are enlarged. To these appearances are added a yellow tint of the eyes, constipation, and a small quantity of urine, surcharged with a deep yellow colour. At this period the disease has generally reached a considerable degree of virulence. Often the inflammation extends to the back part of the mouth and larynx; and in this last case the respiration is attended by a hoarse, hissing kind of sound.

The progress of the disease is rapid, and, in a few days, it reaches its highest degree of intensity. It is always fatal when it is intense; and, when its influence is widely spread, it is a very dangerous complaint.

Somewhat rarely the subjects of it recover. After death we find great redness and injection in all the affected nervous surfaces, and indications of abscesses in which suppuration was not fully established.

FOREIGN ARTICLES IN THE THROAT

When a substance, such as a bone, has become impacted in the throat, the better plan is to attempt to push it downwards into the stomach, as there is but little hope of extracting it.

[A portion of sponge may be securely tied on the end of a piece of ratan, whalebone, or other flexible material, and inserted in the mouth, may be carried over the tongue down the throat against the foreign article, which may then be gently pushed before it. If this should not succeed, and the substance appears firmly imbedded in the throat, an incision may be made in the oesophagus and the bone extracted.—L.]

BRONCHOCELE OR GOITRE

in the dog is almost daily forced upon our notice. If a spaniel or pug-puppy is mangy, pot-bellied, rickety, or deformed, he seldom fails to have some enlargement of the thyroid gland. The spaniel and the pug are most subject to this disease. The jugular vein passes over the thyroid gland; and, as that substance increases, the vein is sometimes brought into sight, and appears between the gland and the integuement, fearfully enlarged, varicose, and almost appearing as if it were bursting. The trachea is pressed upon on either side, and the oesophagus by the left gland, and there is difficulty of swallowing. The poor animal pants distressingly after the least exertion, and I have known absolute suffocation ensue. In a few cases ulceration has followed, and the sloughing has been dreadful, yet the gland has still preserved its characteristic structure. Although numerous abscesses have been formed in the lower part of it, and there has been considerable discharge, viscid or purulent, the upper part has remained as hard and almost as scirrhous as before.

'Cause of Goitre'.—In many cases, this enlargement of the thyroid glands is plainly connected with a debilitated state of the constitution generally, and more particularly with a disposition to rickets. I have rarely seen a puppy that had had mange badly, and especially if mange was closely followed by distemper, that did not soon exhibit goitre. Puppies half-starved, and especially if dirtily kept, are thus affected; and it is generally found connected with a loose skin, flabby muscles, enlarged belly, and great stupidity. On the other hand, I have seen hundreds of dogs, to all appearance otherwise healthy, in whom the glands of the neck have suddenly and frightfully enlarged. I have never been able to trace this disease to any particular food, whether solid or liquid; although it is certainly the frequent result of want of nutriment.

Some friends, of whom I particularly inquired, assured me, that it is not to any great extent prevalent in those parts of Derbyshire where goitre is oftenest seen in the human being.

It is periodical in the dog. I have seen it under medical treatment, and without medical treatment, perfectly disappear for a while, and soon afterwards, without any assignable cause, return. There is a breed of the Blenheim spaniel, in which this periodical goitre is very remarkable; the slightest cold is accompanied by enlargement of the thyroid gland, but the swelling altogether disappears in the course of a fortnight. I am quite assured that it is hereditary; no one that is accustomed to dogs can doubt this for a moment.

'Treatment'.—I am almost ashamed to confess how many inefficient and cruel methods of treatment I many years ago adopted. I used mercurial friction, external stimulants, and blisters; I have been absurd enough to pass setons through the tumours, and even to extirpate them with the knife. The mercury salivated without any advantage, the stimulants and the blisters aggravated the evil; the setons did so in a tenfold degree, so that many dogs were lost in the irritative fever tint was produced; and, although the gland, when directed out, could not be reproduced, yet I have been puzzled with the complication of vessels around it, and in one case lost my patient by hemorrhage, which I could not arrest.

When the power of iodine in the dispersion of glandular tumours was first spoken of, I eagerly tried it for this disease, and was soon satisfied that it was almost a specific. I scarcely recollect a case in which the glands have not very materially diminished; and, in the decided majority of cases, they have been gradually reduced to their natural size. I first tried an ointment composed of the iodine of potassium and lard, with some, but not a satisfactory result. Next I used the tincture of iodine, in doses of from five to ten drops, and with or without any external local application; but I found, at length, that the simple iodine, made into pills with powdered gum and syrup, effected almost all that I could wish. It is best to commence with the eighth of a grain for a small dog, and rapidly increase it to half a grain, morning and night. A larger dog may take from a quarter of a grain to a grain. In a few instances, loss of appetite and slight emaciation have been produced; but then, the medicine being suspended for a few days, no permanent ill effect has ever followed the exhibition of iodine.

PHLEGMONOUS TUMOUR.

A phlegmonous tumour under the throat, and accompanied by constitutional disturbance, with the exception of there being little or no cough, often appears in the dog. Comparing the size of the animals, these tumours are much larger than in either the horse or ox; but they are situated higher up the face, and do not press so much upon the windpipe, nor is there any apparent danger of suffocation from them. The whole head, however, is sometimes enlarged to a frightful degree, and the eyes are completely closed. More than a pint of fluid has sometimes escaped from a middle-sized dog at the first puncture of the tumour.

The mode of treatment is, to stimulate the part, in order to expedite the suppuration of the tumour, and to lance it freely and deeply, as soon as matter is evidently formed. The wound should be dressed with tincture of aloes, and a thick bandage placed round the neck, to prevent the dog from scratching the part, which often causes dreadful laceration.

These tumours in the throat of the dog are not always of a phlegmonous character. They are cysts, sometimes rapidly formed, and of considerable size, and filled with a serous or gelatinous fluid.



* * * * *



CHAPTER XI.

ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE CHEST; THE DIAPHRAGM; THE PERICARDIUM; THE HEART; PLEURISY; PNEUMONIA; SPASMODIC COUGH

The chest is the superior, or in quadrupeds the anterior, cavity of the trunk of the body: it is divided into two cavities by a membranous partition, termed 'mediastinum;' and separated from the abdomen, or cavity which contains the liver, spleen, pancreas, and other abdominal viscera, by the 'diaphragm,' which is of a musculo-membranous nature. This membrane may be described, as it is divided, into the main circular muscle, with its central tendinous expansion forming the lower part, and two appendices, or 'crura,' as they are termed from their peculiar shape, constituting its superior portion. We trace the fleshy origin of the grand muscle, laterally and inferiorly, commencing from the cartilage of the eighth rib anteriorly, and following somewhat closely, as we proceed backward, the union of the posterior ribs with their cartilages, excepting, however, the two last. The attachment is peculiarly strong. It is denticulated: it encloses the whole of the latter and inferior part of the chest as far as the sternum, where it is connected with the ensiform cartilage.

The diaphragm is the main agent, both in ordinary and extraordinary respiration. In its quiescent state it presents its convex surface towards the thorax, and its concave one towards the abdomen. The anterior convexity abuts upon the lungs; the posterior concavity is occupied by some of the abdominal viscera.

