102 CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS. 



tion of exudate in the bronchi, (fetid bronchitis) 

 is present. 



The presence of elastic fibres in the nasal discharge 

 speaks for pulmonary gangrene. 



III. Nasal Discharge. 



Only in the ox a slight nasal discharge is seen to occur 

 in health, which the animal usually removes from the nostrils 

 with its tongue. In the other animals the appearance of a 

 nasal discharge is always a sign of disease, and one of con- 

 siderable diagnostic importance. It can accompany all dis- 

 eases of the respiratory tract which are exudative in char- 

 acter, such as catarrhs of the nasal cavities, sinuses of the 

 head, throat, larynx, trachea, bronchi and lungs. In these 

 ' cases the discharge is the product of the disease. Some- 

 times the discharge comes from the digestive tract, from the 

 mouth or pharynx, more rarely from the gullet or stomach, 

 when it contains substances such as food particles, water or 

 saliva. 



The character of the nasal discharge depends upon the 

 organ from which it comes and the nature of the disease pro- 

 ducing it. We should bear in mind that the ox, sheep, goat 

 and dog usually lick ofif the discharge, hence it is not so 

 noticeable in these animals as in the horse. 



■ To correctly judge nasal discharge the following should 

 be considered : 



a. The quantity, which will vary greatly. The dis- 

 charge is slight in catarrhs that are neither very dififuse nor 

 severe. In tuberculosis, notwithstanding the severity of the 

 case, there is little discharge because what little exudate 

 appears upon the surface of the mucous membranes is re- 

 moved by coughing and eventually swallowed. 



The discharge is copious in strangles and in dififuse 

 catarrhs of the upper air passages and bronchi. 



Unilateral nasal discharge is characteristic of disease of 

 one side of the anterior air passages as far back as the fauces. 



