DISEASES OF THE TAIL. 751 



bed and if unable to rise be frequently turned over to prevent 

 decubitus. Easily digested food is indicated. The bladder and 

 rectum must be emptied from time to time, and sometimes purgatives 

 are desirable. Further treatment must depend on the nature of 

 the cause ; rest and cold applications are indicated in superficial 

 mechanical injuries ; hot moist packs or applications of hot sand 

 or bran in rheumatism ; at the same time the muscles may be rubbed 

 with stimulant lotions, &c. 



In incomplete paralysis, treatment must be based on a knowledge 

 of the original cause ; when this is mechanical, the animal should 

 be placed in slings. Rheumatic conditions are to be treated as above. 

 When inflammation of the spinal cord or its membranes is suspected, 

 irritants like mustard poultices or cantharides can be employed. To 

 combat atrophy of the muscles, gentle exercise should, as far as 

 possible, be given, and the parts massaged by kneading or striking 

 (tapotement). In horses good results sometimes follow subcutaneous 

 injection of veratrin, or gradually increasing doses of strychnine. 



In dogs, the continuous or induced electric current may be 

 employed. The induced current can scarcely be used in horses, 

 on account of their geat sensitiveness to it and the resistance they 

 offer. 



In dogs, Zwicker recommends injecting 7 to 10 minims of a 

 solution prepared as follows : Eserin, -6; pilocarpin, 1*2; water, 80. 

 He gives carbonate of potash solution in syrup internally. 



Mourot claims to have cured paraplegia in a horse in three weeks 

 by subcutaneous injections of testicular extract from a goat. After 

 removing its envelopes the testicle was rubbed into a paste with 

 water, and a quantity subcutaneously injected each day. Until 

 confirmed by further successes such reports should be received with 

 caution. 



IX.—DISEASES OF THE TAIL. 



(1) Putting on one side operative wounds, injuries of the tail are 

 most frequent in dogs and oxen. In the former they are caused 

 by blows and treads, by the tail being struck against the walls of 

 the kennel or other objects, or by its being run over. Defective 

 sensibility seems to play a certain role here. Paresthesia, that is, 

 abnormal subjective sensibility, sometimes causes dogs to gnaw the 

 point of the tail, exposing the vertebrae ; Prietsch saw this in a lion. 

 Pruritus of the tail in horses may be due to worms in the rectum, 

 to acari infesting the tail, or to eczema. 



In cows, bruises are produced by blows from sticks, by violently 



