DISEASES OP THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 79 



SymptoTTis. — The symptoms are as follows: The animal is disin- 

 clined to move actively, the step is restricted and cautious, sudden 

 motion causes grunting, the attitude is constrained, the feet are 

 drawn somewhat together, the back is arched, the face has an anxious 

 expression. If the disease is of several days' standing, there is likely to 

 be soft swelling (edema) beneath the neck, in the dewlap, and under 

 the chest, between the fore legs. Breathing is short and difficult; it 

 may clearly be painful. The pulse is rapid, 80 to 120 per minute. 

 The muscles quiver as though the animal were cold. Rumination and 

 appetite are depressed or checked. The dung is hard, and to void it 

 appears to cause pain. These symptoms usually develop gradually, 

 and, of course, they vary considerably in different animals, depending 

 upon the size and location of the foreign body and the irritation it 

 causes. 



As a matter of course, in such cases treatment is useless, but when 

 it is possible to diagnose correctly the animal could be turned over 

 to the butcher before the flesh becomes unfit for use; that is, before 

 there is more than a little suppuration and before there is fever. 

 Knowing that cattle are prone to swallow such objects, ordinary 

 care may be taken in keeping their surroundings as free of them as 

 possible. 



PERICARDITIS. 



Inflammation of the pericardium (heart bag) is often associated 

 with pneumonia and pleurisy, rheumatism, and other constitutional 

 diseases, or with an injury. It also occurs as an independent affec- 

 tion, owing to causes similar to those of other chest affections, as ex- 

 posure to cold or dampness and changes of the v :ather. 



Symptoms. — It may be ushered in with a chill, followed by fever, 

 of more or less severity; the animal stands still and dull, with head 

 hanging low, and anxiety expressed in its countenance. The pulse 

 may be large, perhaps hard ; there is also a venous pulse. The hand 

 against the chest will feel the beating of the heart, which is often 

 irregular, sometimes violent, and in other instances weak, depending 

 in part upon the quantity of fluid that has transuded into the peri- 

 cardial sac. The legs are cold, the breathing quickened and usually 

 abdominal ; if the left side of the chest is pressed on or struck, the 

 animal evinces pain. There may be spasms of the muscles in the 

 region of the breast, neck, or hind legs. After a variable time 

 swelling may also appear in the legs and under the chest and brisket. 



In those animals in which the heart sounds may be heard somewhat 

 distinctly, the ear applied against the chest will detect a to-and-fro 

 friction sound, corresponding to the beats of the heart. This sound 

 is produced by the rubbing of the internal surface of the heart bag 



