OF THE PULSE. 125 



its number to which we should attend : these may be cha- 

 racterized by the familiar terms of strong, hard, soft, wiry, 

 oppressed, small, quick, frequent, slow, regular, and irre- 

 gular ; to become familiar with which requires nice discri- 

 mination and habits of close attention. 



The arteries being universally diffused ; and their action 

 being uniform throughout ; it follows that the pulse may be 

 examined on any part of the body ; but it can certainly be 

 no where so conveniently, nor perhaps no where so advan- 

 tageously, felt, as in the submaxillary artery (see Fig 9 . c), 

 when that vessel crosses the lower jaw. Having detected 

 this artery ; enclose it within the fore and middle fingers, 

 the thumb resting without ; while the index and median 

 fingers, between them, pursue the inquiry into the state of 

 the circulation ; now by one, now by the other, pressing the 

 tube with various degrees of force against the bone. 



A strong and full pulse, indicating forcible contractions 

 in the heart ; with a proportionate quantity of blood forced 

 into, and propelled onwards, by the arteries, is present in 

 the horse under temporary excitement ; but is seldom found 

 to accompany any morbid state into which he falls. The 

 full pulse which accompanies disease in the horse has always 

 some confined vibratory hardness ; though, occasionally, it 

 may be encountered without hardness in the first stages of 

 influenza. A hard pulse vfith. incYeased frequency is charac- 

 terized by its feeling to the fingers like a cord vibrating 

 under them ; and not like the full undulations of an over- 

 charged vessel. This hard pulse accompanies most exten- 

 sive membranous inflammations ; and is the usual attendant 

 on the early periods of most abdominal diseases. It forms 

 the best characteristic between incipient peritoneal inflam- 

 mation and spasmodic colic or gripes ; for in gripes, although 

 after a few hours' continuance there is often a hardness in 

 the pulse ; it is always accompanied, when purely spasmodic, 

 with a degree of fulness also, unknown in peritoneal inflam- 

 mation. A hard and fidl pulse is common to extensive 

 disease of parts not immediately essential to life ; as of the 

 cellular membranes; muscles; skin; &c., when they are suffi- 

 cient to affect the constitution. It accompanies the early 

 stages of bad catarrhal affections ; and occasionally of pneu- 



