DISEASES OF THE HEAET AND ITS MEMBRANES. G59 



of the part against the pericardium applied to the sternum, 

 induced by dilatation of the heart or impeded action of the 

 lungs. These white spots are seldom met with in the peri- 

 cardium of the horse, whilst they are not uncommon on the 

 endocardial surface. 



Traumatic Pericarditis. — In ruminants, particularly cattle, 

 foreign bodies often find their way into the pericardium, wound- 

 ing both it and the heart. Whilst the carditis so induced is 

 circumscribed, and merely surrounds the point of puncture, 

 the pericardial inflammation and exudation involve the whole 

 surfaces of the membrane. 



Cattle are exceedingly fond of chewing and swallowing all 

 sorts of substances ; for example, notliing seems to give greater 

 pleasure to a cow than to have an old boot or other piece of 

 leather in its mouth, and this it will chew at with evident 

 gratification. An old brush is also a dainty morsel, and I have 

 seen as a consequence of this that the pericardium has been 

 pierced by the brush nail. Many kinds of sharp-pointed 

 materials have been found in the pericardiuiji of cows. I have 

 seen hair-pins, horse-nails, needles, table-knife, iron wire, &c. 

 &c. ; and, as a matter of fact, the smarter the maids are in a 

 dairy the greater the danger of this disease amongst the cattle, 

 for smart dairymaids use numerous hair-pins, some of which 

 become lost amongst the food and are swallowed by the 

 cows. 



In some instances the foreign body is gradually forced from 

 the chest into the thoracic walls, as proved by the following 

 three cases related to me by Mr. Malcolm Walker, V.S., Alex- 

 andria, Dumbartonshire, in a letter dated August 1888 : — 



" The first was an Ayrshire milch cow, said to be off her feed for a 

 few days. On examining her, I found the pulse weak and irregular, 

 the rumen impacted and flatulent. I ordered a tonic ball to be given 

 three times a day, the ball containing ginger gi., carb. ammonia 3ii., 

 made up with treacle. In two days she seemed better ; she had been 

 ruminating occasionally, the pulse still weak, irregular, and an anxious 

 look about her. I saw her again in two days, when she appeared much 

 worse ; the nose poked out, small, weak, irregular pulse ; laborious 

 breathing, dropsical swelling below the sternum ; the sounds of the 



