106 DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS 



and sclerotic coat; later the whole cutaneous covering becomes tinted. 

 The yellowishncss may be very plainly seen on the abdomen, on the inner 

 fascia of the thighs, and the mucous membrane of the mouth and throat; 

 the color may range from a light yellow to a dirty orange-yellow; the 

 latter color generally spreads over the entire body in the later stages of 

 the disease. 



2. On account of the coloring matter being present in the urine, it is 

 changed from the normal to a yellowish-green or to a dark greenish color; 

 wdien put in a vessel and agitated it foams very quickly and if a piece of 

 paper or linen is placed in it, it becomes tinted the color of the bile. It 

 is also easy to detect the presence of bile color of the urine by chemical 

 examination. (For further details, see the chapter on the Examination 

 of the Urinary Apparatus.) Besides the bile acids, the urine almost 

 always contains albumen, short hyaline casts, pigment granulations, and 

 epithelium of the kidney. 



3. On account of the stoppage of the flow of bile into the intestines, 

 the faeces become gray or clay-colored and contain much undigested fat, 

 and hydrobilirubin is present. The fat substances not being digested, 

 the fseces become very foetid; this change is due to the loss of the antiseptic 

 effect of the bile, and as the food is passed along the intestine the tonic 

 effect of the bile is absent. 



4. The bile acids present in the blood produce a certain amount of 

 depression of the nerve-centres, and for this reason we find that the pulse 

 and respiration are subnormal in action, and the temperature is reduced. 

 Other symptoms of the narcotic effect of the bile are seen in some cases 

 ■where there is depression, great muscular debility, indifference to sur- 

 roundings, somnolence and finally deep coma; we also find hemorrhagic 

 conditions of the skin or mucous membrane. 



The local examination of the liver gives very, little satisfaction. 

 The writer has never been able, except in one case, to find any percep- 

 tible enlargement of the liver. Manipulation of the liver does not seem 

 to give the animals pain in the later stages of the disease. The prog- 

 nosis in the dog is generally unfavoral^le. The yellow coloration gradu- 

 ally becomes deeper, the temperature falls to subnormal in the majority 

 of cases, the pulse becomes weak and irregular, and finally death occurs with 

 general paralysis. If the cases progress favorably, the first sign is a 

 lessening of the coloration of the urine and a darker hue to the fseces; 

 the pulse becomes fuller and more regular, the temperature increases, 

 the animal shows more animation, and the color in the mucous membrane 

 and the skin becomes lighter, until it finally disappears. If there is a 

 relapse, it is generally by improper feeding. 



Therapeutics. — ^^'e must first aim to reduce the irritation of the 

 duodenum also the bile-ducts. This is first effected by regulating the 



