SYMPTOMS. — DIAGNOSIS. 349 



nervous aberration and depression, indicative of more extensive 

 involvement of the true nerve-structures. The fever subsides, 

 the temperature of the body is lower, the pulse diminishes in 

 frequency, is less sharp or hard ; the breathing becomes ster- 

 torous, the delirium or excitability gradually declines, and 

 special sensation lessened until consciousness is lost in coma 

 more or less perfect. AVith the subsidence of the restlessness 

 the horse will, if capable of maintaining the standing posture, 

 do so listlessly in one position, the head lowered, the eyes 

 glassy, with pupils dilated, while control over voluntary move- 

 ment is much disturbed. The disposition to preserve the 

 position of the limbs as they may be placed is not unlike the 

 condition which prevails in catalepsy. 



From the commencement the appetite is capricious, with 

 discharge from kidneys and bowels less in amount than 

 natural. 



The partial muscular twitchings or general convulsions are 

 not present in every case, and are usually most attractive as 

 the termination is aj)proached. At this period the animal is 

 almost certain, unless carefully watched, to do itself injury by 

 violent and unconscious tossing. 



Diagnosis. — Acute inflammatory diseases of the cerebral 

 structures have to be distinguished from some other dis- 

 turbances general and local, attended with nervous derange- 

 ment. Many who have given attention to the diseases of 

 animals appear to have confounded these with symptomatic 

 cerebral derangement attendant on indigestion, in which the 

 exaltation of nerve-function is so great as occasionally to result 

 in fits of ungovernable fury. True phrenitis is, however, 

 essentially different from any disturbance of cerebral func- 

 tion connected with gastric derangement. No doubt during 

 development symptoms in both classes of affections touch very 

 closely upon each other, or confusion in description would not 

 have so often occurred. In the majority of instances the 

 history of the attack will guide us much in determining the 

 character of the disorder. In that of sympathetic cerebral 

 disturbance it will point to some dietetic error ; in the other 

 there are no suspicions of such, but [rather of some local 

 lesion. The purely cerebral disturbance is comparatively a 

 rare affection ; the other is common^under certain conditions. 



