212 BUKEAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



One dram of the fluid extract of belladonna, to control pain and vas- 

 cular excitement of the vspinal cord, may be given every five or six 

 hours until the pupils of the eyes become prettj^ well dilated. If the 

 pain is very intense 5 grains of sulphate of morphia should be injected 

 hypodermically. The animal must be kept as free from excitement as 

 possible. If the urine is retained in the bladder it must be drawn off 

 every four or six hours. In very acute attacks the disease generally 

 proves fatal in a few days. If, however, the animal grows better some 

 form of paralysis is apt to remain for a long time, and the treatment 

 will have to be directed then toward a removal of the exudative prod- 

 ucts and a strengthening of the system and stimulation of the nervous 

 functions. To induce absorption, iodide of potassa in 2-dram doses may 

 be given, dissolved in the drinking water, twice a da}'. To strengthen 

 the system, iodide of iron 1 dram twice a day and 1 dram of nux 

 vomica once a day maj'^ be given in the feed. Electricitj^ to the para- 

 lyzed and weakened muscles is advisable; the current should be weak, 

 but be continued for half an hour two or three times daily. If the 

 disease is due to a broken back, caries of the vertebrte, or some other 

 irremediable cause, the animal should be destroyed at once. 



MYELITIS, OK INFLAMMATION OF THE SUBSTANCE OF THE SPINAL CORD. 



This is a rare disease, except as a secondary result of spinal menin- 

 gitis or injuries to the spine. Poisoning by lead, arsenic, mercury, 

 phosphorus, carbonic-acid gas, etc., has been known to produce it. 

 Myelitis may be confined to a small spot in the cord or may involve 

 the whole for a variable distance. It may lead to softening, abscess, 

 or degeneration. 



Symi^tonis. — The attack may begin with a chill or convulsions; the 

 muscles twitch or become cramped very early in the disease, and the 

 bladder usually is affected at the outset, in which there may be either 

 retention or incontinence of urine. These conditions are followed by 

 complete or partial paralysis of the muscles posterior to the localit}^ of 

 the inflamed cord, and the muscles begin to waste away rapidly. The 

 paralyzed limb becomes cold and dry, due to the suspension of proper 

 circulation; the joints may swell and become edematous; vesicular 

 eruptions appear on the skin; and frequently gangrenous sloughs form 

 on the paralyzed parts. It is exceedingly seldom that recovery takes 

 place. In a few instances it may assume a chronic type, when all the 

 symptoms become mitigated, and thus continue for some time, until 

 septicemia, pyemia, or exhaustion causes death. 



PatJiology. — The inflammation may involve nearly the whole length 

 of the cord, but generally it is more intense in some places than others; 

 when due to mechanical injury, the inflammation may remain confined 

 to a small section. The cord is swollen and congrested, reddened, often 



