DIAKETES MELI.ITUS IN THK VO(i. 27 1 



and enlargement of the liver. Detection of sugar in the urine confirms 

 the diagnosis, Fehling's solution, prepared so that one cubic centi- 

 metre is reduced by 5 grammes of glucose, forms an easy and rapid 

 means of discovering glycosuria. You know the method of employing 

 it ; 3 or 4 cubic centimetres of the solution are poured into a test-tube 

 and brought to boiling-point (it should remain blue and perfectly 

 limpid) ; the urine is afterwards filtered and slowly added, being allowed 

 to run down the side of the tube so as to form a separate layer above 

 the solution. If it contains a considerable quantity of sugar the 

 surface of contact will first show a greenish layer, which successively 

 becomes yellow and red. In performing quantitative analysis it should 

 be borne in mind that the urine of diabetic dogs contains a variable 

 proportion of uric acid, and of other little known bodies which, like 

 sugar, reduce Fehling's solution. 



The cure of saccharine diabetes in the dog is undoubtedly possible, 

 but up to the present no case has been reported. All the patients have 

 died, the majority in a very short time. The cases said to have been 

 cured really refer to diabetes insipidus. 



In slight or recent attacks treatment may prolong life for a varying 

 time. The animals should not be excited. The majority should not 

 be taken into hospital, or separated from their owners. The food 

 should be free of starchy and sugary materials, and is best confined 

 principally to meat, light soup containing green vegetables or cabbage, 

 milk, and combinations of these foods. The animal should be allowed 

 whatever liquid it requires. Exercise must be given, but fatigue 

 avoided. 



Medical treatment comprises alkalies, particularly bicarbonate of 

 soda, and when wasting is marked, preparations of arsenic or ^•alerian. 



It must also be remembered that diabetic patients are particularly 

 predisposed to infections. Only urgent operations should be under- 

 taken and the strictest aseptic precautions observed. In the comatose 

 stage drastic purgatives, large doses of bicarbonate of soda, and hypo- 

 dermic injections of ether and caffeine probably offer the greatest chance 

 of improvement. 



