A RARE BUT SERIOUS DISEASE. 249 



INFLAMMATION OF THE PERITONEUM 

 (PERITONITIS), 



Is a rare but serious disease. The peritoneum invests 

 the intestines, stomach, liver, spleen, kidneys, &c. The 

 symptoms resemble those of the same disease in the horse, 

 namely : At first stands in a very dejected manner ; re- 

 peated fits of trembling or shivering, as from cold, fol- 

 lowed by a hot stage, throughout which the tremors par- 

 ticularly affect the hind legs and flanks ; rumination sus- 

 pended and appetite lost; ears, horns, and extremities 

 cold; bowels acutely constipated, in some cases giving 

 way to diarrhea, which may be profuse and watery or 

 even bloody; abdomen swollen, tense, and tender near 

 the originally injured or diseased part; urine deficient 

 and highly colored; pulse hard, frequent, wiry; nostrils 

 dilated ; respiration labored, quick, catching, but motion 

 confined to chest, abdomen being fixed ; looks at flank, 

 crouches, paws, moans, grinds teeth; pulse has become 

 softer, weaker, smaller, while breathing is slower and less 

 painful and labored ; membranes pale ; eyes sunken ; ox 

 stands crouching, with feet close together; coldness of 

 extremities, &c, increases; temperature suddenly declines 

 from 104 or 105° F. to 97 or 95° F.; abdomen falls and 

 is fuller and rounder; less pain and colic; pulse be- 

 comes smaller, more rapid, until it cannot be felt. Death 

 occurs in 4 or 5 days from the first appearance of the 

 disease. 



Remedy. — No purging or bleeding. Draft : Tincture 

 opium, 2 oz., tincture aconite (V. P.), 40 drops, spirit 

 chloroform, -| oz., water in proportion, every 6 hours. 

 Injections every 4 hours till bowels are opened. Nutrient 

 injections for weakness. 