Thus far we have described the diaphragm as found in the horse, ox, and sheep. There is some difference with regard to the dog. The muscular part of the diaphragm is thick and strong in every species of dog, while the aponeurotic expansion is comparatively smaller. From the smaller expanse of the thorax of the dog, and the consequent little expansion of the diaphragm, the action, although occasionally rapid and violent—for he is an animal of speed—is not so extensive, and more muscle and less tendon may be given to him, not only without detriment, but with evident advantage. Therefore, although we have occasional rupture of the heart of the dog, oftener perhaps than in the horse, there is no case of rupture of the diaphragm on record.

The cavity of the thorax is lined by a membrane, termed pleura, which covers the surface of the lungs.

The lungs on either side are enclosed in a separate and perfect bag, anil each lung has a distinct pleura. The heart lies under the left lung; and, more perfectly to cut off all injurious connexion or communication of disease between the lungs and the heart, the heart is enclosed in a distinct pleura or bag, termed the 'pericardium'. This membrane closely invests the heart, supports it in its situation, prevents too great dilatation when it is gorged with blood, and too violent action when it is sometimes unduly stimulated. Notwithstanding the confinement of the pericardium, the heart, when under circumstances of unusual excitation, beats violently against the ribs, and, were it not thus tied down, would often bruise and injure itself, and cause inflammation in the neighbouring parts.

The 'heart' is composed of four cavities; two above, called 'auricles', from their shape, and two below, termed 'ventricles', occupying the bulk of the heart. In point of fact, there are two hearts—the one on the left side propelling the blood through the frame, and the other on the right side conveying it through the pulmonary system; but, united in the manner in which they are, their junction contributes to their mutual strength, and both circulations are carried on at the same time.

The beating of the heart in the dog is best examined behind the elbow on the left side. The hand, applied flat against the ribs, will give the number and character of the pulsations. The pericardium, or outer investing membrane of the heart, is frequently liable to inflammation, milked by a quickened and irregular respiration, and an action of the heart, bounding at an early period of the disease, but becoming scarcely recognisable as the fluid increases. The patient is then beginning gradually to sink. A thickening of the substance of the heart is occasionally suspected, and, on the other hand, an increased capacity of the cavities of the heart; the parietes being considerably thinner, and the frame of the animal emaciated.

The pulse of the greater part of our domestic animals has been calculated by Mr. Vatel, in his excellent work on Veterinary Pathology, to be nearly as follows:

In the horse, from 32 to 38 pulsations in a minute. " ox or cow, " 35 " 49 " " ass, " 48 " 54 " " sheep, " 70 " 79 " " goat, from 72 to 76 pulsations in a minute. " dog, " 90 " 100 " " cat, " 110 " 120 " " rabbit, . . 120 " " guinea-pig, . . 140 " " crow, . . 136 " " duck, . . 136 " " hen, . . 140 " " heron, . . 200 "

The pulse of the dog may be easily ascertained by feeling at the heart or the inside of the knee, and it varies materially, according to the breed, as well as the size of the animal. This is very strikingly the case with some of the sporting dogs, with whom the force as well as the rapidity of the pulse vary materially according to the character and breed of the dog.

There is, occasionally, in the dog as in the human being, an alteration of the quantity, as well as of the quality, of the blood. 'Anaemia' is the term used to designate a deficiency in quantity; 'plethora' is the opposite state of it. M. D'Arbor relates a very curious account of the former:

Two dogs were sent into the hospital of the veterinary school at Lyons. They did not appear to suffer any considerable pain. Their skin and mucous membranes that were visible had a peculiar appearance. They had also comparatively little power over their limbs; so little, indeed, that they rested continually on one side, without the ability to shift their posture. When they were placed on their feet, their limbs gave way, and they fell the moment they were quitted. In despite of the care that was taken of them, they died on the second day.

Incisions were made through the skin, but in opening them no blood flowed. The venae cavae themselves did not contain any—there were only two clots of blood in the cavities of their hearts. One of them, of the size of a small nutmeg, occupied the left ventricle; the other, which was still smaller, was found at the base of the right ventricle. The chest of one of them enclosed a small quantity of serosity; a similar fluid was between the dura mater and the arachnoid membrane, and the same was the case in the larger ventricles of the encephalon. The other viscera did not offer anything remarkable, except the paleness and flaccidity of their tissue. The great fatigues of the chase, and the immersion of these animals in water at the time that they were very much heated, appeared to have been the causes of this singular disease. In the report of the labours of the School of Alfort, in the year 1825, the same anaemia was remarked in two dogs that died there; one of them had lately undergone a considerable hemorrhage, and in the other anaemia had developed itself spontaneously.

It is in fact among dogs that this extreme anaemia has been principally observed, and is ordinarily fatal. It has been remarked by M. Crusal in a bullock attacked with gastro-enteritis.

This disease, according to M. Vatel, is generally the symptom of a chronic malady, or the instantaneous effect of an excessive hemorrhage. It is rarely primary. The extreme discoloration of the tissues, and of the mucous membrane more particularly, the disappearance of the subcutaneous blood-vessels, and the extreme feebleness of the animal, are the principal symptoms. There also often exists considerable swelling of the limbs.

The following singular case of a wound penetrating into the chest and pericardium of a dog, is recorded by Professor Delafond:

A mastiff dog fighting with another was stabbed in the chest by the master of his antagonist. Five hours after the accident, the Professor was sent for. On the exterior of the sternum was a laceration an inch and a half in length, covered by a spumy fluid, from the centre of which was heard a gurgling noise, showing that a wound had penetrated into the sac of the pleura. The respiration was quick, and evidently painful; the beating of the heart was also strong and precipitate. The finger being introduced into the wound, penetrated between the fourth and fifth rib on the left side. "Having arrived at the pleuritic sac," says the Professor, "I gently tapped the surface of the lung, in order to assure myself that it was not injured; my finger penetrated into the pericardium, and the point of the heart beat against it."

He bathed the wound with a little diluted wine, and brought the edges of it as near together as he could, and confined them with a suture, administering a mild aperient.

On the following day, the animal walked slowly about, seeking for something to eat; he gave him some milk. On changing the dressing, he tried whether he could again introduce any sound into the wound; but it would only penetrate a very little way; indeed, re-union by adhesion had already taken place.

On the fifth day, the animal was in good spirits; the wound had a healthy red appearance, and all tended to a speedy cure.

On the eighth day he was sent home to his master, a distance of two leagues from his house. He saw the dog eighteen months afterwards, and he was as eager as ever after his game.

The following is a case of rupture of the heart:—A black pointer, of the Scotch breed, had every appearance of good health, except that she frequently fell into a fit after having run a little way, and sometimes even after playing in the yard. She was several times bled during and after these fits. When I examined her, I could plainly perceive considerable and violent spasmodic motion of the heart, and the sounds of the beating of the heart were irregular and convulsive. She was sent to the infirmary, in order to be cured of an attack of mange; but during her stay in the hospital she had these fits several times: the attack almost always followed after she had been playing with other dogs. She appeared as if struck by lightning, and remained motionless for several minutes, her gums losing their natural appearance and assuming a bluish hue. After the lapse of a few minutes, she again arose as if nothing had been the matter. She was bled twice in eight days, and several doses of foxglove were administered to her. The fits appeared to become less frequent; but, playing one day with another dog, she fell and expired immediately.

The 'post mortem' examination was made two hours after death. The cavity of the pericardium contained a red clot of blood, which enveloped the whole of the heart; it was thicker in the parts that corresponded with the valve of the heart; and on the left ventricle, and near the base of the left valve of the heart, and on the external part of that viscus, was an irregular rent two inches long. It crossed the wall of the valve of the heart, which was very thin in this place. The size of the heart was very small, considering the height and bulk of the dog. The walls of the ventricles, and particularly of the left ventricle, were very thick. The cavity of the left ventricle was very small; there was evidently a concentric hypertrophy of these ventricles; the left valve of the heart was of great size.

