DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 393 



with the belladonna. When the bowels act freely there is hope 

 of recovery. If the patient is lying down, he should be padded 

 np and his comfort attended to. If cold sweats break out, and 

 the eye becomes amaurotic, death will soon follow. The prog- 

 nosis of this disease, as a rule, is unfavorable. 



SUNSTROKE. 



Sunstroke is of very frequent occurrence in large cities, and 

 especially in our large cities of the South. It is a greater or less 

 congestion of the brain, with loss of sensation and voluntary 

 motion. 



Causes. — Excessive heat is the important causative agent, but 

 other circumstances co-operate, such as muscular exertion, un- 

 duly severe and prolonged. High feeding on highly stimulating 

 food, irregular exercise, an insufficient supply of water, and 

 badly ventilated stables, are predisposing conditions. Debility 

 is also a predisposing cause. The horse is not always attacked 

 wliile exposed to the direct rays of the sun. The attack may 

 come after he has returned to the stable; generally it takes place 

 when the heat of the day is at its maximum, between noon and 

 6 P. M. 



Symptoms. — Generally, before the trouble becomes well 

 marked — that is, before the acute stages are reached — certain 

 premonitory symptoms are observed, such as an unusual dullness 

 and languor on the part of the animal. As a rule, he does not 

 perspire as he should when put to exertion; there is dryness of 

 the skin, with increased temperature. These premonitory symp- 

 toms may be shown for thi'ee or four dnys. In severe cases, the 

 patient usually passes (piichly into the comatose state; falls, and 

 when down extends the head. The pupil in some cases is dilated, 

 in some contracted, in some normal, but the respondency to light 

 is lessened or lost. There may bo contractiou and dilatntion at 

 different jioriods in the same case, an niuaurofic stare, and loss of 

 vision. The pulse may be unfrequent at first, as in cases of 



