TETANUS TEISMUS LOCKED- JAW. 471 



muscles implicated. Deglutition occurs with difficulty. 

 The peristaltic movement of the bowels is stopped, and 

 the urinary bladder firmly contracted. The abdominal 

 muscles are rigid, and the intercostals do not move freely 

 in obedience to the will. 



During the tetanic attack the animal's sufferings are 

 evidently intense, and there are periodic exacerbations of 

 great severity, brought on by exposing the animal to the 

 sun's rays, or to the annoyance of noises such as rustling 

 of straw, or to the inspection by people, In the dark, and 

 when an animal is left in perfect quiet, the tetanic rigidity 

 is usually diminished, though convulsive twitchings occur 

 from time to time. 



The disease may occur with great intensity ; the expres- 

 sion of countenance denotes great irritation and pain, and 

 the animal sinks rapidly. This is acute tetanus. In other 

 cases the malady is of a less severe type, and if, by proper 

 care, the exacerbations are kept in check, it is not unfre- 

 quently seen that the spasms diminish in severity, and, if 

 the animal lives over the seventh day, it usually recovers. 

 During the progress of tetanus it is evident that the desire 

 for liquids is considerable, and the appetite not altogether 

 lost. Attempts to eat are attended with aggravations of 

 symptoms, but large quantities of nutritious fluids, such as 

 linseed tea, milk, &c., are drunk if allowed to animals so that 

 they may drink when they choose. 



Concerning the pathology of tetanus a great authority, 

 Dr Todd, says, " We can only draw our conclusions 

 respecting the pathology of the disease from our knowledge 

 of the physiology of the parts concerned. Now, reasoning 

 on this principle, it may be laid down that the phenomena 

 result from an exalted polarity of the centres supplying the 

 Darts affected. In the case of traumatic tetanus, the exalta- 



