CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN. 131 



of injury. If the pulse is strong, pretty good hopes of re- 

 covery may be entertained, and in such a case recovery may 

 take place in a few hours, or within a few minutes even. 



Treatment. — The treatment of concussion of the brain is 

 similar to that of sunstroke — cold applications to the head 

 and warm to the body and extremities. Prop the patient up 

 on his sternum, or sling him, as seems advisable. In some 

 cases relief is only temporary ; there may be a fracture 

 which is difficult to detect. Give stimulants and enemas, 

 and bandage the legs, etc. Now and then the practitioner 

 meets with a case of concussion of the brain where the 

 patient will stand with his head hanging down until the 

 muzzle almost touches the ground, and mechanical conges- 

 tion of the lips takes place. Treat such a case by scarifying 

 the lips, and keep the head elevated by means of a web. 



VERTIGO. 



Synonyms: Megrims, Head-staggers, etc. — The disease has 

 received the above names in reference to the erratic move- 

 ments of the animal when labouring under an attack. In 

 some cases it is due to temporary congestion of the brain ; 

 on the contrary, it may also be caused by an anaemic 

 condition of the brain ; and it may result from the presence 

 of cerebral tumours ; any disease of the brain or heart, or 

 anything that interferes with the flow of blood to or from 

 the heart or brain. Conformation may have something to 

 do with the trouble also. Horses with short, upright 

 necks are more likely to sutler, and horses doing heavy 

 collar-work frequently suffer. Tight-reining may also excite 

 an attack. Xervous horses are more subject to it than 

 others. As a rule it is due to some lesion of the brain, 

 but it is not so easy to say what that lesion is. It is often 

 due to some organic change. Over-study causes the troubia 

 in man. Gastric derangementalso figures as a cause of vertigo. 



9—2 



