DISEASES OF HORSES 145 



exist as an independent affection there is no reason to doubt, and it 

 is discussed as such with the diseases of the digestive tract. 



SORE THROAT, OR LARYNGITIS. 



The larynx is situated in the space between the lower jawbones 

 just back of the root of the tongue. It may be considered as a box 

 (somewhat depressed on each side), composed principally of car- 

 tilages and small muscles, and lined on the inside with a continua- 

 tion of the respiratory mucous membrane. Posteriorly it opens into 

 and is continuous with the windpipe. It is the organ of the voice, 

 the vocal cords being situated within it ; but in the horse this func- 

 tion is of little consequence. It dilates and contracts to a certain 

 extent, thus regulating the volume of air passing through it. The 

 mucous membrane lining it internally is so highly sensitive that if 

 the smallest particle of food happens to drop into it from the phar- 

 ynx violent coughing ensues instantly and is continued until the 

 source of irritation is ejected. This is a provision of nature to pre- 

 vent foreign substances gaining access to the lungs. That projec- 

 tion called Adam's apple in the neck of man is the prominent part 

 of one of the cartilages forming the larynx. Inflammation of the 

 larynx is a serious and sometimes a fatal disease, and, as before stated, 

 is usually complicated with inflammation of the pharynx, constitut- 

 ing what is properly known as sore throat. The chief causes are 

 chilling and exposure. 



Symptoms. About the first symptom noticed is cough, fol- 

 lowed by difficulty in swallowing, which may be due to soreness of 

 the membrane of the pharynx, over which the food or water must 

 pass, or to the pain caused by the contraction of the muscles neces- 

 sary to impel the food or water onward to the gullet; or this same 

 contraction of the muscles may cause a pressure on the larynx and 

 produce pain. In many instances the difficulty in swallowing is so 

 great that water, and in some cases food, is returned through the 

 nose. This, however, does not occur from laryngitis alone, but 

 only when the pharynx is involved in the inflammation. The 

 glands between the lower jawbones and below the ears may be 

 swollen. Pressure on the larynx induces coughing. The head is 

 more or less poked out, and has the appearance of being stiffly car- 

 ried. The membrane in the nose becomes red. A discharge from 

 the nostrils soon appears. As the disease advances, the breathing 

 may assume a more or less noisy character; sometimes a harsh 

 rasping snore is emitted with every respiration, the breathing be- 

 comes hurried, and occasionally the animal seems threatened with 

 suffocation. 



Treatment. In all cases steam the nostrils, as has been ad- 

 vised for cold in the head. In bad cases cause the steam to be in- 

 haled continuously for hours until relief is afforded. Have a 

 fresh bucketful of boiling water every fifteen or twenty minutes. 

 In each bucketful of water put a tablespoonful of oil of turpentine, 

 the vapor of which will be carried along with the steam to the 

 affected parts and have a beneficial effect. In mild cases steaming 

 the nostrils five, six, or seven times a day will suffice. 



