CHAPTER LXIV. 



SPOEADIC DISEASES— cou^wmed 



LOCAL DISEASES— continued. 



(0.) DISEASES OF THE BOWELS— co7itmued. 



DYSENTERY. 



Whilst superpurgation and acute diarrhoea most commonly 

 attack the horse, chronic diarrhoea and dysentery are much 

 more commonly seen in cattle, dogs, &c. Dysentery, sometimes 

 termed " colitis," or " bloody flux," consists of an inflammation 

 liaving a tendency to terminate in ulceration of the mucous 

 membrane and glandular structures of the large and sometimes 

 the smaU intestines. Dysentery is observed both in an acute 

 and chronic form ; the chronic in horned cattle being often 

 dependent upon the scrofulous diathesis, with tubercular deposit 

 and ulceration of the intestinal glands. 



CAUSES. 



Except as a concomitant of other diseases, such as rinderpest, 

 or when induced by direct irritants, acute dysentery is a rare 

 form of disease. It may, however, be induced both in horses and 

 cattle by bad food or putrid water; some kinds of pastures, 

 especially those situated upon moorlands and in shady places ; 

 on this account it was called " moor-iU " and " wood-evil " by 

 the old writers. Occasionally it is seen as a complication of " red 

 water " and " parturient peritonitis." 



In the dog it is witnessed as the effect of cold and damp, and 

 in the intestinal form of distemper. 



SYMPTOMS. 



In the ox the acute form is attended with shivering fits, 

 variable temperature of the body, arching of the back, and in- 

 creased sensibihty or tenderness of the loins ; a furry tongue, 

 and clammy mouth. The animal grunts, yawns, grinds its 