The immediate cause of the rupture of the valve of the heart had evidently been an increase of circulation, brought on by an increase of exercise; but the remote cause consisted in the remarkable thinness of the walls of the valve of the heart. This case is remarkable in more than one respect; first, because examples of rupture of the valve of the heart are very rare; and, secondly, because this rupture had its seat in the left valve of the heart, while, usually, in both the human being and the quadruped, it takes place in the right; and this, without doubt, because the walls and the valves of the right side are thinner.

Diseases of the investing membrane of the lungs, and the pleura of the thoracic cavity, and of the substance of the lungs, are more frequent than those of the heart.

PLEURISY,

or inflammation of the membrane of the chest and the lungs of the dog, is not unfrequent. There are few instances of inflammation of the lungs, or pneumonia, that do not ultimately become connected with or terminate in pleurisy. The tenderness of the sides, the curious twitching that is observed, the obstinate sitting up, and the presence of a short, suppressed, painful cough, which the dog bears with strange impatience, are the symptoms that principally distinguish it from pneumonia. The exploration of the chest by auscultation gives a true picture of it in pleurisy; and, by placing the dog alternately on his chest, his back, or his side, we can readily ascertain the extent to which effusion exists in the thoracic cavity; and, if we think proper, we can get rid of the fluid. It is not a dangerous thing to attempt, although it is very problematical whether much advantage would accrue from the operation. With a favourite dog it may, however, be tried; and, to prevent all accidents, a veterinary surgeon should be entrusted with the case.

PNEUMONIA,

or inflammation of the substance of the lungs, is a complaint of frequent occurrence in the dog, and is singularly marked. The extended head, the protruded tongue, the anxious, bloodshot eye, the painful heaving of the hot breath, the obstinacy with which the animal sits up hour after hour until his feet slip from under him, and the eye closes, and the head droops, through extreme fatigue, yet in a moment being roused again by the feeling of instant suffocation, are symptoms that cannot be mistaken.

Here, from the comparative thinness of the integument and the parietes, we have the progress of the disease brought completely under our view. The exploration of the chest of the dog by auscultation is a beautiful as well as wonderful thing. It at least exhibits to us the actual state of the lungs, if it does not always enable us to arrest the impending evil.

Mr. Blaine and myself used cordially to agree with regard to the treatment of pneumonia, materially different from the opinions of the majority of sportsmen. Epidemic pneumonia was generally fatal, if it was not speedily arrested in its course. The cure was commenced by bleeding, and that to a considerable extent, when not more than four-and-twenty or six-and thirty hours had passed; for, after that, the progress of the disease could seldom be arrested. Blistering the chest was sometimes resorted to with advantage; and the cantharides ointment and the oil of turpentine formed one of the most convenient as well as one of the most efficacious blisters. A purgative was administered, composed of mutton broth with Epsom salts or castor oil; to which followed the administration of the best sedatives that we have in those cases, namely, nitre, powdered foxglove, and antimonial powder, in the proportion of a scruple of the first, four grains of the second, and two grains of the third.

Congestion of the lungs is a frequent termination of pneumonia; and in that congestion the air-cells are easily ruptured and filled with blood. That blood assumes a black pulpy appearance, commonly indicated by the term of 'rottenness', an indication or consequence of the violence of the disease, and the hopelessness of the case. A different consequence of inflammation of the lungs is the formation of tubercles, and, after that, of suppuration and abscess, when, generally speaking, the case is hopeless. A full account of this is given in the work on the Horse.

Two cases of pneumonia will be useful:

Oct. 22d, 1820. A black pointer bitch that had been used lo a warm kennel, was made to sleep on flat stones without straw. A violent cough followed, under which she had been getting worse and worse for a fortnight. Yesterday I saw her. The breathing was laborious. The bitch was constantly shifting her position, and, whether she lay down or sat up, was endeavouring to elevate her head. Her usual posture was sitting, and she only lay down for a minute. The eyes were surrounded, and the nose nearly stopped with mucus. V. S. [Symbol: ounce] viij. Emet. Fever-ball twice in the day.

23d. Breathing not quite so laborious. Will not eat. Medicine as before. Apply a blister on the chest.

24th. Nearly the same. V. S. [Symbol: ounce] vj. Bol. utheri.

26th. Decided amendment. She breathes with much less difficulty. Less discharge both from eyes and nose. Bol. utheri.

Nov. 7th. Sent home well.

A singular and not uninstructive case came before me. A lady in the country wrote to me to say, that her terrier was thin, dull, husking, and perpetually trying to get something from the throat; that her coat stared, and she frequently panted, I replied, that I apprehended she had caught cold; and recommended bleeding to the extent of four ounces, a grain each of calomel and emetic tartar to be given every fourth morning, and a fever-ball, composed of digitalis, nitre, and tartrate of antimony, on each intermediate day.

A few days after this I received another letter from her, saying, that the dog was bled as ordered, and died on the following Thursday. That another veterinary surgeon had been called in, who said that the first one had punctured the 'vena cava' in the operation, and that the dog had bled to death internally; and she wished to know my opinion. I replied, that the charge proceeded from ignorance or malice, or both. That in one sense he was right—the jugular, which the other had probably opened, runs into the vena cava, and may, with some latitude, be considered a superior branch of it; therefore, thus far the first man had punctured the vena cava, which I had done many hundred times; but that the point of union of the four principal veins that form the vena cava was too securely seated in the upper part of the thorax for any lancet to reach it. That the rupture of some small arterial vessel might have caused this lingering death, but that the puncture of a vein would either have been speedily fatal, or of no consequence; and that, probably, the animal died of the disease which she had described.

SPASMODIC COUGH

is a troublesome disease to manage. Dogs, and especially those considerably petted, are subject to frequent cough, requiring a material difference in the treatment. Sometimes there is a husky cough, not to so great a degree as in distemper, but followed by the same apparent effort to get something from the throat, the same attempt to vomit, and the ejection of mucus, frothy or adhesive, and occasionally discoloured with bile. It proceeds from irritability or obstruction in some of the air-passages, and oftenest of the superior ones. An emetic will clear the fauces, or at least force out a portion of the adhesive matter which is clogging the bronchial tubes.

A cough of this kind, and attended in its early stages by little fever, seldom requires anything more for its cure than the exhibition of a few gentle emetics, consisting of equal portions of calomel and emetic tartar, given in doses varying from half a grain to one grain and a half of each.

A harsh hollow cough is attended by more inflammatory action. The depletive system must be adopted here. A loud and harsh cough will yield only to the lancet and to purgatives, assisted by sedative medicines composed of nitre, antimonial powder, and digitalis, or small doses of syrup of poppies, or more minute doses of the hydrocyanic acid; this last medicine, however, should be carefully watched, and only given under surgical advice.

28th October, 1842. A spaniel was apparently well yesterday, but towards evening a violent cough suddenly came on. It was harsh and hollow, and terminated in retching. There was a discharge of water from the eyes; but the nose was cool and moist. Give an emetic, and then two grains of the James's powder.

29th The animal coughed almost the whole of the night. There was more watery discharge from the eyes, which appeared to be red and impatient of light; the nose continued cool, and the dog did not refuse his food. An aperient ball was given; and twice afterwards in the day, the nitre, antimonial powder, and digitalis.

