6^Q SPORADIC DISEASES. 



carefully and cautiously administered. They are certainly use- 

 ful, more particularly aconite, in relieving disquietude and 

 irritability; but they should be given in small doses only, 

 and for the reason above stated, that all remedies calculated to 

 lower the action of the heart promote the tendency to fibrinous 

 coagulation. 



The results of endocarditis are various diseases or alterations 

 in the form and structure of the valves, leading to ulceration, 

 perforation, pulmonary apoplexy, and ultimately to the death of 

 the animal. 



DISEASES OF THE VALVES. 



For various reasons, such as the distance of the heart from the 

 thick and muscular thoracic walls, valvular diseases are exceed- 

 ingly difficult of diagnosis. They are generally due to a change 

 of structure, caused by endocarditis, mechanical rupture, or 

 morbid growths. The result is imperfect valvular action, indi- 

 cated by difficulty of breathing when the animal is subjected to 

 exercise, the venous or jugular pulse, the so-called vertigo or 

 megrims, sometimes a tendency to oedema of the limbs, and 

 modifications of the cardiac sounds. These modifications are as 

 follows : — A bellows murmur with the first sound indicates 

 mitral disease or insufficiency ; a bellows murmur with the 

 second sound indicates aortic insiifficiency. Beyond this my 

 experience does not enable me to describe more definitely any 

 train of symptoms which are of diagnostic value. Indeed, I 

 have repeatedly found the cardiac sounds modified, a distinct 

 venous pulse, and irregularity of the heart's action in various 

 conditions unassociated with valvular diseases. For example, 

 the jugular pulse, which would lead one to conclude that the 

 regurgitations were due to tricuspid incompetency, is generally 

 present in various alterations of the cardiac walls, and in peri- 

 carditis, whether it results idiopathically or traumatically. 

 Practically it may be stated that an animal suffering chronically 

 from the above symptoms is only fit for the slowest kind of work. 



Ulcerative and warty endocarditis are said by Ziegler to differ 

 only in the degree of their intensity. In the one there is a 

 growth of white fibrous and elastic tissue in the valvular 

 reduplications, which is sometimes absorbed ; at other times 

 the valves become thickened, form abnormal adhesions, and 



