oiLAMMATiOKS.] MODERN VETERTNAKY IMIACTICE. [inflammatiovb. 



are not what anatomists term vascular, scimm 

 to enjoy only interior j)o\vt>rs ot" life; and this 

 explains tho diiliculty of riMnovintj any in- 

 Haniiuat.'iry action tliat may arise in tiie teiulons 

 of the lej,', which, from their whiteness, are 

 not very vascular. 



But inflammation of vital parts, though these 

 may be exceedingly vascular, cannot go on so 

 favourablv as in other parts of resembling 

 structure, but of dilVcrent functions; because 

 the mutual operations of universal health 

 depend so much upon the sound condition of 

 such organs. Tiie truth of this observation is 

 illustrated in cases of inflammation of the 

 stomach or lungs, «&e. 



In strong constituHons, inflammation always 

 proceeds more propitiously than in weak ones ; 

 for where there is much strength, there is con- 

 siderable irritability. In weak-constitutioned 

 horses, the operations of inflammation are back- 

 ward, notwithstanding the part in which it is 

 seated may, comparatively speaking, possess 

 considerable organisation and powers of life. 



Inflammation, wherever situated, is always 

 most violent on that side of the point of 

 inflammation which is next t^ the external 

 surface of the body; and this is particularly 

 exemplified in gun-shot wounds. Suppose a 

 ball were to pass into the thigh, to within an 

 inch of the opposite side of the limb, we 

 should not find that inflammation would be 

 excited along the track of the ball, but on the 

 side next the skin which had not been hurt. 

 If a ball should pass quite through a limb, 

 and carry into the wound a piece of the 

 saddle clothing, lodging in the middle, equi- 

 distant from the two orifices — which is not 

 unfrequently the case in cavalrv regiments — 

 the skin immediately over the extraneous body 

 would inflame, if the passage of the ball were 

 superficial. 



We see three very remarkable eflfects follow 

 the prevalence of inflammation — viz., adhe- 

 sions of parts of the body to each other, the 

 formation of pus, or suppuration, and ulcera- 

 tion ; a process in which tho lymphatics 

 are more concerned than the blood-vessels. 

 Hence the terms adlunive, suppurative, and 

 ulcerative inflammation. 



All parts of the body, however, are not 

 equally liable to each of the preceding conse- 

 quences. In the cellular membrane, and in 



the circum.^ci ibcd cavities— csppcialjy tho cavity 

 of tho chest- tho adhesive Htago takes plnco 

 more readily than in theotherB; suppuration 

 may bo said to fiillow next in order of fro- 

 qucncy ; and lastly, ulceration. Now, tho 

 ulcerative stage of inflammation moMt fre- 

 quent in die horse, attacks tho air-cells of 

 the lungs, or the kidney.s, but docs not seem 

 to afl'ect, more than partially, any other mucous 

 membranes. The suppurative inllammatitni 

 comes on more readily than either the adhesive 

 or the ulcerative stage. Adhesions, which 

 originate from the slightest degree of inflamma- 

 tion in other situations and structures, can 

 only be produced by a violent kind in the 

 above-mentioned parts. Ulceration is more 

 frequently met with upon mucous surfaces 

 than adhesive ones. 



The cellular membrane appears to be much 

 more susceptible of the adhesive inflamiuatioa 

 than the adipose, or fatty cells, and much 

 more readily passes into suppuration. Thus, 

 we see the cellular substance, connecting 

 muscles together, and the adipose membrane 

 to the muscles, inflaming, suppuratirig, and 

 the matter separating the muscles from their 

 lateral connections, and even the fat from the 

 muscles, while the latter substance and the 

 skin are only highly inflamed. But it must 

 be allowed, that in situations where fat abounds, 

 we Very frequently meet with abscesses. Tiiis 

 is so much the case, that fat has been ac- 

 counted a more frequent nidus for the collec- 

 tion of matter, than the cellular substauce. 

 We have spoken above of the inflammation of 

 the fats ; but this is not an expression strictly 

 true. Fat has no vessels, or principle of life, 

 or action of its own ; consequently, we cannot 

 suppose it can either inflame or suppurate. 

 We know that it is itself a secretion ; and, 

 when an abscess is formed in it, we under- 

 stand that the mode of action in the vessels 

 naturally destined to deposit fat, has been 

 altered to that adapted to tho formation of 

 pus. When we speak of the fat being in- 

 flamed, we mean that the membianous cells 

 in which it is contained, and by which it is 

 secreted, are thus affected. 



Tiie dcei)ly-situated parts of the body, moro 

 especially the vital ones, very readily admit of 

 the adhesive stage of inflammation. Tlie cir- 

 cumstance of deeply-seated parts not so readily 



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