406 THE DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE OX. 



"Endocarditis" is the name given to inflammation of the 

 lining membrane of the cavities of the heart. It occurs 

 principally as a complication of rheumatic disease, and 

 requires very careful treatment. If allowed to go on unchecked, 

 large growths may be formed in the cavities, and sudden death 

 may occur. The best plan is, in most cases of endocarditis, to 

 make the animal ready for slaughter, and to consign it into the 

 butcher's hands at a suitable opportunity. 



" Hypertrophy," or excessive growth of the muscle of the 

 heart, is not common in cattle, though it is rather frequent 

 among horses, and especially in racers. 



" Embolism " is a name given to the lodging of a foreign 

 body, e.g. a clot of fibrin in any of the vessels. The foreign 

 body thus lodged is called an " Embolus." The iliac arteries 

 are most generally the seat of embolism. 



We have now briefly mentioned the more important disorders 

 of the circulatory system, and we may say, in conclusion, that it 

 is a most difiBcult matter to detect the nature of some of 

 them. Indeed, it requires very special skill, even in the 

 case of the human being, to diagnose the exact character of the 

 disturbance, and the meaning of the various murmurs and other 

 physical signs by which the presence of disease is manifested. 

 In the case of oxen, not only is it of far less importance to be 

 able to ascertain what is wrong with the circulatory system, but 

 it is also very much more difficult. The information at hand is 

 of the scantiest, and it is not at all easy to acquire an exact 

 acquaintance with the varied and complex conditions which may 

 occur. It is only lately that such instruments as the stetho- 

 scope and the sphygmograph have been applied in veterinary 

 practice. 



Moreover, the tendency of research will take the direction of 

 subjects which are of far greater importance to the community. 

 At the present time the whole scientific world is, as it were, 

 convulsed with the wonderful revelations which have recently 

 been made by the discovery of the intimate connections existing 

 between micro-organisms and disease ; and it is well that this is 

 the case, for it would be impossible to over-rate the almost 

 infinite importance of the modern achievement of science which 

 is known as the germ theory. 



From what we have said above, it will be clear that oxen are 



