398 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



weakness and imperfect control of the hind legs and powerless tail. 

 The urine usually dribbles away as it is formed, and the manure is 

 pushed out, ball by ball, without any voluntary effort, or the passages 

 may cease entirely. When paraplegia is complete, large and ill- 

 conditioned sores soon form on the hips and thighs from chafing and 

 bruising, which have a tendency to quickly weaken the animal and 

 necessitate his destruction. 



Locomotor Ataxia, or Incoordination of Movement. This is 

 characterized by an inability to control properly the movement of 

 the limbs. The animal appears usually perfectly healthy, but when 

 he is led out of his stall his legs have a wobbly movement, and he 

 will stumble or stagger, especially in turning. When this is con- 

 fined to the hind parts it may be termed a modified form of paraple- 

 gia, but often it may be seen to affect nearly all the voluntary mus- 

 cles when they are called into play, and must be attributed to some 

 pressure exerted on the base of the brain. 



Local Paralysis. This is frequently met with in horses. It 

 may affect many parts of the body, even vital organs, and it is very 

 frequently overlooked in diagnosis. 



Facial Paralysis. This is a frequent type of local paralysis, and 

 is due to impairment of function of the motor nerve of the facial 

 muscles, the portico dura. The cause may exist at the base of the 

 brain, compression along its course after it leaves the medulla oblon- 

 gata, or to a bruise after it spreads out on the great masseter muscle. 



Symptoms. A flaccid condition of the cheek muscles, pen- 

 dulous lips, inability to grasp the food, often a slow and weak move- 

 ment in chewing and difficulty and slowness in drinking. 



Intestinal Paralysis. Characterized by persistent constipation; 

 frequently the strongest purgatives have no effect whatever on the 

 movement of the bowels. In the absence of symptoms of indigestion, 

 or special diseases implicating the intestinal canal, torpor of the 

 bowels must be attributed to deficient innervation. This condition 

 may depend upon brain affections or be due to reflex paralysis. 

 Sudden checks of perspiration may induce excessive action of the 

 bowels or paralysis. 



Paralysis of the Bladder. This usually affects the neck of the 

 bladder, and is characterized by incontinence of urine; the urine 

 dribbles away as fast as it is secreted. The cause may be of reflex 

 origin, disease of the rectum, tumors growing within the pelvic cav- 

 ity, injury to the spinal cord, etc. 



Paralysis of the Optic Nerve, or Amaurosis. A paralysis of eye- 

 sight may occur very suddenly from rupture of a blood vessel in the 

 brain, acute local congestion of the brain, the administration of ex- 

 cessive doses of belladonna. In amaurosis the pupil is dilated to its 

 full extent, the eye looks clear, but does not respond to light. 



Paralysis of hearing, of the external ear, of the eyelid, par- 

 tial paralysis of the heart and organs of respiration, of the blood ves- 

 sels from injury to the vaso-motor nerves of the esophagus, or loss of 

 deglutition, palsy of the stomach, all may be manifested when the 

 supply of nervous influence is impaired or suspended. 



