226 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Sounds in Health. 



In the healthy animal, on the right side and in the superior 

 region, a well-marked respiratory murmur is to be heard from just 

 behind the shoulder to as far back as the tenth rib (cattle have 

 thirteen ribs on a side) ; from here it decreases rapidly and is lost 

 at the eleventh rib. In the middle region there is a loud, rude, 

 respiratory murmur heard over the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh 

 ribs ; this decreases gradually from the seventh and is lost over 

 the tenth or eleventh. In the inferior region the sound is tubal 

 over the fourth and fifth ribs. From the sixth to the ninth there 

 is a respiratory murmur, which has a gradually decreasing force as 

 the examination extends backwards. 



In the healthy animal on the left side and in the superior region 

 the sounds of the right side are repeated. In the middle region 

 the sound is more feeble over the fourth, fifth and sixth ribs than 

 it is on the right side. In the inferior region, there is a feeble 

 respiratory murmur over the fourth rib ; this grows louder over the 

 fifth and sixth ribs and then decreases as far as the eighth or ninth, 

 where it is lost. 



Then there are sounds which, although they are often heard, 

 must not be confounded with sounds coming from within the chest; 

 these are : on the right side, in the superior and middle regions, 

 posteriorly, a rumbling which is produced by the movements of 

 the portions of the small intestine which is there located. 



On both sides, but strongest in the left, in the inferior region 

 and behind the eighth rib, a crackling sound is to be heard, which 

 comes from the paunch, and is due to a certain process in the 

 digestion of the food. It is best heard shortly after the animal 

 has eaten, more especially when the fodder has been green. In 

 this same region a strong rubbing or creaking sound is oftentimes 

 heard ; this also comes from the paunch, and is due to its move- 

 ments, accompanying the digestion of food. It is more commonly 

 heard while the animal is chewing the cud. 



Lastly, on the left side and in the posterior part of the inferior 

 region, there is at times a gurgling sound, which is due to the 

 movements of liquids within the stomachs. 



All of these sounds may be easily separated from those coming 

 from within the chest by remembering that they occur at irregular 

 intervals, and have no connection whatever with the breathing 

 movements of the chest walls ; and that sounds coming from the 

 lungs are produced regularly, and always occur with one or other 

 of the breathing movements. 



