DISEASES OF THE WTCTHERS. 769 



own experience warns us that it is not without danger, from its 

 habiUty to be followed by a severe form of diseased withers. 

 Bouley and Nocard, in relation to this mode of treatment, say "it 

 is better to empty the cyst with a capilliary trocar, or by the 

 aspirator, to wash its cavit}^ with an antiseptic preparation, slightly 

 irritating (5 per cent, solution of phenic acid), to repeat this injec- 

 tion several times, until the liquid taken out of the cyst is per- 

 fectly limpid, and then apply over the entire surface of the skin a 

 thick coat of blister." 



The purulent cyst is treated as an abscess. 



{f) Abscess. — A phlegmon of the withers may rise suddenly 

 under the influence of a severe traumatism, or become the sequel 

 of a hematoma, or of a cyst. It appears most commonly on the 

 superior part of the withers ; sometimes on the sides, as a tumor 

 more or less warm and painful, first uniformly hard and tense, 

 and afterward soft, with a fluctuating center, and surrounded b}'' 

 an oedematous infiltration, more or less developed. If the abscess 

 is superficial, ulceration of the skin soon takes place, followed by 

 the escajDC of thick, white and creamy pus. 



If, on the contrary (and this is often the case), the abscess 

 is deep, developing itself under the the aponeurosis of the great 

 dorsal, or of the rhomboideus muscle, or even deeper, under the 

 cartilage of the scapvila, or the thickness of the ilio-si^inahs, the 

 symptoms then, however, being less defined. The tumefaction is 

 less characteristic, the heat less marked, the fluctuation not detect- 

 able, and the only sign which guides the surgeon is the excessive pain 

 manifested upon the slightest ^pressure on the tumor, and from 

 which the animal shrinks in fear. This soreness is in fact so great 

 that in some animals it interferes with the action of the leg on the 

 side affected. The appearance of general febrile symptoms is not 

 uncommon at this period, with elevation of temperatui-e, increase 

 in the circulation, anorexia, excessive thirst, etc. At this period, 

 also, it becomes important to be certain of the diagnosis, or at 

 least to be sure of the existence of the sui^puration, and its loca- 

 tion must be accurately made out, in order to prevent the severe 

 disorders that may be caused by the presence of the pus ; a prob- 

 lem which can be only solved by repeated capillary exploring 

 punctures, made at various points, and at given depths, according 

 to the dimensions of the phlegmonous enlargement. 



The prognosis of abscess of the withers depends altogether on 



