Diagnosis, Treatment. 833 



easily be excluded by the absence of a visible injury, or on 

 the ground of the torpid character and persistent presence of 

 the edematous swelling. The coital, vesicular exanthema can 

 readily be taken for dourine, as both affections develop after 

 coitus with quite similar symptoms. In the coital exanthema 

 however the eruptions disappear much more rapidly and are 

 almost invariably benign; further the vaginal mucous mem- 

 brane is reddened, the affected parts are painful, the usually 

 numerous ulcers heal within a few days and with this the dis- 

 ease terminates, that is, no nervous sjanptoms develop with 

 the local affection. Glanders may also come into consideration, 

 as in its later course edematous swellings may result on the 

 sheath and on the abdomen, but a mistake is prevented by 

 the other s;snnptoms, which are usuallj^ present. The swelling 

 of the submaxillary lymph glands may readily be distinguished 

 by its soft elastic consistency from the glandular swelling of 

 the glands. 



The weakness of the hind parts is only characteristic of 

 dourine when associated with the other nervous s^^nptoms. From 

 other diseases in which similar weakness of the hind parts 

 occurs, the paralysis of the musculus quadratus lumborum 

 muscle, and the tearing of the lumbo-sacral articulation should 

 be mentioned, in which however the animal is not capable of 

 backing up at all, while a horse with dourine is capable of per- 

 forming this function, although with difficulty and staggering. 

 Paralysis of the facial nerves from other causes may be dis- 

 tinguished from dourine by the absence of edematous swelling 

 of the genitals and the plaques as well as other symptoms of 

 paralysis. 



Besides frequent accessory conditions, the affection of 

 several animals in association with coitus, and the multiplicity 

 of the symptoms in different animals are as a rule sufficient 

 points for establishing the diagnosis of the disease in question. 



Experiments by Uhlenhiith & Woithe, Mauteiifel, also Zwiek & Fiseher, -with 

 the complement fixation, the precipitation and the agglomeration, further the cutane- 

 ous and ophthalnio reactions for the diagnosis of dourine, gave negative results 

 throughout. 



Treatment. Already formerly arsenical preparations had 

 been used frequently in treatment, Trelat having obtained satis- 

 factory results from the internal administration of arsenious 

 acid (3-6 gm. daily) , Arkhangelsky & Novikoff' from subcutaneous 

 injections (0.01-0.05 gr. in increasing doses). ITlilonhuth & 

 Woithe found atoxyl rerj effective on small animals in labora- 

 tory experiments. In horses the conditions for such a treat- 

 ment are rather unfavorable, as the large doses required at 

 the beginning of the disease are badly tolerated by these ani- 

 mals, also on account of the presence of the parasites in the 

 secretion of the genitals, in the edematous fluid of the swell- 

 ings and in cavities of joints, where they may elude the destruc- 



