ARTHRITIS. 747 



iodine, before the suppuration period. When suppuration is established, 

 the abscess should be opened at the proper time. 



Tonics have been given with advantage, as well as cod-liver-oil, castor- 

 oil, and even ordinary oils and fats. These not only aid in the assimila- 

 tion of earthy salts and nitrogenous matters, but to some extent act as a 

 laxative — a service of some importance. Small doses of sulphate of 

 magnesia or soda, or aloes, may also be given with the last-named object, 

 or even to produce continuous purgation for some time. 



With regard to the treatment of the disease in lambs, Walley advises 

 that those affected be removed from the dam, and receive milk from 

 healthy animals. The milk maybe mixed with beaten-up eggs, and good 

 nitrogenized gruels may also be allowed. " Place in dry, warm houses, 

 and give gentle aperients — as castor-oil — or better, a small dose of mer- 

 cury with chalk ; follow up by febrifuges and diuretics, as nitrate of pot- 

 ash and camphor, with nitric ether, or carbonate of ammonia ; if much 

 pain is evinced, give small doses of opiates — Dover's powder being the 

 best agent of this class ; or inject a small quantity of the solution of 

 morphia underneath the skin of the joints. In the course of a few days^ 

 tonic treatment should be adopted, as the administration of iron, alter- 

 nated with iodide of potassium ; or mineral acids with cinchona, or other 

 vegetable tonics j and allow a little wine, good old ale, or porter." The 

 same authority recommends, as local treatment, the application of a 

 strong blister — as the compound tincture of iodine ointment — all round 

 the joint, at the commencement of the disease ; and when the subsequent 

 inflammation has subsided, to keep the joints at rest and in their proper 

 position by the use of light splints and bandages, leaving the joint 

 exposed for further observation. As soon as any tendency towards 

 "pointing" in suppuration is perceived, the joint is to be opened freely, 

 the inflammatory products removed, and the interior washed out with a 

 solution of carbolic acid in glycerine and warm water — one part of the 

 first, two of the second, and forty or fifty of the last. Afterwards, pads 

 of soft lint or linen and tow, saturated in carbolized oil (one to eight or 

 ten) should be applied, leaving an aperture inferiorly for the escape of 

 discharge ; the dressings are to be renewed every day. Mild caustics or 

 astringent lotions are to be applied if granulations project above the skin. 

 If the ends of the bones are carious, they must be scraped, and nitric or 

 muriatic acid applied ; should sinuses have formed, they must be obliter- 

 ated by the use of setons, or laying them open with the knife, and treat- 

 ing them afterwards as ordinary wounds. " In treating the results of 

 this disease, it must be borne in mind that in young animals the repara- 

 tive processes go on very rapidly ; and that what appears to be a very 

 formidable wound, is soon converted into a comparatively simple one. 

 Animals, too, may, with a little trouble, be fattened and their flesh utilized ; 

 few can be preserved for breeding purposes." 



As salicylic acid is unrivalled for its antipyretic properties, and partic- 

 ularly in inflammation of the fibro-serous membranes, its internal admin- 

 istration should be tried in the arthritis of young animals. The soda salt 

 (salicylate of soda) is the best form, perhaps. The internal administra- 

 tion of other antiseptic remedies — as preparations of carbolic acid, 

 and boracic acid, sulphite of soda, etc., might also be tried in those cases 

 in which the joint disease is suspected to be due to septikaemia as the result 

 of omphalitis. 



