118 THE NATURE AND TREATMENT OP 



DIARRHOEA. 



Diarrhoea consists of an increased number of alvine dis- 

 charges, augmented peristaltic motion of the bowels, irritability 

 of the same, and a too rapid propulsion of the secretions. 



Diarrhoea is sometimes salutary — an effort of nature to rid 

 the system of morbific matter; it frequently occurs at the 

 commencement of various forms of disease, and is scarcely, if 

 ever, an isolated affection. Gallup, in his " Institutes of Med- 

 icine,*' contends that the mu co-intestinal discharges are portions 

 of the centrifugal circulations, which probably have their func- 

 tions accelerated by the force of the heart and arteries, above 

 that of the centripetal series. A fluid, quite similar to the cold 

 sweat of the skin, and by a similar process, is forced out in 

 abundance, and produces the diarrhoea. 



A moderate diarrhoea, occurring in a plethoric animal, is 

 often salutary ; for it relieves the relative plethora of the vas- 

 cular system, which occurs at the onset of acute disease. 



"When the discharges are of a yellow or greenish color, there 

 is, generally, functional derangement of the liver. When an 

 abundance of mucous material is observed, it goes to show that 

 the mucous membrane is congested. Sometimes an excess of 

 serous fluid is observed, this occurs more particularly in drop- 

 sical affections. 



There is also a al vinous variety of diarrhoea, caused by an 

 abnormal secretion or exudation of coagulable lymph ; it fre- 

 quently comes away in shreds or detached pieces from various 

 portions of the intestinal canal. 



Treatment of Diarrhoea. — Almost any form of this affec- 

 tion, except the chronic kind, can be checked, and perhaps 

 cured, by administering a few doses of charcoal and lime water 

 I use these agents in the following proportions : — 



Finely powdered Charcoal, 8 ounces 



Lime Water, 4 ounces 



Tincture of Matico, 2 onncea. 



Water, 1 pint. Mix. 



One-fourth of the above is a dose for an ox or cow, which 

 may be repeated every four hours. The same remedy answers 



