ACUTE MYEIvlTIS. POLIOMYELITIS. INFLAMMA- 

 TION OF THE SPINAL CORD. 



Causes : Stimulating food to excess, sexual over-stimulation, violent over- 

 exertion, hot sun, chill, rheumatism, traumas, injury to spinal nerves, ver- 

 tebral caries, microbian infection, narcotics, vegetable poisons, cryptogams. 

 I^esions : discoloration of white or gray matter, swelling, friability, soften- 

 ing, extravasations in points, leucocytes in excess, nerve cells cloudy, granu- 

 lar, nucleus enlarged, stain highly, chromophile granules irregular, neuro- 

 glia thickeued. Symptoms : Hyperthermia, rigor, hypersesthesia, tonic 

 contractions in neck and limbs, intense lameness, paresis, palsy, muscular 

 atrophy, areas of heat followed by coldness, such parts may not perspire, 

 palsy less complete than in broken back, circulation and breathing acceler- 

 ated or slow, paraplegia in large herbivora. Diagnosis : progressive onset, 

 hypersesthesia or rigidity merging into palsy, retention and later inconti- 

 nence of urine, extreme spinal tenderness, rapid atrophy of affected mus- 

 cles, skin sloughing. Prognosis, always grave. Treatment : purgation, 

 bleeding, hot fomentations, ice bags, compresses, derivatives, bromides, 

 chloral, potassium iodide, atropia, ergot, electricity, strychnia, soft laxative 

 food, bitters, phosphates. 



Causes. Like congestion this may be a result of plethora 

 in overfed animals, in those subjected to specially .stimulating 

 food like gluten meal, cotton seed meal, beans, peas, vetches in 

 excess, animal food for herbivora (the waste of hotels and restau- 

 rants for cows, compressed meat products for pigs), a period of 

 absolute rest on full rations in horses habituated to hard work 

 and full feeding ; of sexual over-stimulation in males (stal- 

 lion, bull, ram) ; of violent over-exertion, especially if under 

 a hot sun ; of sudden chill when over-fatigued and perspiring ; 

 of cold rain storms (Freirier) ; of rheumatism (Kowalski) ; 

 of traumatism (fractures, sprains, slipping with over-disten- 

 sion) ; of falls upon the point of the ischium ; of blows upon 

 the back (Cruzel, Trasbot) ; of tumors implicating the cord; 

 of too violent efforts in serving by stalHons ; of injuries of 

 the great nerve trunks passing off from the cord (Gull, Tras- 

 bot, etc.) ; of extensions from caries or suppurations of the 

 vertebrae (Decoste, Trasbot) ; of microbian infection, as in 

 rabies, distemper, tubercle, dourine, louping ill, milk sickness, 

 contagious pneumonia, influenza, and stippurations ; of narcotic 



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