40 THE PRACTICE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. 



liniment may he applied to the sides. If the pain seems to 

 be very severe, it may he reHeved by opii pulv. 5i., or opii 

 tr. 31., to he repeated in four or five hours. If the howels 

 are constipated, their action may be soHcited b}^ enemas fre- 

 quently repeated ; cathartics being neither good nor safe, as 

 sometimes a quarter of an ounce of aloes will act with very 

 great violence and cause bad results. In cases where some- 

 thing must be given to produce catharsis, lini oleum 3viii. 

 may be administered. A good sedative, febrifuge, and 

 diuretic draught for pleurisy is as follows : potassse nitras 

 ^ss., camphora? 51., aqua O.i. Digitalis 5i., potassium nitrate 

 5iii., aqua q.s., is also recommended. 



HYDROTHORAX. 



Definition. — An excessive effusion of serum into the cavity 

 of the chest. This condition is a result of pleurisy, some- 

 times resulting from a very mild attack, and even in cases 

 where every care is bestowed upon the animal. Hydro- 

 thorax often exists when the practitioner is called in for 

 the first time. 



Symptoms. — The symptoms are pretty plain. The respira- 

 tions more or less difficult, short, and laboured, and of the 

 variety known as abdominal. Flapping of the nostrils is a 

 well-marked symptom. A peculiar glassy appearance of the 

 eye is noticeable. The pulse weak and irregular, or inter- 

 mittent. There is a heaving motion of the flanks, and 

 regurgitation of blood in the jugular vein. On auscultation 

 no sound can be detected in the inferior part of the thorax, 

 but sounds are heard on proceeding higher up. In some 

 cases, bulging of the intercostal spaces may be observed. 

 The animal stands persistently, and soon oedematous swell- 

 ings appear in the limbs, and extend along the belly. The 

 case may linger for weeks, but if the cavity is one-half or 

 two-thirds full of water, death is the usual termination. 