30th. The cough is as frequent, but not very loud. Give a mixture of syrup of poppies and prussic acid morning and night, and the ball as yesterday.

31st. Nearly in the same state as yesterday, except that he is not so thirsty, and does not eat so well. Give the mixture three times daily.

Nov. 1st. He had an emetic in the morning, which produced a large quantity of phlegm, but the cough is no better. No evacuation during the two last days. Give an aperient ball, and the mixture as before in the evening.

The prussic acid has been fairly tried; it has not in the least mitigated the cough, but begins to make the dog sick, and altogether to destroy his appetite. Give three times in the day a mixture consisting of two-thirds of a drachm of syrup of poppies, and one-third of syrup of buckthorn. The sickness ceased, and the cough remained as before, I then gave twice in the day half a grain of calomel, the same of opium, two each of pulvis antimonialis and digitalis, and four grains of nitre, morning and noon, with six grains of the Dover's powder at night. This was continued on the 3d, 4th and 5th of November, when there were longer intervals of rest, and the dog did not cough so harshly when the fit was on him.

On the 6th, however, no medicine was given; but towards evening the dog coughed as much as ever, and a decided mucous discharge commenced from the nose and the eyes, with considerable snorting. An emetic was given, and the balls resorted to as before.

'7th.' He appeared to be much relieved by the emetic. The cough was better, the dog ate well, and had regained his usual spirits. The ball as before.

'9th'. Slight tenesmus now appeared. It quickly became frequent and violent. The dog strained very much; but the discharge was small in quantity, and consisted of adhesive mucus. Give two drachms of castor oil, and the fever ball with opium. The cough is worse, and the dog still continues to strain, no blood, however, appearing.

'11th'. The opium and oil have had their desired effect, and the cough is better.

'12th', Except the animal is kept under the influence of opium, the cough is dreadfully troublesome. I have, however, obtained one point. I have been permitted to subtract four ounces of blood; but blood had been mingling with the expectorated mucus before I was permitted to have recourse to the lancet.

'13th'. The dog is better, and we again have recourse to the fever mixture, to which, on the '14th', I added a very small portion of the carbonate of iron, for the dog was evidently getting weak. The sickness has returned, and the cough is decidedly worse.

'16th'. Rub a small quantity of rheumatic embrocation, and tincture of cantharides.

'17th.' The first application of the blister had not much effect; but this morning it began to act. The dog ran about the house as cross as he could be for more than an hour; there was considerable redness on the throat and chest. The cough, however, was decidedly better.

'18th'. The cough is better. Again apply the embrocation.

'19th.' The cough and huskiness have returned. Employ an emetic, and continue the embrocation.

'20th'. The cough is decidedly worse. Continue the embrocation, and give the fever mixture.

'23d'. The embrocation and medicine have been daily used; but the cough is as bad as ever. Balls of assafoetida, squills, and opium were had recourse to.

25th. The second ball produced the most distressing sickness, but the cough was evidently relieved. The assafoetida was discontinued.

'28th'. The cough, during the last two days, has been gradually getting worse. It is more laborious and longer, and the intervals between it are shorter. Give another emetic and continue the other medicine.

30th'. The effect of the emetic was temporary, and the cough is again worse.

'Dec'. 2d'. Very little change.

5th'. The cough appears to be stationary. Again have recourse to the antimony, digitalis, and nitre.

8th'. The cough is certainly better. Try once more the assafoetida. It again produced sickness, but of a very mild character.

12th'. The assafoetida was again used used morning and night. The cough continues evidently to abate.

14th'. The dog coughs very little, not more than half-a-dozen times in the day. Notwithstanding the quantity of medicine that has been taken, the appetite is excellent, and the spirits good.

16th'. The cough is still less frequent, but when it occurs it is attended with retching.

19th'. The cough is daily getting better, and is not heard more than three or four times in the four-and-twenty hours, and then very slight.

30th'. At length I can say that the cough has ceased. It is seldom that so much trouble would have been taken with a dog. It is the neglect of the medical attendance which is often the cause of death. Professor Delafond, of Alfort, gives a most interesting and complete table of the usual diagnostic symptoms of pleurisy and pneumonia.

PLEURISY.

'Commencement of the Inflammation'. Shivering, usually accompanied by slight colicky pains, and followed by general or partial sweating. Inspiration always short, unequal, and interrupted; expiration full; air expired of the natural temperature. Cough unfrequent, faint, short, and without expectoration. Artery full. Pulse quick, small, and wiry.

'Auscultation'. A respiratory murmur, feeble, or accompanied by a slight rubbing through the whole extent of the chest, or in some parts only.

'Percussion'. Slight, dead, grating sound. Distinct resonance through the whole of the chest, and pain expressed when the sides are tapped or compressed.

'Terminations' Delitescence. Cessation of pain; moderate temperature of the skin; sometimes profuse general perspiration. Respiration less accelerated; inspiration easier and deeper. Pulse fuller and softer. Breath of the natural temperature. Return of the natural respiratory murmur and resonance. The walls of the chest cease to exhibit increased sensibility.

'Effusion, false Membranes'. Inspiration more and more full.

'Auscultation and Percussion. Complete absence of the respiratory murmur, with the crepitating wheezing always at the bottom of the chest; sometimes a gurgling noise. Vesicular respiration very strong in the upper region of the chest, or in the sac opposite to the effusion.

'Continuance of the Effusion'. Absence of the respiratory murmur gains the middle region of the chest, following the level of the fluid. These symptoms may be found on only one side; a circumstance of frequent occurrence in the dog, but rare in other animals. The respiratory murmur increases in the superior region of the chest, or on the side opposite to the effusion. Inspiration becomes more and more prolonged. Breath always cold. Cough not existing, or rarely, and always suppressed and interrupted. Exercise producing much difficulty of respiration.

'Resolution or Re-absorption of the effused fluid, and Organization of false Membrane, the consequence of Pleurisy'.

Slow but progressive reappearance of the respiratory murmur, and disappearance of the sounds produced by the fluid. Diminution of the force of the respiratory murmur in the superior part of the chest, or of the lung opposite to the sac in which the effusion exists. Gradual return of the respiratory murmur to the inferior part of the chest. Inspiration less deep, and returning to its natural state.

'Chronic Pleurisy, with Hydrothorax'. Inspiration short. Cough dry, sometimes with expectoration; frequent or capricious; always absence of complete respiratory murmur in the inferior portion of the chest. Sometimes the gurgling noise during inspiration and expiration. Strong respiratory murmur in the superior portion. In dogs these symptoms sometimes have existence only on one side of the chest. The mucous membranes are infiltrated; serous infiltration on the lower part of the chest and belly; sometimes of the scrotum or the inferior extremities; generally of the fore legs. The animal lies down frequently, and dies of suffocation.



PNEUMONIA.

'Commencement of the Inflammation'. General shivering, rarely accompanied by colicky pains, followed by partial sweats at the flanks and the inside of the thighs. Inspiration full, expiration short. Air expired hot. Cough frequently followed by slight discharge of red-coloured mucus. Artery full. Pulse accelerated, strong, full, and soft.

'Auscultation'. Absence of respiratory murmur in places where the lung is congested; feebleness of that sound in the inflamed parts, with humid crepitating wheezing. The respiratory murmur increased in the sound parts.

