PLEURISY 549 



blood stream and diffusible stimulants which will enable the heart to carry 

 on the work at which it hcas failed. One may be a long way from a 

 veterinary surgeon or medical aid, but half-a-pint of whisky can generally 

 be obtained, and should be given in a quart of water in the absence of 

 professional assistance. 



Once in a stable, and provided the disease has not made too much progress, 

 bleeding from the jugular vein may be the means of saving the patient's life. 

 The attentive reader will have observed that the practice of blood-letting is 

 very rarely advocated in this work, but the disease we are considering is one in 

 which that operation is especially beneficial if performed at the right time. 

 It is a good plan to give a stimulant first and use the lancet some ten 

 minutes afterwards, there being a difiiculty in getting the blood to flow. 

 There was a time when every farmer almost could and did bleed a horse or 

 a cow for any and every complaint, but since the evil has been generally 

 recognized and the custom fallen into desuetude, the subject of congestion of 

 the lungs may have to wait for the attendance of a veterinary surgeon 

 before it can be effected. He will judge by the character of the pulse 

 whether bleeding is likely to be beneficial, and may deem it advisable to 

 abstract two or three quarts of blood. With less blood to deal with and 

 an artificial impulse given to the heart by stimulants, a more general 

 distribution of the fluid may be efiected, and some very excellent " cures " 

 are brought about in this way. There is a difierence of opinion as to 

 the application of mustard to the sides of the chest, but the majority of 

 experienced practitioners are still in favour of it. Besides the popular 

 forms of alcohol, heart stimulants may be given of a more lasting character, 

 as digitalis, ether, aromatic spirit of ammonia, or the carbonate in solution. 

 Every effort should be made to re-establish the circulation in the parts most 

 distant from the centre, and the legs and ea.rs should be wisped and pulled, 

 clothed and bandaged. While keeping the surface warm, the patient should 

 be placed in a box where he can obtain the largest amount of pure air, 

 tying up his head to the open door, if he is found to persistently hang it 

 down in the worst corner of the box. If the appetite is entirely lost the 

 patient may be sustained with milk and eggs given with the drenching- 

 bottle. Constipation should be guarded against by the use of laxative foods, 

 as bran, green meat, carrots, etc., or a soap-and-water clyster, a dose of 

 sulphate of magnesia or soda, but on no account should an aloetic ball be 

 given. Only walking exercise should be pi'escribed until the patient has 

 made considerable progress towards recovery. 



PLEURISY 



Is AN INFLAMED CONDITION of the membrane which lines the walls of the 

 chest and is reflected over the surface of the lungs. In health this serous 

 surface secretes a fluid intended to lubricate the chest and permit of the 

 movements necessary to respiration without the possibility of friction. If 

 the pleural become inflamed, whether by association with pneumonia (pleuro- 

 pneumonia) or bronchitis (broncho-pneumonia) or the condition of pleuritis 

 exist alone, there will be an altered secretion. A period of congestion is 



