Symptoms, Treatment. 1063 



Symptoms. Physiological hypertrophy of the heart does 

 not give rise to any morbid s;\anptoms. The symptoms of 

 hypertrophy which develop in connection with organic heart 

 diseases or arterial affections will be considered in connection 

 with these diseases. 



In the remaining cases the hypertrophy is characterized 

 by a'n enlarged cardiac dnllness, increased force of the heart 

 beat, accentnated diastolic heart sonnd and by a strong and 

 tense pnlse. 



If the energy of the heart contractions is diminished later 

 on, the symptoms of cardiac insufficiency appear which cor- 

 respond with those of dilatation (p. 1064). At first they usually 

 occur only on motion, but may later be observed also at rest. 

 There are then noticeable languor, feeble pulse, increased full- 

 ness of the veins, gradually increasing emaciation, dropsical 

 signs, sometimes vertigo and attacks similar to palpitation. 



Treatment. The treatment will have to be limited to pre- 

 venting, if possible, the exhaustion of the heart muscle; this 

 is done by careful use and proper feeding of the patients. 

 The animals may, even for considerable periods, be used for 

 uniform and quiet work, but exertion usually decidedly aggra- 

 vates their condition, the circulatory disturbances are increased 

 and sudden death may follow. In cardiac weakness the remedies 

 mentioned for cardiac dilatation are applicable (p. 1067). 



Literature. Koline, Mag., 1870. 8S. — Lieiiaux, Ann., 1904. 157. — Mauri, 

 Rev. vet., 1894. 121. — Sclirader, D. t. W., 1902. l-oG. — Serling, W. f. Tk., 1888. 

 205. — Siedanigrotzky, S. B., 1887. 20. • — ■ SohiTbert, Beitr. z. Anatomie d. Herzens 

 d. Har.ssiiugetiere. Diss. Leipzig. 1909 (Lit.). — Vogel, Eep., 1888. 1. 



5. Dilatation of the Heart. Dilatatio Cordis. 



The term "Cardiac Dilatation" is used to designate a 

 deficient emptying of the heart cavities during systole, a con- 

 dition which is leased upon a muscular force of the heart muscle 

 which is relatively small in proportion to the resistance. 



Tn accordance with its considerable power of adaptation, the heart 

 is capable of taking up an amount of blood which is far in excess of the 

 average amount, and to expel it during the next systole, if its muscles 

 are unimpaired. This is a compensatory dilatation, purely diastolic, 

 which develops in some forms of valvular lesions and leads, after a 

 certain time, to hypertrophy. It will not be further discussed in this 

 place. 



Etiology. Dilatation of the heart develops acutely from 

 an excessive increase of the blood pressure and usually appears 

 quite early upon excessive and especially upon unaccustomed 

 muscular exertion. Under such circumstances the heart muscle 

 becomes incapable of responding to the excessive increase of the 



