PHYSICAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE LUXGS 



123 



larynx will not produce any signs of coughing, although it may make a 

 swallowing movement. 



Several spells of coughing, after a slight pressure of the pharynx, 

 point to a diseased condition of that organ; if the same pressure is made on 

 the windpipe, and the animal coughs violently, it also indicates a diseased 

 contlition of those parts. In bronchitis and catarrhal pneumonia, cough- 

 ing can be produced by tapping on the wall of the chest, indicating dis- 

 eased conditions of the deeper air-passages, particularly bronchitis, bron- 

 chopneumonia or catarrhal pneumonia. Spells of coughing may be 

 produced as a result of unusual exercise, running, jumping, excitement, 

 or from going out into cold air. 



In the beginning of acute bronchitis and in pleurisj^ the cough is dull, 

 w^eak, usually frecjuent, dry, and husky. In chronic em- 

 physema, bronchitis, catarrhal or croupous pneumonia the 

 cough is soft and frequent. The cough in emphysema and 

 oedema is very much the same, but not very frec[uent, and 

 in tuberculosis it is hollow and dull. There are many ex- 

 ceptions to this rule; for instance, in cases where foreign 

 bodies enter the lung through the mouth or following vom- 

 iting, the cough is convulsive and violent, resembling- 

 whooping-cough (chronic pharyngeal catarrh) in its inten- 

 sity. As a rule dogs cough more freciuently at night than 

 during the day. 



The expectorations cannot be examined in the dog as 

 in man, as the animal generally swallows all the secretions; 

 in rare instances there may be a small portion of the mucus 

 thrown out of the mouth or nose in coughing. We can 

 often see the animal chewing or swallowing after a fit of 

 coughing, which indicates that the animal has brought up 

 a piece of mucus into the mouth or pharynx; this is seen 

 when the cough becomes loose, moist, or rattling, and is 

 what is termed "looseness" of the cough, being seen gener- 

 ally in pharyngeal, tracheal, and bronchial catarrh. The 

 largest amount of excretion is seen in bronchial and tubercular diseases, 

 while in catarrhal and croupous pneumonia, and also in certain forms of 

 bronchitis, we find the excretion is thick and firm and accompanied by 

 dry, laborious coughing spells, and at the end of the cough there is a 

 swallowing movement. In hemorrhage of the lungs the cough is accom- 

 panied by more or less foamy blood from the nostrils and mouth and 

 in some cases symptoms of choking; a slight hemorrhage may escape our 

 observation, as generally all the blood is swallowed. 



Percussion of the Thorax. — Percussion (tapping) is performed by 

 means of a percussion hammer and an ivory or metal plate (pleximeter) 



Fig. 57.— riex- 

 iinetcr. 



