DIGESTIVE, [JRINARY, NERVOUS, AND LYMPHATIC SYSTEMS. 67 



erally. It is caused by various agencies, such as indigestible food, 

 sudden change of diet — particularly from a dry to a moist one 

 medicinal substances, worms, derangement of the liver, or large 



drafts of water when the animal is heated. Some animals are par- 

 ticularly predisposed to diarrhea from trivial causes. Narrow-loined, 

 flat-sided, and loosely coupled horses — that is to say, horses in which 

 the distance between the point of the hip and last rib is long — and 

 those of a nervous temperament are apt to purge without apparent 

 cause. These are called washy horses. They are hard to keep in 

 condition and require the best of food. 



Symptoms. — Purging, the fecal matter being semifluid, of a dirty- 

 brown color, without offensive odor, or clay-colored and fetid. If the 

 condition continues long the animal loses flesh and the appetite is 

 wanting. 



Treatment. — When the purging arises from the presence of some 

 offending matter in the intestinal canal (sand, worms, undigested 

 food, etc.) its expulsion must be aided by a moderate dose of linseed 

 oil (H pints). 



If the purging arises from no apparent cause, or if the bowels do not 

 regain their normal condition after the action of the oil has subsided, 

 it will be necessary to give astringents (binding medicines), such as 

 tannic acid, 1 to 2 drams. The following prescription may also be 

 used: Gum camphor 1 ounce, opium, powdered, 1 ounce. Mix. 

 Make eight powders and give one powder every three or four hours, 

 according to the severity of the case. Great care must be exercised, 

 as evil results may follow if the bowels are checked too soon. 



Diseases of the Urinary System. 



acute nephritis — inflammation of the kidneys. 



Causes. — It is at times produced by the action of cold; it also 

 happens frequently in the course of infectious (catching) diseases. 

 The kidneys become irritated by the presence of waste materials of 

 the food, such as mold, rust, etc., or by the passage of certain medi- 

 cines, such as turpentine, cantharides, etc. Inflammation and partial 

 or total clogging of the organ results. Cantharides will reach the 

 kidneys after absorption from a large blistered surface. 



Symptoms. — The most important and often the only manifesta- 

 tions of nephritis (in the course of infectious diseases, for instance) 

 are furnished by the urine. Its quantity is diminished; it is thick- 

 ened; of abnormal color; occasionally it is the color of blood. Mic- 

 turition (pissing) is painful; the urine often runs off drop by drop 

 only, notwithstanding the violent efforts made by the patient. In 

 serious eases the urinary secretion may be completely suppressed. 