'Percussion'. The dead grating sound confined to the inflamed parts. Distinct resonance at the sound parts; increased sensibility of the walls of the chest slight, or not existing at all.

'Terminations'. Resolution. Temperature of the skin moderate. Sometimes profuse partial sweats. Laborious respiration subsiding; inspiration less deep. Artery less full. Pulse yielding. Breath less hot. Gradual and progressive disappearance of the crepitating 'rale'. Slow return of the resonance.

'Red Hepatization'. Respiration irregular and interrupted.

'Auscultation and Percussion. Circumscribed absence of the respiratory murmur, in one point, or in many distinct parts of the lung. The respiratory murmur increased in one or more of the sound parts of the lung, or in the sound lung if one is inflamed.

'Passage to a State of Gray Induration'. The absence of respiratory murmur indicates extensive hepatization of one lung; a circumstance, however, of rare occurrence. When the induration is of both lungs, and equally so, the respiratory murmur and the inspiration remain the same, except that they become irregular. The cough dry or humid, frequent, and sometimes varying. Exercise accompanied by difficulty of respiration, without dyspnoea.

'Resolution or Re-absorption of the Products of Inflammation of the Parenchymatous Substance of the Lungs'.

Diminution of the force of the respiratory murmur in the sound parts. Cessation of the crepitating wheezing. Slow return of the respiratory murmur where it had ceased. Respiration ceases to be irregular or interrupted, and returns slowly to its natural state, or it remains interrupted. This indicates the passage from red to gray induration.

'Chronic Pneumonia—(Gray Induration.)' Inspiration or expiration interrupted, cough unfrequent; suppressed; rarely with expectoration; always interrupted. Complete absence of respiratory murmur.

'Softening of the Induration, Ulcerations, Vomicae, &c.' Mucous and wheezing; mucous rale in the bronchia; discharge from the nostrils of purulent matter, white, gray, or black, and sometimes fetid. Paleness of the mucous membranes. The animal seldom lies down, and never long at a time. Death by suffocation, when the matter proceeding from the vomicae, or abscesses, obstructs the bronchial passages, or by the development of an acute inflammation engrafted upon the chronic one.



CHAPTER XII.

ANATOMY OF THE GULLET, STOMACH, AND INTESTINES: TETANUS; ENTERITIS; PERITONITIS; COLIC; CALCULUS IN THE INTESTINES: INTUSSUSCEPTION; DIARRHOEA; DYSENTERY; COSTIVENESS; DROPSY; THE LIVER; JAUNDICE; THE SPLEEN AND PANCREAS; INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEY; CALCULUS; INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER; RUPTURE OF THE BLADDER; WORMS: FISTULA IN THE ANUS.

The 'oesophagus', or gullet, of the dog, is constructed in nearly the same manner as that of the horse. It consists of a similar muscular tube passing down the neck and through the chest, and terminating in the stomach, in which the process of digestion is commenced. The orifice by which the gullet enters the stomach is termed the 'cardia', probably on account of its neighbourhood to the heart or its sympathy with it. It is constantly closed, except when the food is passing through it into the stomach.

The 'stomach' has three coats: the outermost, which is the common covering of all the intestines, called the peritoneum; the second or muscular coat, consisting of two layers of fibres, by which a constant motion is communicated to the stomach, mingling the food, and preparing it for digestion; and the mucous or villous, where the work of digestion properly commences, the mouths of numerous little vessels opening upon it, which exude the gastric juice, to mix with the food already softened, and to convert it into a fluid called the chyme. It is a simpler apparatus than in the horse or in cattle. It is occasionally the primary seat of inflammation: and it almost invariably sympathises with the affections of the other intestines.

The successive contractions of each portion of the stomach, expose by turns every portion of the alimentary mass to the influence of the gastric juice, and each is gradually discharged into the alimentary canal.

As the chyme is formed, it passes out of the other orifice of the stomach, and enters the first intestine or 'duodenum'.

It may be naturally supposed that this process will occasionally be interrupted by a variety of circumstances. Inflammation of the stomach of the dog is very difficult to deal with. It is produced by numerous different causes. There is great and long-continued sickness; even the most harmless medicine is not retained on the stomach. The thirst is excessive; there are evident indications of excessive pain, expressed by the countenance and by groans: there is a singular disposition in the animal to hide himself from all observation; an indication that should never be neglected, nor the frequent change from heat to cold, and from cold to heat.

The mode of treatment is simple, although too often inefficient. The lancet must be immediately resorted to, and the bleeding continued until the animal seems about to fall; and to this should quickly succeed repeated injections. Two or three drops of the croton oil should be injected twice or thrice in the day, until the bowels are thoroughly opened. The animal will be considerably better, or the disease cured, in the course of a couple of days.

There is a singular aptitude in the stomach of the dog to eject a portion of its contents; but, almost immediately afterwards, the food, or a portion if not the whole of it, is swallowed again. This is a matter of daily occurrence. There is a coarse rough grass, the 'cynosurus cristatus', or crested dog's-tail. It is inferior for the purposes of hay, but is admirably suited for permanent pastures. It remains green after most other grasses are burnt by a continuance of dry weather. The dog, if it be in his power, has frequent recourse to it, especially if he lives mostly in a town. The dry and stimulating food, which generally falls to his share, produces an irritation of his stomach, from which lie is glad to free himself; and for this purpose he has recourse to the sharp leaves of the cynosurus. They irritate the lining membrane of the stomach and intestines, and cause a portion of the food to be occasionally evacuated; acting either as an emetic or a purgative, or both. They seem to be designed by nature to be substituted for the calomel and tartar emetic, and other drugs, which are far too often introduced.

An interesting case of the retention of a sharp instrument in the stomach is related by Mr. Kent of Bristol.

On the 23d of February, Mr. Harford, residing in Bristol, when feeding a pointer-dog, happened to let the fork tumble with the flesh, and the dog swallowed them both. On the following morning, Mr. Kent was desired to see the animal; and, although he could feel the projection of the fork outwardly, which convinced him that the dog had in reality swallowed it, yet, as he appeared well, and exhibited no particular symptoms of pain or fever, Mr. Kent gave it as his opinion that there was a possibility that he might survive the danger, and the animal was sent to him, in order to be more immediately under his care. The treatment he adopted was, to feed him on cow's liver, with a view to keep the stomach distended and the bowels open; and he gave him three times a day half a pint of water, with sufficient sulphuric acid to make it rather strongly sour to the human tongue, with the intention of assisting the stomach in dissolving the iron.

On the following Sunday, the skin, at the projecting point, began to exhibit some indication of ulceration; and on Monday a prong of the fork might be touched with the point of the finger, when pressed on the ulcer. Mr. Kent then determined on making an effort to extract the fork on the following morning, which he accordingly did, and with but little difficulty, assisted by a medical friend of the owner. The dog was still fed on cow's liver; his appetite remained good, and with very little medical treatment the external wound healed. The animal improved rapidly in flesh during the whole time. He left the infirmary in perfect health, and remained so, with one inconvenience only, a very bad cough, and his being obliged to lie at length, being unable to coil himself up in his usual way.

The fork was a three-pronged one, six and a half inches long. The handle, which was of ivory, was digested: it was quite gone; and either the gastric fluid or the acid, or both conjointly, had made a very apparent impression on the iron.

