i88 



(see Eleventh Lecture). Symptoms : In some cases, the attack is 

 ushered in by a shivering fit, while in others, the first symptom 

 noticeable is a sudden and extreme lameness in one leg, on touching 

 which great pain is evinced, even before any swelling makes its 

 appearance, while patches of sweat may be observed on the limb. 

 The large vessels running up the inside of the leg soon begin to enlarge, 

 as well as the glands in the grom, and excessive lameness and pain 

 accompany any attempts to move. General swelling of the limb then 

 takes place ; on the appearance of which the pain diminishes a great 

 deal, most of its acuteness being lost. In some cases there is a 

 considerable amount of constitutional disturbance, but in others, very 

 little or none is observable. 



450. Treatment : In very acute cases, where the animal is suffering 

 great pain, taking from four to six quarts of blood from the neck 

 (jugular vein) gives great and quick relief. Some people bleed from 

 the toe of the affected limb, but this I do not approve of. The treat- 

 ment I adopt, and which I can strongly recommend, is to put a 

 bandage-S3'me — made of soft meadow hay, not too tightly twisted — 

 round the limb, commencing at the foot, and rolling lightl}' and loosely 

 round, up to the top of the affected limb, and when once in position, 

 soaking it well with several pailfuls of cold water, repeating this action 

 every three or four hours. In scores of cases, I have seen the animal 

 get great relief from this treatment, in less than an hour. Linseed oil 

 — from I to i^ pints — may be given, followed up by 3 to 4 drachm doses 

 of nitrate of potash, every eight hours, in drinking water. When the 

 pain and lameness have gone — which is usually the case as the limb 

 becomes thickened — the swelling is then best reduced by gentle 

 exercise. Iron tonics, with diuretic medicine, may be given every 

 night with much benefit {see Appendix.) In very excitable cases, aloes 

 balls should be used with extreme caution [Inflamviation of the Boivels, 

 pay. 261). Animals once affected are subject to subsequent attacks, 

 and may ultimately end with their having a chronic thick leg, which, 

 in some cases, gets to an enormous size ; this is called Elephantiasis. 



451. Elephantiasis (Plate XX) consists of a chronic abnormal 



