SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DISEASE 145 



temperature, quick pulse, and rapid breathing show the existence of fever, 

 and point to the application of febrifuge remedies. 



Symptoms which are obvious to an observer are described as objective, 

 but when they are only expressed or described as sensations experienced by 

 the patient they are called subjective symptoms. It is evident that in the 

 lower animals subjective symptoms are practically non-existent, as it is 

 rarely the case that an animal by its actions can express its sensations in 

 such a manner as to be rightly interpreted. Again, symptoms are called 

 dynamical when they are active or violent, and statical when they are 

 subdued; the terms positive and negative are also used to express the same 

 conditions. 



Pathognomonic is a term used in application to symptoms which in- 

 dicate a particular disease, as a peculiar cough and double action of the 

 expiratory muscles are pathognomonic of broken wind. To the unprofes- 

 sional reader these terms may appear to be unnecessarily complicated, but 

 a little consideration will prove their usefulness as a means of saving time 

 in description. 



General Symptoms Of Disease. — In order to arrive at a correct 

 diagnosis, the skilled examiner has a certain method which enables him 

 to obtain the information which he desires without any waste of time. 

 Symptoms which to the amateur resolve themselves into a general expres- 

 sion of the presence of some illness, are to the eye of the expert in many 

 cases distinctly indicative of the locality and nature of the disorder. 



When diagnostic symptoms are absent it becomes necessary to make a 

 systematic examination, which, although comprehensive, is carried on with 

 so little effort and occupies so short a time as to attract very little notice 

 from the lookers-on. For instance, beginning with the animal's head, a 

 few seconds will suffice to enable the experienced examiner to ascertain the 

 condition of the visible mucous membranes; a mere glance at the mouth, 

 the interior of the nostrils, and the eye will be sufficient to show whether 

 or not the membrane is red or yellow, or pallid or spotted, or in any way 

 changed from its normal condition. The Q-eneral attitude of the animal 

 will have been noticed at the first moment of inspection, and the con- 

 dition of the surface ascertained by passing the hand over different parts 

 of the body and the extremities, the examiner noting whether or not the 

 skin is in a healthy state or is harsh to the touch, adherent to the tissues 

 beneath, hot, warm, or cold. The condition which is described as a staring 

 coat, where the hair is more or less elevated or erect, is seen at once, and 

 is always accepted as a symptom of bad condition, and may commonly be 

 taken as premonitory of some serious disorder. 



After a general examination of the kind described has been completed, 



Vol. III. 75 



