DISEASED OF THE IIOESE. 247 



vein which lies supoilicial over the inside of the hock joint, and may 

 be due to the pressure of a spavin. OccasionuU}' it nia\' be observed 

 in stallions, which are more or less subject to varicocele, or dilatation 

 of the veins of the testicular cord. Ilcraorrhoidal veins, or piles, arc 

 occasionall}' met with, generally in horses which run at pasture. 

 Varicose veins ma}^ ulcerate and form an abscess in the surrounding 

 tissues, or the}- ma}' rupture from internal blood pressure and the 

 blood form large tumors where the tissues are soft. 



Treatment. — Stallions which manifest a tendenc}' to varicocele 

 should wear suspensor}- bags when the}' are exercised. Piles may 

 often l>e icduccd by astringent washes — tea made from white-oak 

 bark or a saturated solution of alum. The bowels should be kept 

 loose with bran mashes and the animal kept quiet in the stable. 

 When varicose veins exist superficially and threaten to produce 

 inc<jnvenience, they may be ligated above and below and thus obliter- 

 ated. Sometimes absorption may be induced by constant bandages. 



AIR IN VEIXS, OF AIK EMBOLISM. 



It was formerly supposed that the entrance of air into a vein at the 

 time of the infliction of a wound or in blood-letting was extremely 

 dangerous and very often produced sudden death by interfering with 

 tlie circulation of the blood tlirongh the heart and lungs. Danger from 

 air embolism is exceedingly dou>)tful, unless great quantities were 

 forced into a large vein by artificial means. 



PUKPUEA HEMOREHAGICA. 



Purpura hemorrhagica usually occurs as a sequel to debilitating dis- 

 eases, such as strangles, influenza, etc. It may, however, arise in the 

 absence of any previous disease in badly ventilated stables, among 

 poorly fed horses, and in animals subject to exhausting work and 

 extreme temperatures. The disease is probably due to some as yet 

 undiscovered infectious principle. Its gravity does not depend so 

 much upon the amount of blood extravasated as it does upon the dis- 

 turbance or diminished action or the vaso-motor centers. 



Sijmjdonts. — This disease becomes manifested by the occurrence of 

 sudden swellings on various parts of the body, on the head or lips, 

 limbs, abdomen, etc. These swellings may be diffused or very mark- 

 edly circumscribed, though in the advanced stages they cover large 

 areas. They pit on pressure and are but slightly painful to the touch. 

 The limbs may swell to a very large size, the nostrils may become 

 almost closed, and the head and throat may swell to the point of suf- 

 focation. The swellings not infrequently disappear from one portion 

 of the body and develop on another, or may recede from the surface 

 and invade the intestinal mucous membrane. The mucous lining of 



