DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 41 



&CUTE LttftYJYGITIS. 



The larynx is the organ of voice, placed at the upper part of the air 

 passage. It performs a double function, oiie part of which is connected 

 with the voice, the other with respiration. It is situated between the base 

 of the tongue and the windpipe at the upper and fore part of the neck. 



The general character of laryngitis varies according to the extent and 

 severity of the inflammation. The disease may run a mild uncomplicated 

 course or it maybe accompanied with an exudation of lymph, a condition 

 distinguished as croup. 



Causation. — Faulty kennel arrangements and consequent exposure to 

 cold and wet. Extremes in temperature so often experienced by petted 

 house dogs, which are by their habits, particularly predisposed to inflam- 

 mations of the air passages. Mechanical irritations from prolonged bark- 

 ing and from foreign bodies not at once removed. Injuries to the neck, 

 such as continued tugging at a chain may be sufficient to induce the dis- 

 ease. Inflammations of the adjacent parts, as is frequently the case in 

 catarrh of the nasal mucous membranes, extend to the throat, involving 

 the larynx. 



Symptoms. — A hoarse, barking cough, excited by external pressure 

 over the windpipe, is one of the diagnostic characters of acute laryngitis. 

 In the earlier stage the expectoration is scanty and of thick mucus , later 

 it becomes abundant, and is more easily expelled. 



Fever may be more or less intense, or it maybe wanting. If the swelling 

 of the membrane be not great, the breathing is not notably increased. 

 With a greater amount of swelling, labored respiration and difficult 

 breathing are added. Inspiration and expiration are both affected by the 

 obstruction, but more especially the former. It is harsh or noisy. 



There is frequently more or less difficulty in swallowing, and a light, bub- 

 bling discharge from the nose. In cases where great obstruction exists the 

 suffering is intense. The eyes are congested and expressive of the great 

 distress the animal is experiencing. The suffering is at times rendered 

 more violent by spasm, and the respiratory acts are less frequent than 

 normal. With these symptoms, the disease ha a large proportion of cases 

 will end fatally, and the mode of dying be by suffocation. 



Diagnosis. —The diminished frequency of the respiratory acts, and the 

 absence, on auscultation and percussion, of signs denoting pulmonary 

 disease. The peculiar husky character of the cough. The suffering in- 

 creased spasmodically, with intervals of comparative ease. The tender- 

 ness over the larynx, and the reddened swollen appearance of the mucous 

 membrane of the throat. The presence of these symptoms excludes all 

 other diseases which might be confounded, and render a diagnosis easy: 



