564 ACUTE CARDIAC INFLAMMATIONS. 



are in our patients, particularly the horse, chiefly general, or 

 symptoms of functional disturbance. There is fever, and, when 

 existing in association with rheumatoid inflammation, exacer- 

 bation of existing pyrexia with obvious cardiac disturbance. 

 Although tumultuous and rather energetic action of the heart, 

 and feeble irresponsive pulsation in the arterial wave, noted by 

 some as diagnostic of endocarditis, may not be so regarded in 

 every instance, it is yet a very common, indeed too common, 

 symptom to be ignored. There is in the early stages of endo- 

 carditis less probability, in auscultating the chest, to hear the 

 attrition or friction sound, spoken of as sometimes possible 

 to be heard in pericarditis, and a greater probability in the 

 purer forms of the disease of detecting murmurs of a soft 

 or cooing character. As the morbid condition becomes estab- 

 lished there seems a marked tendency, greater than in peri- 

 carditis, to venous regurgitation and dyspnoea, particularly 

 when disturbed even to a trifling extent. Although in some 

 animals considerable information may be obtained in respect of 

 the condition of the endocardial membranes from the character 

 of the various true cardiac murmurs, we are less assisted by 

 these, in the study of this afl'ection in the horse, than in 

 any other. Here these endocardial sounds are often so dis- 

 guised by their combination with other varieties of abnormal 

 sounds, developed consecutively with exorcardial disease, a 

 not unfrequent accompaniment of the other condition, that 

 little reliance can be placed upon auscultation in forming our 

 diagnosis. 



By some it is said that the existence of clonic spasms of the 

 superficial muscles in the anterior part of the body, associated 

 with dyspnoea, is more generally indicative of endocardial in- 

 flammation than any other symptom. That these spasms are 

 frequently present during the course of the disease I believe is 

 quite true; that they may be regarded as diagnostic is doubtful ; 

 while the disturbing action is only in the undisturbed animal 

 a marked feature when valvular structures are seriously in- 

 volved. 



In studying the symptoms indicative of disease of the endo- 

 cardium we ought never to forget to note particularly the 

 systemic or general conditions with which any established 

 cardiac disturbance is associated. In all cases where rheu- 



