452 Veterinary Medicine. 



when put to work after a period of idleness, and not associated 

 with any appreciable lesion of the limb in question. There may 

 or may not be hardness and swelling of the gluteal or other 

 muscles of the quarter or loins. This has the appearance of 

 rigidity or spasm but may be primarily due to oedema or exuda- 

 tion into the substance of the muscle. In some instances the 

 muscles of the breast, .shoulder, or forearm are the seat of the 

 trouble. Muscular trembling and perspiration may be present 

 and if the urine is examined, it is often found to be glairy, or 

 charged with urea, and allied nitrogenous products. These ca.ses 

 are not benefited by local applications, but they recover (tempor- 

 arily) under rest and above all under active eliminating treatment. 

 Under gentle and progressive exercise too they improve and get 

 well. They recur, however, with great readiness under a rich 

 nitrogenous diet and a temporary rest followed by sudden exer- 

 tion. 



Between the mildest and gravest cases there are infinite grada- 

 tions of severity, one-third to one-half of the worst cases usually 

 terminating fatally, whereas the mildest are always amenable to 

 treatment. 



Progress. The course of the disease depends on the severity of 

 the attack but also, in no small degree, on the good judgment of 

 the driver. Cases that develop with great suddenness, and ap- 

 parently with extreme severity may subside spontaneously if the 

 animal is placed in a condition of absolute rest. If, however, we 

 can secure re.st of the muscles of progression only, while the 

 breathing remains rapid and labored, improvement is unlikely, as 

 the system continues to receive large accessions of the toxic pro- 

 ducts. When the patient is down and unable to rise, the enforced 

 rest may be beneficial, but too commonly, the greater effort with 

 which breathing is carried on in the recumbent position, and the 

 frequent ineffectual struggles of the limbs prevent the requisite 

 muscular quietude. 



In some cases, and especially in the mildest, recovery may 

 seem to have been effected in a few hours, and in others it will 

 be seen in twenty-four or forty-eight hours, while in still others 

 the paresis and helplessness may continue for a week and yet be 

 followed by recovery. In these cases appetite may be retained 

 in greater or less degree, but the intestinal peristalsis is usually 



