DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATOEY ORGANS. 579 



follov^ed another, caiisin^^ tlie animal a deal of distress. Steaming 

 the head has succeeded in allaying it in some instances, whilst 

 in others it has been necessary to apply a blister to the face. 



Epistaxis, or bleeding from the nose, occurs as a symptom of 

 various diseases, such as glanders, purpura, malignant catarrhal 

 fever. It may also be induced by injuries, rupture of the small 

 nasal blood-vessels during severe exertion, sneezing, or it may 

 arise from the presence of a polypus. When arising spontane- 

 ously or from injury, it must be arrested by the application of 

 cold astringents or by plugging the nostril with cotton wool 

 or tow. Percussion applied to the nasal region and sinuses of 

 the head yield in the young horse but an indistinct resonance ; 

 the sound increases with age as the sinuses undergo change. 

 The presence of pus, tumoiirs, or coagula deadens the sound. If 

 there be an extensive accumulation of pus, or a large tumour iii 

 the sinuses, tlie sound is completely deadened, the boue is 

 painful to the touch, and often bulging in appearance. 



AUSCULTATION OF THE LARYNX — I.ARYNGEAL SOUNDS IN HEALTJl 



AND DISEASE. 



In health there is a faint to-and-fro respiratory sound. In 

 disease the laryngeal sounds are varied and important ; they 

 consist of grunting, whistling, coughing, roaring, and trumpeting. 

 Laryngeal sounds, with the exception of " grunting," constitute 

 unsoundness. If they be of a temporary nature, and due to 

 irritation or tumefaction of the mucous membrane, pressure 

 of abscesses or tumours of a removeable nature, the unsoundness 

 may pass away; but if of a permanent character, no matter liow 

 trifling they be, they distinctly indicate unsoundness, not only 

 interfering with the usefulness of the horse for the time being, 

 but generally having a tendency to increase in intensity with 

 age, and often causing a horse to become unserviceable. I do 

 not mean to say that a whistler or roarer is not fit for work, 

 but I assert that the infirmity is a drawback, and an animal 

 so affected is worth less money in the market. 



1. Grunting. — If a horse, when struck at or suddenly moved, 

 emits, during expiration, a grunting sound, it is CcJled a 

 " grunter." Such a sound may or may not have any connection 

 with disease of the larynx. A horse wiU grunt with pain when 



