88 ELECTROTHERAPY 



to the jugular furrow above the larynx, while the other is 

 moved over the surface of the larynx and down the trachea. 

 Only feeble currents should be used. The application is 

 continued for five to fifteen minutes, and repeated two or 

 three times a day. 



Clonic spasms, represented according to their cause or 

 site by trifling tremors or violent convulsions, are some- 

 times treated by electricity. The current may be directed 

 to the faulty centre in the brain or spinal cord, to the nerve 

 trunk the conductivity of which is morbidly affected, or to 

 the local centres which are acting abnormally. Chorea in 

 dogs, especially when of the chronic paralytic type, has been 

 benefited by electric treatment. 



To facilitate the passage of the current the skin of the 

 affected region, as weU as the rheophores, should be 

 moistened with salt solution. Under the influence of the 

 induced current the horse is restless, sometimes struggling 

 violently, and the muscular contraction, which is always 

 considerable, may provoke defaecation and emission of 

 urine. In all cases before applying the current the horse 

 should be carefully secured. 



Electro-therapeutics as applied to the domestic animals 

 deserves more extended practical study. The primary con- 

 ditions for its rational and safe employment consist in a 

 thorough understanding of the instruments used, and a 

 knowledge of the strength of currents and their proper 

 distribution to the parts to be influenced. Batteries, coils, 

 and apparatus for veterinary purposes are now manufactured 

 by Messrs. Arnold, West Smithfield, London ; and the 

 advantages of the various forms of electricity are fully 

 discussed in Electrical Treatment, by Wilfred Harris, M.D., 

 London, 1908. 



ACTION OP MEDICINES ON THE EYE 



In the local treatment of the cornea and conjunctiva 

 appropriate astringents are zinc sulphate and silver nitrate. 

 When the surface of the cornea is abraded, lead salts are 

 unsuitable, as they form an insoluble albuminate, which may 

 cause opacity ; while alum and potassium permanganate are 



