INTRODUCTION 13 



exudation and adhesion is most formidable, particularly when ad- 

 hesive bands are formed in serous cavities, such as the pleura, joints, 

 and the sheaths of tendons. 



26. Effusion, or oozing of the serum of the blood into the areolar 

 tissue, results in the formation of large serous swellings or watery 

 tumours, with small pellets and fibrinous strings floating amongst it ; 

 for instance, the swelling that arises on a young horse's shoulder 

 from a nip with a collar, or those on the front of a cow's knees, 

 which at times become very large, are due to bruises and effusion. 



27. Suppuration is the formation of a yellowish-creamy matter 

 or pus, which is of two parts, solid or corpuscular, and watery. 

 Suppuration is both acute and chronic, and can go on in different 

 parts of the body, forming what are called abscesses (gatherings). 

 A good example is seen in strangles in young horses. At first the 

 abscesses are hard and unyielding, but, as they ripen, or come 

 forward, they begin to soften and point in the middle, always aiming 

 towards the external surface, and having a well-defined marginal 

 ring. Some burst of themselves, others require to be opened, but 

 this should never be done unless the parts fluctuate well under the 

 fingers, and in such cases the opening should always be at the 

 bottom. We also have diffused and superficial suppuration ; the latter 

 being seen on mucous surfaces, such as the bronchial tubes, nostrils, 

 and generative organs. 



28. Pus is of various kinds — -viz., (1) laudable, (2) putrid, 

 (3) sanious, (4) scrofulous, and (5) specific. Of these different kinds of 

 matter — or pus — laudable is looked upon as the most healthy ; it 

 is thick, or creamy. Specific resembles it in colour and thickness, 

 but is most dangerous, as in the case of glanders. The others have 

 their peculiar characters, and need the eye and attention of the 

 professional man to deal with them. 



29. Ulceration may be looked upon as perverted assimilation 

 and degeneration of the atomic structures of a part, exposing a 

 mattery-looking sore, and is another effect of inflammation generally 

 found in parts of low organization, short of vitality. A good example 

 is the front of the shin bone of an aged human subject. When 



