364 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. 



of the incessant contractions of the muscles, that the loss of 

 tissue should be made good by a plentiful supply of new 

 material. 



In case the animal is to be treated, the bowels should in the 

 first instance be acted upon, and all irritating objects should be 

 removed. If there is a wound, it is advisable to dress it with 

 some palliative mixture, or with a poultice to which some bland 

 substance has been added. The patient should be secluded, and 

 only a moderate amount of light should be admitted, the 

 windows and other apertures being nearly always kept closed. 



Recently tetanus has been said to depend upon the operation 

 of a specific germ, and no doubt this statement will be found 

 to be true. There can be no doubt that the continued breaking 

 out of the disease, which we have often observed to occur on 

 the same premises, lends the strongest a priori probability to 

 this view, as does also the general analogy which exists between 

 tetanus and certain maladies which are known to depend upon 

 the presence of germs. Yet, as we have often pointed out, a 

 great deal of investigation is still required in these and allied 

 fields of research. Whatsoever may be the cause, it is at least 

 evident that the nervous system is intimately connected with 

 the manifestations which are exhibited. The phenomena of the 

 disease must be looked upon as resulting from abnormal working 

 of the structures concerned in the primary development of 

 force in the organism, i.e. of the nerves and nerve centres. 



The continuous or almost constant state of tension in which 

 the muscles exist in this disease leads us to suppose that the 

 products of muscular action — such substances as sarcolactic 

 acid, for example — are largely present in the various tissues and 

 in the blood ; and the great success which has followed our 

 treatment of tetanus in horses by means of alkaline salts, 

 coupled with other remedies, is no doubt explicable on this 

 hypothesis. Some years ago this method of treatment was 

 commented upon by Mr. J. B. Gresswell {vide the Veterinarian 

 of October 1882), and it has since that time been endorsed by 

 other veterinary surgeons. Of course there are also other most 

 valuable remedies, such as bromide of potassium, tobacco, and 

 perhaps hydrate of chloral. However, it may be said that there 

 is no more difficult malady to treat in the whole range of animal 

 disorders than tetanus. This has given rise to the erroneous 



