MISCELLANEOUS DRUGS -189 



its sometimes drastic effects. That it is valuable as an alterative is, 

 however, a matter of common knowledge among those who have the care 

 and conditioning of horses for fast work. 



Though the action of mercury upon the system is obscure, it is neverthe- 

 less marked. It is absorbed from the blood by every tissue of the body, and 

 to produce its constitutional effects it is frequently jarescribed in the form 

 of solution of the perchloride. It influences nutrition in some obscure way, 

 and excites absor23tion of various morbid deposits. When given over a 

 long period it tends to accumulate in the sy.stem, and to prejudicially 

 influence the health of the animal, and can be found in the tissues after 

 death. Inflammatory deposits are caused to be aljsorbed by it, and it was 

 one of the remedies used in the coaching days when glaudered teams were 

 kept at work by the use of such drugs and enabled to enjoy a certain 

 measure of health. 



Mercurial poisoning is generally spoken of as salivation, because the 

 first prominent symptom is a profuse discharge of saliva from the mouth, 

 accompanied by swollen and inflamed gums, a very oft'ensive odour from the 

 breath, pasty tongue, loss of appetite, &c. In our patient, the horse, it is 

 seldom the result of intentional drugging. It has been known to occur, 

 however, as the result of a horse licking itself or other animals when 

 mercurial ointment has been lavishly employed for skin troubles. It may 

 also result where animals have picked up mercurial pigments, and in the 

 neighbourhood of quicksilver furnaces it sometimes appears from the con- 

 sumption of herbage contaminated with fine particles of cinnabar — the 

 mineral from which it is chiefly obtained. In advanced cases of mercurial 

 jDoisoning, lassitude, wasting, and the passage of blood-stained fseces are 

 among the more prominent symptoms. There is no specific antidote to 

 mercury as a poison, but animals frequently recover from its effects when 

 removed to a suitable environment, receiving j^lenty of fresh air and a 

 libera] diet supplemented by milk, eggs, and linseed. 



Iodine. — In this product of sea- weed we have a most valuable remedy 

 for the treatment of a variety of equine troubles. For veterinary purposes 

 the chief preparations employed are the tincture, the liniment, and the 

 ointment, iodide of iron, l)iniodide of mercury, iodide of arsenic, and iodo- 

 form. 



Action and Uses. — Externally, iodine is used as a skin irritant, 

 the tincture being painted on to small areas of skin in the treatment 

 of ringworm and other localized parasitic affections, as well as for the 

 reduction of glandular and other swellings. It is also applied to un- 

 healthy wounds and indolent ulcers. In the form of iodoform it is 

 injected up the nostrils in certain vai-ieties of nasal gleet, and largely 