Dogs occasionally swallow various strange and unnatural substances. Considerable quantities of hair are sometimes accumulated in the stomach. Half-masticated pieces of straw are ejected. Straw mingled with dung is a too convincing proof of rabies. Dog-grass is found irritating the stomach, or in too great quantities to be ejected, while collections of earth and dung sometimes threaten suffocation. Pieces of money are occasionally found, and lead, and sponge. Various species of polypus irritate the coats of the stomach. Portions of chalk, or stone, or condensed matters, adhere to each other, and masses of strange consistence and form are collected. The size which they assume increases more and more. M. Galy relates an extraordinary account of a dog. It was about three years old when a tumour began to be perceived in the flank. Some sharp-pointed substance was felt; the veterinary surgeon cut down upon it, and a piece of iron, six inches in length, was drawn out.

The following fact was more extraordinary: it is related by M. Noiret. A hound swallowed a bone, which rested in the superior part of the oesophagus, behind the pharynx, and caused the most violent efforts to get rid of it. The only means by which it could be made to descend into the stomach was by pushing it with the handle of a fork, which, escaping from the hand of the operator, followed the bone into the stomach. Two months afterwards, on examining the stomach, the fork was plainly felt lying in a longitudinal direction, parallel with the position of the body; the owner of the dog wishing mechanically to accelerate the expulsion of this body, endeavoured to push it backwards with his hands. When it was drawn as far back as possible, he inserted two fingers into the anus, and succeeded in getting hold of the handle, which he drew out nearly an inch; but, in order to be enabled fully to effect his object, it was necessary to make an incision into the rectum, and free the substance from every obstacle that could retain it. This he did not venture to do, and he was therefore compelled to allow the fork to pass back into its former position.

About three months after the accident, M. Noiret made an incision, three inches from above to below, and the same from the front backwards. He also made an incision through the muscular tissue. Having arrived at the peritoneum, he made another incision, through which he drew from the abdomen a part of the floating portion of the large intestines, and introduced his fingers into the abdominal cavity. He seized the handle of the fork, which was among the viscera, and free about half-way down, and drew it carefully towards the opening made in the flank. The other half of the fork was found to be closely enveloped by the origin of the mesocolon, which was red, hard, and inflamed. The operator freed it by cutting through the tissues which held the fork, and then drew it easily out. The animal was submitted to a proper course of treatment, and in three weeks afterwards was perfectly cured.

The food, having been converted into chyme by the digestive power of the stomach, soon undergoes another and very important change. It, or a portion of it, is converted into chyle. It is mixed with the bile and a secretion from the pancreas in the duodenum. The white thick liquid is separated, and contains the nutritive part of the food, and a yellow pulpy substance is gradually changed into excrement. As these substances pass on, the separation between them becomes more and more complete. The chyle is gradually taken up by the lacteals, and the excrement alone remains.

The next of the small intestines is the 'jejunum', so called from its being generally empty. It is smaller in bulk than the duodenum, and the chyme passes rapidly through it.

Next in the list is the 'ileum'; but it is difficult to say where the jejunum terminates and the ileum commences, except that the latter is usually one-fifth longer than the former.

At the termination of the ileum the 'caecum' makes its appearance, with a kind of valvular opening into it, of such a nature that everything that passes along it having reached the blind or closed end, must return in order to escape; or rather the office of the caecum is to permit certain alimentary matters and all fluids to pass from the ileum, but to oppose their return.

The 'colon' is an intestine of very large size, being one of the most capacious, as well as one of the longest, of the large intestines. It commences at the caesum caput coli, and soon expands into a cavity of greater dimensions than even that of the stomach itself. Having attained this singular bulk, it begins to contract, and continues to do so during its course round the caecum, until it has completed its second flexure, where it grows so small as scarcely to exceed in calibre one of the small intestines; and though, from about the middle of this turn, it again swells out by degrees, it never afterwards acquires its former capaciousness; indeed, previously to its junction with the rectum, it once more materially differs in size.

At the upper part of the margin of the pelvis the colon terminates in the 'rectum', which differs from the caecum and colon by possessing only a partial peritoneal covering, and being destitute of bands and cells. It enlarges towards its posterior extremity, and is furnished with a circular muscle, the sphincter ani, adapted to preserve the anus closed, and to retain the faeculent matter until so much of it is accumulated in the rectum as to excite a desire to discharge it.

TETANUS,

a disease of great fatality, often depends upon the condition of the stomach; but it is not frequent in dogs.

Why the dog is so little subject to 'tetanus', or lock-jaw, I am unable to explain. Sportsmen say that it sometimes attacks him when, being heated in the chase, he plunges into the water after the stag. The French give it the name of 'mal de cerf', from stags being supposed to be attacked in a similar way, and from the same cause. In the course of nearly forty years' practice, I have seen but four cases of it. The first arose from a wound in the foot. The cause of the second I could not learn. In both the spasmodic action was dreadful as well as universal. The dogs lay on their sides, the neck and legs stretched out, and the upper legs kept some inches from the ground by the intensity of the spasm. They might be taken up by either leg, and not a portion of the frame change its direction. At the same time, in their countenances, and by their hoarse cries, they indicated the torture which they endured.

In the third case, which occurred 12th June, 1822, the head was drawn permanently on one side, and the whole body formed a kind of bow, the dog walking curiously sideways, often falling as it walked, and frequently screaming violently. I ordered him to be well rubbed with an ammoniacal liniment, and balls of tonic and purging medicine to be given twice in the day. The dog gradually recovered, and was dismissed cured on the 20th.

On the 16th November, in the same year, a bull-terrier had a similar complaint. He had been tried in the pit a fortnight before, and severely injured, and the pain and stiffness of his joints were increasing. The head was now permanently drawn on one side. The dog was unable to stand even for a moment, and the eyes were in a state of spasmodic motion. He was a most savage brute; but I attempted to manage him, and, by the assistance of the owner, contrived lo bleed him, and to give him a physic-ball. At the same time I advised that he should be destroyed.

His master would not consent to this; and, as the dog occasionally ate a little, we contrived to give a grain each of calomel and opium every sixth hour. In the course of three days he was materially recovered. He could stand, but was exceedingly weak, I ordered the calomel lo be omitted, but the opium to be continued. Three days afterwards he was sent into the country, and, as I heard, perfectly recovered.

The following is a very interesting case of tetanus, detailed by M. Debeaux, of the Royal French Chasseurs:

A favourite dog was missing. Four days had passed, and no intelligence could be obtained with regard to him until he returned home, fatigued and half-starved. He had probably been stolen. In the excess of their joy, the owners crammed him with meat until he became strangely ill. His throat was filled with froth, the pupils of his eyes were dilated, the conjunctiva was strongly injected, his neck was spasmodically contracted, and the spine of the back was bowed, and most highly sensible to the touch. M. Debeaux was sent for; it was an hour before he could attend. The dog was lying on his belly; the four limbs were extended and stiff. He uttered the most dreadful and prolonged howling every two or three minutes. The surgeon ordered the application of a dozen leeches to the chest and belly; laxative medicines were given, and embrocations applied to the spine and back.

Three days passed, and the symptoms evidently augmented. The excrement was dark and fetid, and the conjunctiva had a strong yellow tint. Leeches were again employed; emollient lotions and aperient medicines were resorted to. The sensibility of the spine and back was worse than ever; the animal lay on his belly, stretching out his four limbs, his neck fixed, his jaws immovable, his voice hoarse, and he was utterly unable to move.

