DISEASES OF THE BRAIN. 299 



SYMPTOMS OF TUMOURS IN CONNECTION 

 WITH THE BRAIN AND ITS MENINGES. 



Tumours of the choroid plexus scarcely ever affect the 

 health of the anunal or give any signs of their presence 

 until they have reached a size perhaps as large as a walnut 

 or hen's egg. 



When they have attained such a size, they may give rise 

 at varying intervals to severe convulsive fits, staggering gait, 

 and inability to perform work. In other instances no 

 symptoms are manifest before a fatal stroke resembling 

 apoplexy from rupture of a cerebral artery suddenly occurs. 

 Sometimes the animal becomes violently excited, raises its 

 head, and dashes violently forward. In these instances the 

 head is hot, the pulse is full and bounding, and the vision 

 is imperfect. After a while the paroxysm may be relieved, 

 and the animal rises and regains consciousness. 



When symptoms are manifested prior to the sudden 

 attacks, there may, in some instances, be unconsciousness, 

 with elevation of the head and fore-part of the body, while 

 in others there is a tendency to keep the head depressed 

 (Williams). 



These tumours generally grow for a long time without 

 producing any untoward symptoms, which mostly come on 

 quite suddenly when the tumour reaches the size of a large 



All intra-cranial tumours may give rise to staggering 

 gait, a tendency to fall asleep and become drowsy while 

 eating, slow pulse and deep respiration — an aggregation of 

 symptoms spoken of by the old writers as ' sleejvj staggers/ 

 or ' coma.' 



Violent exertion is always liable to be attended with 

 symptoms of cerebral disturbance indicated by the above 

 manifestations, or by more active signs, as uncontrollable 



