134 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



abscesses, rupture of the liver, or may disappear, leaving behind no 

 trace of disease whatever. 



Treatment. This should consist, at first, of the administration 

 of 1 ounce of Barbados aloes or other physic. General blood-let- 

 ting, if had recourse to early, must prove of much 'benefit in acute 

 inflammation of the liver. The vein in the neck (jugular) must 

 be opened, and from 4 to 6 quarts of blood may be drawn. Saline 

 medicines, as Glauber's salts or the artificial Carlsbad salt, is indi- 

 cated. These may be given with the feed in tablespoonful doses. 

 The horse is to be fed sparingly on soft food, bran mashes chiefly. 

 If treatment proves successful and recovery takes place, see to it 

 that the horse afterwards gets regular exercise and that his food is 

 not of a too highly nutritious character and not excessive. 



JAUNDICE, ICTERUS, OR THE YELLOWS. This is a condition 

 caused by the retention and absorption of bile into the blood. It was 

 formerly considered to be a disease of itself, but is now regarded as a 

 symptom of disorder of the liver. The yellows is observed by look- 

 ing at the eyes, nose, and mouth, when it will be seen that these 

 parts are yellowish instead of the pale-pink color of health. In white 

 or light-colored horses the skin even may show this yellow tint. The 

 urine is saffron colored, the dung is of a dirty-gray color, and con- 

 stipation is usually present. Jaundice may be present as a symptom 

 of almost any inflammatory disease. We know that when an ani- 

 mal has fever the secretions are checked, the bile may be retained 

 and absorbed throughout the system, and yellowness of the mucous 

 membranes follows. Jaundice may also exist during the presence of 

 simple constipation, hepatitis, abscesses, hardening of the liver, etc. 



Treatment. When jaundice exists we must endeavor to rid 

 the system of the excess of bile, and this is best accomplished by giv- 

 ing purgatives that act upon the liver. Calomel, 2 drams, with aloes, 

 7 drams, should be given. Glaubers salts in handful doses once or 

 twice a day for a week is also effective. May apple, rhubarb, castor 

 oil, and other cathartics that act upon the first or small bowels may 

 be selected. We must be careful to see that the bowels are kept open 

 by avoiding hard, dry, bulky foods. 



RUPTURE OF THE LIVER. This is known to occur at times in 

 the horse, most frequently in old fat horses and those that get but 

 little exercise. Horses that have suffered from chronic liver disease 

 for years eventually present symptoms of colic and die quite sud- 

 denly. Upon post-mortem examination we discover that the liver 

 had ruptured. The scars that are often found upon the liver indi- 

 cate that this organ may suffer small rupture and yet the horse re- 

 cover from it. This result can not obtain, however, if the rent or 

 tear is extensive, since in such cases death must quickly follow from 

 hemorrhage, or, later, from peritonitis. Enlarged liver is particu- 

 larly liable to rupture. 



Causes. The immediate causes of rupture appear to be exces- 

 sive muscular exertion, as leaping a fence, a fall, a blow from a col- 

 lision, a kick from a horse, or sudden distention of the abdomen 

 with gas. 



