354 DISEASES OF THE MUSCLES 



animal having a contracted appearance, or when by pressure upon them 

 they are found hard and tense. We also observe that dogs affected with 

 this disease move with fear, showing great disinclination for any move- 

 ment, and occasionally they cry out with pain when touched or lifted in 

 certain parts of the body or if any portion of a particular muscle is 

 touched. If compelled to rise, they do so in a slow, fatigued way. 

 Their movements are stiff and strained, and when foeces are passed the 

 animals do so with pain, frec^uently crying or howling, or it may be they 

 make no effort to evacuate the bowels, which results in obstinate 

 constipation. 



As rheumatism is generally located in the regions of joints, these 

 symptoms become modified in certain parts of the body and intensified 

 in others. We very often see rheumatism of the back and loins, when 

 rising and stretching of the extremities and all movements of the trunk 

 are very painful. The region of the back and loins is very sensitive, so 

 that the animals cry at the slightest movement. The muscles in the 

 neck are also subject to this disease (myalgia cerviculis, torticollis 

 rheumatica). Animals show great pain while eating on account of 

 being compelled to bend their neck in stooping down to reach their 

 •food. The muscles are distended and painful to the touch. If the 

 head is bent, the animal shoAvs great pain. In rare cases we see rheuma- 

 tism in the masseters (a great difficulty in mastication). Only in very 

 rare cases is any fever noticed. 



The course of the disease is sometimes acute and occasionally 

 chronic. In the former case the disease runs its course very quickly, 

 and may disappear without any special treatment, but there is always 

 a tendency to relapse. In the latter form the disease may be prolonged 

 for months, varying in degrees of intensity, also showing a tendency for 

 the pain to move from one part of the body to another, this peculiarity 

 enables one to readily distinguish the condition from one of traumatic 

 origin. 



Therapeutics. — When the disease is limited to a certain group of 

 muscles, it is only necessary to keep the animal in a warm dry kennel, 

 and feed with easily digested food and rub the affected parts with 

 stimulating ointments such as oil of camphor, aconite and soap liniment. 

 In rare instances the animal requires to be muzzled to prevent it from 

 biting the affected part. Where the pains are violent, morphine should 

 be administered hypodermically. As far as the use of electricity 

 is concerned, the opinions concerning it are much divided. The 

 writer has never been able to obtain any very marked results by using 

 this form of treatment. "N'ibratory massage, however, seems to produce 

 very good results in the milder and chronic cases. Internally the agents 

 recommended for the dog are salicylic acid, salol or salipyrin, aspirin, 



