462 EPILEPSY. 



not positively epileptic, they are at least epileptiform. 

 When the attack begins, the head is drawn first, and some- 

 times violently, towards the shoulder, by the contraction of 

 the muscles of the neck, on the side of the irritation ; the 

 mouth is drawn open by the contraction of the muscles of 

 the neck, which are inserted upon the lower jaw, and the 

 muscles of the face and eye (particularly the orbicularis) 

 contract violently. All these contractions usually occur 

 simultaneously. Frequently at the same time, or very 

 nearly so, the animal suddenly cries with a peculiar hoarse 

 voice, as if the passage of air were not free through the 

 vocal chords, spasmodically contracted. Then the animal 

 falls, sometimes on the irritated side, sometimes on the 

 other, and then all the muscles of the trunk and limbs that 

 are not paralyzed become the seat of convulsions, alternately 

 clonic and tonic. The head is alternately drawn upon one 

 or the other side. All the muscles of the neck, eyes, and 

 tongue, contract alternately. In the limbs, when the con- 

 vulsions are clonic, there are alternate contractions in the 

 flexor and the extensor muscles. Eespiration takes place 

 irregularly, on account of the convulsions of the respiratory 

 muscles. Almost always there is an expulsion of faecal 

 matters, and often of urine. Sometimes there is erection 

 of the penis, and even ejaculation of semen." 



Epilepsy may certainly be due to injuries of the nervous 

 centres, or the nerves, and it may be due, and often is due, 

 in young animals, to the whole nervous system suffering 

 from defective nutrition, or the circulation through it of a 

 poisoned blood, as in cases of fever, uraemia, jaundice, 

 certain cases of poisoning, &c. 



Treatment of Epilepsy. This consists in treatment at the 

 time of the fits, and general management of the animal with 

 a view to the eradication of the disease. The epileptic 