The bathings, lotions, and aperients were continued, with very few intermissions, until the 14th day, when the muscles began to be a little relaxed; but he cried whenever he was touched. On the 15th, for the first time, he began to eat a little, and his natural voice returned; still, however, the spasms occasionally appeared, but very much mitigated, and on the 20th the pain had entirely ceased.

On the 5th of the next month he travelled two leagues with his master. It was cold, and the snow fell. On his reaching home, all the horrible spasms returned, and it was eleven days before he was completely cured. [1]

Mr. Blaine gives the following account of his experience of this disease:

"It is remarkable, that although dogs are subject to various spasmodic affections, yet they are so little subject to lock-jaw that I never met with more than three cases of it among many thousands of diseased dogs. Two of these cases were 'idiopathic'; one being apparently occasioned by exposure to cold air all night; the other the cause was obscure. The third was of that kind called 'sympathetic', and arose from extreme injury done to one of the feet. In each of these cases the convulsive spasm was extreme, and the rigidity universal but not intense. In one case the jaw was only partially locked. Both warm and cold bathings were tried. Large doses of opium and camphor were given by the mouth, and also thrown up in clysters. The spine of one was blistered. Stimulating frictions were applied to all, but in neither case with any salutary effect." [2]

ENTERITIS.

'Enteritis', or inflammation of the intestine, is a disease to which dogs are very liable. It may be produced by the action of several causes. The intestines of the dog are peculiarly irritable, and subject to take on inflammatory action, and this tendency is often much increased by the artificial life which they lead. It is a very frequent complaint among those dogs that are much petted. A cold temperature is also a common cause of disease in these dogs.

I was consulted with regard to a dog who was hiding himself in a cold, dark corner, paved with stone. Every now and then he lifted his head and uttered a howl closely resembling that of a rabid dog. He fixed his gaze intently upon me, with a peculiarity of expression which many would have mistaken for rabid. They, however, who have had the opportunity of seeing many of these cases, will readily perceive the difference. The conjunctiva is not so red, the pupil is not so dilated, and the dog appears to implore pity and not to menace evil.

In this state, if the dog is approached, he will not permit himself to be touched until he he convinced that no harm is intended. A peculiar slowness attends each motion; his cries are frequent and piteous; his belly hot and tender; two cords, in many cases, seem to run longitudinally from the chest to the pubis, and on these he cannot bear the slightest pressure. He abhors all food; but his thirst for water, and particularly cold water, is extreme; he frequently looks round at his flanks, and the lingering gaze is terminated by a cry or groan. In the majority of cases there is considerable costiveness; but, in others, the bowels are freely opened from the beginning.

The peritoneal inflammation is sometimes pure, but oftener involves the muscular coat of the intestines. Its prevailing cause is exposure to cold, especially after fatigue, of lying on the wet stones or grass. Now and then it is the result of neglected rheumatism, especially in old and petted dogs.

The treatment is simple. Bleed until the pulse falters, put the animal in a warm bath, and let the belly be gently rubbed while the dog is in the water, and well fomented afterwards; the drink should consist of warm broth, or warm milk and water. The bleeding should be repeated, if little or unsatisfactory relief is obtained; and the examination of the rectum with the finger, and the removal of any hardened faeces that may have accumulated there, and the cautious use of enemata, neither too stimulating nor too forcibly injected, should be resorted to. No medicine should be employed until the most urgent symptoms are abated. Castor oil, the mildest of our purgatives—syrup of buckthorn assisting the purgative property of the oil, and containing in its composition as much stimulating power as is safe—and the spirit of while poppies—the most convenient anodyne to mingle with the other medicines—will generally be successful in allaying the irritation already existing, and preventing the development of more. Even this must not be given in too large quantities, and the effect must be assisted by a repetition of the enemata every fifth or sixth hour. On examination after death the nature of the disease is sufficiently evident: the peritoneum, or portions of it, is highly injected with blood, the veins are turgid, the muscular membrane corrugated and hardened, while often the mucous membrane displays not a trace of disease. In violent cases, however, the whole of the intestines exhibit evidence of inflammation.

I was much gratified a few years ago in witnessing the decided manner in which Professor Spooner expressed himself with regard to the treatment of enteritis in the dog.

"I should deem it advisable," said he, "to administer a purgative; but of what would that consist? Calomel? Certainly not. I was surprised to hear one gentleman assert that he should administer it to the extent of from five to ten grains, and another to say that he should not hesitate to exhibit a scruple of calomel to a dog, and to all carnivorous animals. I should never think of exhibiting it as a cathartic. I should only administer it in small doses, and for the purpose of producing its specific effect on the liver, which is the peculiar property of this drug. Given in larger doses it would not be retained, and if it got into the intestines it would act as a powerful drastic purgative." [3]

In our treatment of the horse we have got rid of a great proportion of the destructive urine-balls and drastic purgatives of the farrier. The cow is no longer drenched with half-a-dozen deleterious stimulants. A most desirable change has been effected in the medical treatment of these animals. Let us not, with regard to the dog, continue to pursue the destructive course of the keeper or the huntsman.

The following case of enteritis, with rupture of the colon, may be useful:

On March 15, 1840, I was requested to attend a large dog of the bull breed, three years old, who had not appeared to be well during the last four or five days.

I had scarcely arrived ere I recognised it to be a case of enteritis. He had a dreadful shivering fit, to which succeeded heat of the skin and restlessness. The muzzle was dry and hot, as also was the tongue. The eyes were sunken and redder than usual; the breathing was accelerated, but not very laborious; the extremities were cold, while the surface of the body was hot and painful to the touch. The bowels were constipated, and had been so during the last week; some dung however was evacuated, but it was hard and dry, and in small quantities. The pulse was quick, but full; and there was a slight pain and considerable irritation in the rectum. I took from him [Symbol: ounce] x. of blood before the desired effect was produced, and then gave him tinct. opii gr. xiv., et spt. ether, nit. gutt. viij., cum ol. ricini [Symbol: ounce] iij., and an opiate enema to allay the irritation of the rectum. This was about 8 o'clock, A.M.

11 A.M.—The bowels have not been moved, and the pain is more intense; his countenance expresses great anxiety; he frequently lies on his stomach, and the pulse is small but quick. I gave him a little broth, and ordered the abdomen to be fomented with hot flannels.

2 P.M.—He has had distressing sickness, and is extremely anxious for water. I introduced my finger into the rectum, but could not discover any hardened faeces. Enemata, composed of mag. sulphas and warm water, were frequently thrown into the intestines; as soon as one came away another was thrown up.

4 P.M.—No better: gave him pulv. aloes [Symbol: ounce] j.; calomel, gr. vj. et pulv. opii gr. viij. The fomentations to be continued, and the abdomen rubbed with a lin. terebinthinae.

5 P.M.—A great change has taken place within the last hour; the hind extremities are paralysed; the mouth and ears are cold; the pulse is more hurried and irregular, and almost imperceptible; the respiration is laborious and irregular, as is the pulse; and the dog is frequently sick. To be kept quiet.

6 P.M.—Another change: he lies panting and groaning piteously; his limbs are bathed in sweat, with convulsive struggles. At twenty minutes past six he died.

A post-mortem examination presented general marks of inflammation; the small intestines were extremely red, while the large ones were in a gangrenous state and most offensive, with a rupture of the colon. I did not expect to meet with the rupture, and am at a loss to account for it. The liver was of a pale ashen colour, and very light. I put a piece of it into some water, and it floated on the surface. The other contents of the abdomen did not show the slightest appearance of disease.

