BLOOD DISEASES. 239 



bj the capillaries themselves, though of this we have not 

 very much positive evidence. 



It is worth w^hile to bear in mind, too, that the blood 

 and the blood-vascular system are developed in the foetus 

 together as parts of one wdiole. A knowledge of tliese 

 cardinal physiological truths makes much in the causation, 

 pathology, and treatment of disease less obscure. 



BLOOD DISEASES. 



It is likely that the white corpuscles become relatively 

 too numerous in certain conditions in the dog as in man ; 

 but little, however, is positively known on this subject, 

 and there is ample room for investigation of the blood of 

 this animal in disease. 



Ansemia — w^iich implies an impoverishment of the 

 blood, especially as regards the quantity or quality of the 

 coloring matter {hmmoglobin) of the blood as contained in 

 the red cells — occurs in dogs as in other animals. 



It results under unfavorable surroundings, as a badly- 

 lighted, damp kennel, in ill-fed animals, in those whose 

 nutriment is abstracted by parasites, in bitches bred too 

 frequently and exhausted by suckling, etc. 



Pallor of mucous membranes, as well seen in the 

 mouth, makes the diagnosis certain. 



Treatment — Remove the cause and substitute the best 

 conditions possible; feeding on the most nutritious food, 

 including raw flesh, and the administration of certain ton- 

 ics and alteratives. As the coloring matter of the blood 

 contains a certain proportion of iron, on which its vital 

 properties largely depend, this mineral, in the form best 

 suited to the animal, is indicated. 



