90 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



of the throat; foreign bodies and constriction of the air passages 

 leading to the lungs; fevers, etc. 



As already stated, it is only the careful and constant examina- 

 tion of animals in health that will enable one properly to appreciate 

 abnormal conditions. One must become familiar with the frequency 

 and character of the pulse and of the respirations and know the 

 temperature of the animal in health, before changes in abnormal con- 

 ditions can be properly appreciated. 



Temperature. — The temperature should be taken in all cases of 

 sickness. Experienced practitioners can approximate the patient's 

 temperature with remarkable accuracy, but I strongly recommend 

 the use of the self-registering clinical thermometer, which is a most 

 valuable instrument in diagnosing diseases. (See PI. Ill, fig. 1.) 

 It is advisable to get a tested instrument, as some thermometers in the 

 market are inaccurate and misleading. The proper place to insert 

 the thermometer is in the rectum, where the instrument should be 

 rested against the walls of the cavity for about three minutes. The 

 normal temperature of the bovine is 101° to 102° F., which is higher 

 than that of the horse. A cow breathes faster, her heart beats 

 faster, and her internal temperature is higher than that of the horse. 

 Ordinary physiological influences — such as exercise, digestion, etc. — 

 give rise to slight variations of internal temperature ; but if the tem- 

 perature rises two or three degrees above the normal some diseased 

 condition is indicated. 



Pulse. — The pulse in a grown animal of the bovine species in a 

 state of good health beats from 45 to 55 times a minute. Exercise, 

 fright, fear, excitement, overfeeding, pregnancy, and other condi- 

 tions aside from disease may affect the frequency and character of 

 the pulse. It assumes various characters according to its rapidity 

 of beat, frequency of occurrence, resistance to pressure, regularity, 

 and perceptibility. Thus we have the quick or slow, frequent or 

 infrequent, hard or soft, full or imperceptible, large or small pulse, 

 the character of each of which may be determined from its name; 

 also that known as the intermittent, either regular or irregular. We 

 may have a dicrotic, or double, pulse ; a thready pulse, which is ex- 

 tremely small and scarcely perceptible; the venous, or jugular, pulse; 

 the " running down " pulse, and so on. (See p. 76.) 



In cattle the pulse is conveniently felt over the submaxillary artery 

 where it winds around the lower jawbone, just at the lower edge of 

 the flat muscle on the side of the cheek. If the cow is lying down the 

 pulse may be taken from the metacarpal artery on the back part of 

 the fore fetlock. The pulsations can be felt from any superficial 

 artery, but in order to ascertain the peculiarities it is necessary to 

 select an artery that may be pressed against a bone. There is a 



