DIABETES MELLITUS 317 



the fact that the animal may have an enormous appetite and be fed 

 with the most nutritious food. The animal is easily fatigued, is made 

 to take exercise with effort, and in some cases moves about with more 

 or less difficulty. The animal shows great thirst and drinks enormous 

 quantities of water, at the same time passing large quantities of urine, 

 which in most cases is pale and colorless and, as a rule, the specific 

 gravity is particularly high (1030 to 1060) and it is only in very rare 

 cases that the specific gravity is as low as normal. The odor of the 

 urine is very characteristic; it resembles that of fresh fruit (aceton). 

 The tests already described can be used to demonstrate the presence of 

 sugar in the urine, the fermentation test being the best to use. Consult 

 special works. The quantity of sugar present in the urine may vary in 

 amount. Eichhorn states that in one case he found 11 per cent, and 

 Haltenhof found 12 per cent, in another case. When an animal is fed 

 on a pure meat diet it seems to lessen the amount of sugar in the urine, 

 although there are certain cases where even this diet has little or no 

 effect on the amount of sugar present. Albumin is sometimes found in 

 the urine in this condition. 



In many cases cataract may develop (opacity of the lens, gray 

 cataract), appearing simultaneously in both eyes, causing total blindness, 

 in some cases we find ulcerative keratitis. In other cases the hair falls 

 out; vomiting, persistent diarrhoea, falling out of the hair, and some have 

 noticed an inflammation and ulceration of the skin and bleeding of the 

 mucous membrane terminating in chronic bronchial catarrh of the 

 lungs. The course of the disease is gradual; emaciation and debility 

 increase until finally the animal sinks into a deep coma, accompanied, as 

 a rule, with convulsions, and finally death. The prognosis in all cases 

 should be unfavorable. Post-mortem generally shows atrophy of the 

 pancreas and hypertrophy and fatty degeneration of the liver. 



Therapeutics. — The treatment of diabetes consists of feeding the 

 animal on food which does not contain any carbon, or as little as possible. 

 This may be accomplished to a certain extent by a meat-diet, and even 

 this diet cannot be followed up for any great length of time. Give eggs 

 and bran bread, vegetables and in cases where it cannot be avoided, milk; 

 but wheat bread, sweets, sugar in the form of candy, cakes, rolls, rice, 

 peas, lentils, potatoes, or any food containing starch in large quantity, 

 must be avoided. A pinch of carbonate of soda must be given three 

 times daily in the drinking water. Other preparations such as arsenic, 

 salines, salicylate of soda, carbonate of ammonia or acetate of ammonia 

 are useful. Where the animal is in a state of coma, use subcutaneous 

 injections of ether or camphor in combination with the intravenous 

 injections of normal saline solutions. It is always wise not to change the 

 animal's abode, because animals sent to a hospital, affected with this 



