DISEASES OF SWINE 415 



They may be either accessory or direct causes. The animal parasites 

 are lice, intestinal worms, flukes, trichina, etc. The plant parasites 

 are nearly all bacteria; the cause of cholera, swine plague, scours, 

 joint disease, sore mouth, etc. They may act as accessory causes, as 

 the lung worm may prepare the way for pneumonia, or directly 

 cause it, as in the case of the cholera germ. (Ind. B. 100.) 



SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSIS. 



In examining a hog the behavior, appearance, general condi- 

 tions and surroundings must all be taken into consideration. 



The grouping of symptoms into signs of disease is not as diffi- 

 cult in the hog as it is in some of the other farm animals, but in 

 order to recognize any deviation from the normal, we must be famil- 

 iar with the habits of the animal, the structure and the physiological 

 functions of the body, or at least possess a practical knowledge of 

 these things. Swine breeders have plenty of opportunity to learn 

 this from personal observation ; without this knowledge it is not pos- 

 sible to care for, or treat hogs in an intelligent manner when sick. 

 The general symptoms, those affecting the entire system, inform us 

 as to the condition of the animal at the outset and during the prog- 

 ress of a disease. Thus we have the symptoms connected with (a) 

 the pulse; (b) the respiration; (c) the body temperature; (d) the 

 mucous membranes; (e) the surface of the body; (f) the secretions 

 and excretions; and (g) the nervous system. All of the general 

 symptoms manifested by the hog are seldom considered either in the 

 diagnosis or the treatment of disease. There is no reason, however, 

 when treating valuable stock hogs, why a full knowledge of the 

 condition of the animal should not be of the same importance as in 

 the treatment of other domestic animals, and if possible this should 

 be obtained. 



Pulse. The pulse can be easily taken in the hog from the 

 femoral artery on the inner side of the thigh. The artery crosses 

 this region in an oblique direction and is quite superficial toward 

 the anterior (forward) and lower part. The normal number of 

 pulse beats per minute is usually estimated at about seventy or 

 eighty. In young pigs, and when the animal is exercised or excited, 

 the rate is much higher. The following varieties of pulse are rec- 

 ognized in disease: frequent or infrequent, quick or slow, large or 

 small, hard or soft and regular or intermittent. The frequency of 

 the pulse has reference to the number of pulsations per minute; 

 quick or slow to the time required for the pulse wave to pass under 

 the finger; large or small, to the volume of blood that passes at 

 each beat; hard or soft to the sense of feeling while the blood is 

 passing under the fingers ; and regular or intermittent to the inter- 

 vals between the beats. There may be a number of beats regular 

 and in time and then the missing of one or two, or there may be in- 

 creased rapidity of a few beats and then a decrease. The condition 

 of the circulation may also be judged by placing the hand on the 

 left side of the chest and as nearly over the heart as possible. 



Respiration. The number of respirations per minute is sub- 

 ject to considerable variation. When at rest, they will vary from 