September 2d, 1843.—A black pug-bitch, 18 months old, was yesterday taken violently sick; the vomiting continued at intervals the greater part of the day, and she had not eaten during the last 24 hours. I could not possibly get at her, on account of her ferocity: as she had not had the distemper, and as I was misled by her age and the watery discharge from her eyes, and as she had had several motions yesterday, I imagined that the attack might be the beginning of that disease. Learning that she was fond of sweet things, I prepared an emetic containing a grain of calomel and a grain of tartar emetic: she took it readily, and I promised to call on the following day.

Sept. 3.—The weakness at the eyes had disappeared, but there had been no motion. On getting at her by main force I found her belly very tense and rather hot: she had again been sick, was very eager for water, and still refused to eat. The disease was now evident. As she appeared too unmanageable for anything else, I produced a physic-ball, in giving which I was bitten.

Six hours afterwards I again went: no faeces had passed: I administered two enemas, the second of which was returned with a small quantity of hardened faeces and an intolerable smell. I ordered the water to be removed, and broth to be substituted.

Sept. 4.—The dog is in good spirits, has eaten heartily, and had no motion, probably because it was habitually cleanly, and had not been taken out of doors. Her owner considered her as quite well, and dismissed me. Three days afterwards a servant came to say that all was going on very well.

PERITONITIS.

Chronic inflammation of the 'peritoneal membrane' is a frequent disease among dogs. The animal loses his appetite and spirits; he sometimes eats a little and sometimes not; he becomes thin, his belly is tucked up, and when we closely examine him we find it contracted and hard, and those longitudinal columns of which I have already spoken are peculiarly dense and almost unyielding. He now and then utters a half-suppressed whine, and he occasionally seeks to hide himself. In the greater number of cases he after a while recovers; but he too often pines away and dies. On examination after death the case is plain enough. There is inflammation of the peritoneal membrane, more indicated by undue congestion of the bowels than by the general blush of the membrane. The inflammation has now spread to the muscular coat, and the whole of the intestine is corrugated and thickened.

There is another peritoneal affection, aggravated by combination with a rheumatic tendency, to which the dog is more disposed than any other domesticated animal. It has its most frequent origin in cold, or being too much fed on stimulating and acrid food, and probably from other causes which have not yet been sufficiently developed.

Here also no drastic purgative is to be admitted; it would be adding fuel to fire: not a grain of calomel should be used, if the life of the animal is valued. The castor oil mixture will afford the most certain relief, a drop or two of the oil of peppermint being added to it.

COLIC.

The dog is also subject to fits of 'colic', principally to be traced to improper food, or a sudden change of food, or exposure to cold. This is particularly the case with puppies. There is no redness of the eye, no heat of the mouth, no quickened respiration; but the animal labours under fits of pain. He is not quiet for a minute. He gets into one corner and another, curling himself closely up, but he does not lie there more than a minute or two; another fit of pain comes on; he utters his peculiar yelp, and seeks some new place in which he may possibly find rest.

It is with considerable diffidence that I offer an opinion on this subject contrary to that of Mr. Blaine. He states that the treatment of this species of colic is seldom successful, and that which has seemed the most efficacious has been mercurial purgatives; namely, calomel one grain, aloes a scruple, and opium a quarter of a grain, until the bowels are opened. I have seldom found much difficulty in relieving the patient suffering under this affection; and I gave no aloes nor calomel, but the oleaginous mixture to which I have so often referred. I should not so much object to the aloes, for they constitute an excellent purgative for the dog; nor to a dog that I was preparing for work, or that was suffering from worms, should I object to two or three grains of calomel intimately mixed with the aloes: from the combined effect of the two, some good might be obtained.

CALCULUS IN THE INTESTINES

Many persons have a very foolish custom of throwing stones, that their dogs may dive or run after them, and bring them to their owner's feet: the consequence is, that their teeth are soon worn down, and there are too many cases on record in which the stone has been swallowed. It has been impeded in its progress through the intestinal canal, inflammation has ensued, and the animal has been lost, after having suffered the most dreadful torture.

Professor Simonds relates a case in which a dog was thus destroyed. The animal for some days previous to his admission into the hospital had refused his food, and there was obstinate constipation of the bowels, to remove which aperient medicine had been given. The pulse was accelerated, there was distension of the abdomen with evident tenderness on pressure, the extremities were cold, no faeces were voided, and he occasionally vomited. Some aperient medicine was given, which was retained on the stomach, and enemas and external stimulants were resorted to, but two days afterwards he died.

The intestines were examined, and the offending body was found to be a common pebble. The dog had long been accustomed to fetch stones out of the water. One of these stones had passed through the stomach into the intestines, and, after proceeding some distance along them, had been impacted there. The inflammation was most intense so far as the stone had gone; but in the part of the intestine to which it had not reached there was not any. This was an interesting and instructive case, and should make its due impression.

Another account of the strange contents of the intestines of a bitch may be here introduced.

A valuable pointer-bitch was sent to the infirmary of Mr. Godwin of Litchfield. She presented a very emaciated appearance, and had done so for four or five months. Her evacuations for a day or two were very thin and copious, and afterwards for several days nothing was passed. When pressing the abdomen with both hands, a hard substance was distinctly felt in the inferior part of the umbilical region. She was destroyed, and, upon 'post-mortem' examination, a calculus was discovered in the ileum about the size and shape of a hen's egg, the nucleus of which was a portion of hair. The coats of the intestines were considerably thickened and enlarged, so as to form a kind of sac for its retention. Anterior to this was another substance, consisting of a ball of hair, covered with a layer of earthy matter about the eighth of an inch thick, and next to this another ball of hair of less dimensions, intermixed with a gritty substance. The stomach contained a large quantity of hair, and a portion of the omentum, about the size of n crown piece, was thickly studded with small white calculi, the largest about the size of a pea, and exceedingly hard.

INTUSSUSCEPTION.

If 'peritonitis'—inflammation—is neglected, or drastic purgatives are too often and too plentifully administered, a peculiar contraction of the muscular membrane of the intestine takes place, and one portion of the bowel is received within another—there is 'intussusception'. In most cases, a portion of the anterior intestine is received into that which is posterior to it. Few of us have opened a dog that had been labouring under this peculiar affection without being struck with the collapsed state of the canal in various parts, and in some much more than in others. Immediately posterior to this collapsed portion, it is widened to a considerable extent. The peristaltic motion of the intestine goes on, and the consequence is, that the constricted portion is received into that which is widened, the anterior portion is invaginated in the posterior: obstruction of the intestinal passage is the necessary consequence, and the animal dies, either from the general disturbance of the system which ensues, or the inflammation which is set up in the invaginated part.

I will say nothing of medical treatment in this case; for I do not know the symptoms of intussusception, or how it is to be distinguished from acute inflammation of the bowels. Acute inflammation will not long exist without producing it; and, if its existence should be strongly suspected, the treatment would be the same as for inflammation.

The domesticated dog, from the nature of his food, more than from any constitutional tendency, is liable to constipation. This should never be neglected. If two or three days should pass without an evacuation, the case should be taken in hand; otherwise inflammation will be very soon established. In order to procure an evacuation, the aloetic ball, with one or two grains of calomel, should be given. Beyond that, however, I should not dare to go; but, if the constipation continued, I should have recourse to the castor-oil mixture. I should previously examine and empty the rectum, and have frequent recourse to the enema-syringe; and I should continue both. It would be my object to evacuate the intestinal canal with as little increased action as possible.