DISEASES OF SWIXE AND OTHER AXIMALS. 25 



attacked at once, or "witliiu a short time and in rapid snccession, are 

 taken into consideration. As sisinptoms of special diagnostic value, 

 scarcely ever absent in any case, may be mentioned the droo])inji' of 

 the ears and of the head; more or less coughiuii-; the dull look of the 

 eyes ; the staring appearance of the coat of hair 5 the partial or total 

 want of appetite for food; the vitiated ajjpetite for excrements; the 

 rapid emaciation; the great debility; the weak and undecided, fre- 

 quently staggering, gait; the great indifference to surroundings; the 

 tendency to lie down in a dark corner, and to hide the nose, or even 

 the whole head in the bedding', and particularly tlie specific, offensive 

 smell, and the ])eculiar color of the excrements. Tiiis symi»tom is al- 

 ways present, at least in an advanced stage of the disease, no matter 

 whether constipation or diarrhea is existing. As other characteristic 

 symptoms, though not present in every animal, deserve to be men- 

 tioned: frequent sneezing; bleeding from the nose; swelling of the 

 eyelids; accumulation of mucus in the inner canthi of the eyes; at- 

 tempts to vomit, or real vomiting; accelerated and diflicult breathhig*; 

 thumping or spasmodic contraction of the abdominal muscles (flanks) 

 at each breath, and a x)eculiar, fjiint and hoarse voice in the last stages 

 of the disease. 



3. THE PROGNOSIS AND TERSHNATION. 



The prognosis is decidedly unfavorable, but is the more so the younger 

 the auinmls or the larger the herd. Among; pigs less than three months 

 old the mortality may be set down as from 90 to 100 per cent.; among- 

 animals from three to six or seven months old the same is from 75 to 00 

 per cent. ; while among older animals that have been well kept and are 

 in good condition, and naturally strong and vigorous, the mortality some- 

 times may not exceed 25 i^er cent., but may, on an average, reach 40 to 

 50 per cent. The prognosis is comparatively favorable only in those few 

 cases in which the morbid process is not very violent ; in which the seat 

 of the disease is confined to the respiratory organs and to the skin; in 

 which any thumping or pumping motion of the flanks is absent; and 

 in which the patient is, naturally, a strong, vigorous animal, not too 

 young- and in a good condition; further, in which but a few, not 

 more than two or three, animals are ke])t in the same pen or sty, and 

 receive nothing- but clean inicontaminated food and pure water for drink- 

 ing, and in whicli a frequent and thorough cleaning of the sty or pen 

 prevents any consumption of excrements. 



The duration of the disease varies according- to the violence and the 

 seat of the morbid process, the age and the constitution of the ])atient, 

 and the trealjuent and keeping in general. Where the morbid ])rocess 

 is violent, where its principal seat is in one of the most vital organs — 

 in the heart, for instance — where a largo inimber of animals are kept 

 together in one sty or pen, where sties and ])ens are very dirty, or where 

 the sick animals are very young, the disease frequently becomes fatal in 

 a day or two, and sometimes even within twenty-four hours. On the 

 other hand, where the morbid process is not very violent. t)r extensive, 

 where the heart, for instance, is not seriously affected, and where the 

 patients are naturally strong and vigorous, and well ke])t in every 

 respect, it usually takes from one to three weeks to cause death. If 

 the termination is not a. fatal one, the convalescence, at any rate, re- 

 (luires an equal and probably a nmch longer time. A ])erlect recovery 

 seldom occurs; in most cases some lasting disorders — morbid changes 



