Symptoms of Influenza. 65 



influence. Its primary action is direct upon the 

 nervous system, and secondly upon the vascular 

 system. The animal appears to be suddenly 

 deprived of the requisite quantity of vigour or 

 vital stimulus necessary for the due performance 

 of the vital actions. I am of opinion that the 

 whole system suffers alike, not only the vital 

 organs, viz. the brain, heart, lungs, liver, etc., 

 but every living tissue in the v^hole frame is 

 deficient in nerve force or animal electricity. 

 The first observable symptoms are cold skin, loss 

 of appetite, dulness, listlessness, palse small and 

 feeble, varying from 60 to 80 or even 100 in one 

 minute ; breathing not always disturbed, a prick' 

 ling uneasiness in the legs and feet, an excitable, 

 susceptible state of the bowels, voiding faeces 

 frequently, which are soft and scanty; in some 

 few cases we have spontaneous diarrhoea. These 

 symptoms are followed by swollen eyelids, weep- 

 ing, in some severe cases effusion of lymph into 

 the chambers of the eye. The mouth is not par- 

 ticularly hot, neither are the membranes highly 

 injected. There is more or less swelling about 

 the legs and fetlocks ; this is accompanied by a 

 morbid capillary action generally. It assumes 

 and proceeds in a uniform course, and not by 

 natural and distinct stages. I feel no doubt many 

 of these cases experience headache to a very great 

 extent, from the manner in which they will lay 

 their heads upon your breast and seem to find 

 relief in their heads being stroked. In some 

 cases for months after the attack, symptoms 

 approaching to megrims hang about them, 



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