The Vet. Book 



such pulsation, and this is where the difficulty for 

 the amateur arises. The normal amount of pulsa- 

 tions in the horse, per minute, is from 36 to 45 *, 

 but in a foal this number is doubled ; in the ox 

 about 50 per minute ; the dog 70 to 80 ; but in 

 the animal last-named the pulse, as an aid to the 

 diagnosis of the disease, is of no material value ; 

 and when it is taken the artery on the inner side 

 of the thigh (femoral) is selected. Sheep, pigs and 

 cats afford noreasonable chances for ascertaining the 

 pulse. The pulsations are spoken of in accord- 

 ance with their character, as hard or wiry, soft, 

 quick, slow, full, regularly intermittent, irregularly 

 intermittent, etc., etc. It is usual to count the 

 number of pulsations in 15 seconds and multiply 

 that number by 4. The pulse is influenced by 

 external surroundings as well as by disease. When 

 the so-called serous membranes, i.e. the pleura, 

 peritoneum, etc., etc. are affected with disease, the 

 pulse is usually of a particularly hard character, 

 becoming " apparently " softer as the disease 

 progresses towards an unfavourable issue. In 

 liver complaints the pulse is usually slow ; and in 

 heart diseases it is either intermittent ; venous ; or 

 wiry ; its variability depending upon the structures 

 chiefly implicated. In influenza — more especially 

 during the later stages — the pulse becomes 

 extremely feeble. Whenever the tension in the 

 arteries is increased, as in acute engorgement of the 

 lungs, founder, etc., the pulsations may be raised 



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