A SPHP VIA OF THE NE W-BORN A NIMAL. 7 19 



BOOK VI. 



DISEASES AND ABNORMALITIES OF THE YOUNG ANIMAL. 



The diseases and abnormalities of the young animal, gbserved immedi- 

 ately after birth, are, many of them, of the greatest importance, and 

 deserve far more attention than they have yet received in England. 

 Their consideration forms an appropriate complement to what has been 

 said as to the pathology of the parturient state of the female parent ; and 

 a notice of them, however brief and imperfect it may be, is all the more 

 necessary, as few, if any of them, are referred to in works on veterinary 

 medicine or surgery. We will describe them in the following order : — 

 (i) Asphyxia, (2) Umbilical Hcemorrhage, (3) Persistence of the l/rachus, 

 (4) Umbilical Hernia, (5) CEdema of the Umbilicus, (6) Inflammation of 

 the Umbilical Cord, (7) Arthritis, (8) Indigestion, (9) Diarrhoea, (10) Re- 

 tention of Meconium, (11) Skiti dryness, (12) Imperf oration of the Anus, 

 (13) Imperforation of the Vulva, (14) Imperforation of the Prepuce, {\^ 

 Cyanosis. 



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CHAPTER I. 



Asphyxia of the New-born Animal. 



At page 247, under the head of " Suspended Animation," we alluded to 

 asphyxia of the new-born animal — a condition similar to that of the new- 

 born child, and briefly alluded to the measures necessary for restoration. 

 We have likewise referred to the immediate cause of this condition. It 

 has been recognized that when animals are submitted during pregnancy 

 to insufficient food, to severe exertion, have suffered from chest disease, 

 or from colic a short time before parturition, or when labor has been 

 difficult and protracted, the young creature at birth is so exhausted that 

 it lies apparently dead — all the tissues being pale and flaccid, the body 

 low in temperature, and the heart's beats and the respiratory movements 

 are very feeble or quite imperceptible. 



There may also be syncope or asphyxia from plethora or cyanosis ; 

 asphyxia may likewise be due to interrupted circulation in the umbilical 

 cord, and intra-uterine respiration. 



Apparent death, or suspended animation, must be treated in the 

 manner indicated at page 247. The mouth and trachea should be 

 cleared of mucus and amniotic fluid, if any of the latter has passed into 

 the air passages, as it may give rise to pneumonia, should the creature 

 be resuscitated and live for a short time. With the calf or foal, it is 

 possible to pass an elastic tube or catheter through the nostril into the 

 trachea, and by means of a syringe to remove much of the fluid there- 

 from. 



Aspersion of the skin with cold water may also be useful in stimula- 

 ting the respiratory nerve-centre, by the reflex action it induces. This is 

 more particularly indicated when asphyxia is due to an excess of carbonic 

 acid in the blood. Stimulation of the skin may also be useful in this 

 direction. Direct electric stimulation of the phrenic nerve should be 



