INFLAMMATION. 305 



The ojJjyessed pulse is wlien the arteries seem to be fully distended \\ath 

 blood. There is obstruction somewhere, and the action of the heart can 

 hardly force the stream along, or communicate pulsation to the current. 

 It is the case in sudden congestion of the lungs. Thoy are overloaded 

 and gorged with blood which cannot find its way through their minute 

 vessels. This accounts for the well-known fact of a copious bleeding in- 

 creasing a pulse jDreviously oppressed. A portion being removed from the 

 distended and choked vessels, the remainder is able to flow on. 



There are many other varieties of the pulse, which it Avould be tedious 

 here to particularise ; it must, hoAvever, be observed, that during the act 

 of bleeding, its state should be carefully observed. Many veterinary sur- 

 geons, and gentlemen too, are apt to order a certain quantity of blood to 

 be taken away, but do not condescend to superintend the operation. This 

 is unpardonalale in the surgeon and censurable in the owner of the horse. 

 The animal is bled for some particular purpose. There is some state of 

 disease, indicated by a peculiar quality of the pulse, which we are endea- 

 vouring to alter. The most experienced practitioner cannot tell what 

 quantity of blood must be abstracted in order to produce the desired effect. 

 The change of the pulse can alone indicate when the object is accom- 

 plished ; therefore, the operator should have his finger on the artery 

 during the act of bleeding, and, comparatively regardless of the quantity, 

 continue to take blood, until, in inflammation of the lungs, tbe oppressed 

 pulse becomes fuller and more distinct, or the strong pulse of considerable 

 fever is eA^dently softer, or the animal exhibits symptoms of faintness. 



INFLAMMATION 



Consists of a disturbed action of the cii-culation, by which an increased 

 flow of blood is determined to a particular part. It is characterised by 

 redness, swelling, heat and pain. The redness proceeds from the greater 

 quantity of blood flowing through the pai^t, occasioned by the dilated con- 

 dition of the vessels. The swelling arises from the same cause, and from 

 the deposit of fluid in the neighbouring substance. The natural heat of 

 the body is produced by the gradual change wliich takes place in the blood, 

 in passing from an arterial to a venous state. If more blood is driven 

 through the capillaries of an inflamed part, and in which this change is 

 effected, more heat will necessarily be produced there ; and the pain is 

 easily accounted for by the distension and pressure Avhich must be pro- 

 duced, and the participation of the nerves in the disturbance of the 

 surrounding parts. 



K the inflammation be slight, and arrested by treatment in its early 

 stages, resolution and a return to a healthy condition of the part will foUow ; 

 but if it be acute and go on unchecked, it will terminate either in effusion, 

 adhesion, suppuration, or gangTcne. 



In the treatment of inflammation, blood-letting has always held a pro- 

 minent position. In times past it was carried to an injurious extent ; 

 there is, perhaps, a tendency at the present day to go to the other extreme, 

 by neglecting many opportunities when great benefit might result from 

 the abstraction of blood, especially in local inflammations. An eminent 

 writer on this subject says ' it is a measure, life-giving in its proper use, 

 and deadly if abused. Its benefits may be explained on any theory ; by 

 diminishing the mass of blood, it lessens the labour of the heart and lungs, 

 and allows the remaining blood to be oxygenated and purified by natural 

 influences. It diminishes the rush of blood to the inflamed part, and 

 allows distended venous capillaries to empty themselves ; it decreases the 

 specific gravity, and increases the absorptive power of the blood ; it pro- 

 motes the action of the skin and bowels, and imitates the spontaneous 



X 



