306 INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 



however, almost always quickened, sometimes to 100 even, 

 from the irritative state of the aortic system ; it is also in 

 most well-marked cases small and oppressed, the pulmo- 

 nary congestion preventing the free passage of blood through 

 the lungs. We have, however, occasionally found it mode- 

 rately full and bounding, dependent probably on the mem- 

 brane being more diseased than the substance of the 

 lungs. The horse is now seen to look more anxiously 

 round to his trunk ; the whole body also seems stiff and 

 sore : partially elevating the head occasions great pain, 

 and he is altogether disinclined to move ; on the contrary, 

 he stands fixed with his head extended forwards ; his nos- 

 trils outstretched ; his fore legs somewhat apart but forward ; 

 and he seldom if ever lies down, or if he does, he rises 

 again quickly. The chest, if tapped with the hand, emits 

 a dead sound ; while the ear applied to the side of the chest 

 will detect a dull but more urgent murmuring. As the 

 complaint increases, the pulse becomes still more oppressed 

 and irregular, so as to present, at the region of the heart, 

 nothing but the faintest flutter ; the legs, ears, and muzzle, 

 feel still more intensely cold, although partial sweats may 

 visit the carcass. The nostrils change to a still more livid 

 hue, and the air they expire is chill. The mouth now 

 becomes cold and pale ; convulsive twitchings affect the 

 breast, neck, and face ; the teeth grate, and death ensues 

 earlier or later, as the disease has been more or less rapid ; 

 occurring sometimes as early as the second or third day, 

 but more often between the third and seventh, being also 

 sometimes prolonged to the fourteenth or fifteenth. 



The terminations of pneumonia are more varied than in 

 most other complaints : I'esolution is that most to be de- 

 sired ; in which the symptoms gradually subside, either 

 spontaneously, or aided by the curative treatment. Con- 

 gestion is the termination to be dreaded ; which sometimes 

 suffocates the patient on the fourth or fifth day, by filling 

 up the air cells with grumous blood. In the epidemic 

 pneumonia, w^here a considerable degree of malignance is 

 occasionally present, instead of blood, the air cells often 

 become choked with serosity. 



Gangrene is not a frequent termination of true pneu- 

 monia; the irritation or the congestion usually destroys 



