278 VETERINARY LECTURES 



417. The number of beats of the pulse is not the only thing to be 

 considered ; the character of the volume of the vessel is to be taken 

 into account as well, for the pulse may be quick or slow, hard or soft, 

 strong or weak, full and bounding, double or intermittent, corded or wiry, 

 irregular, thready, and running down. All these varieties have a 

 significance and value in the diagnosing of disease. 



418. In the horse the pulse is generally felt at the jaw or inner 

 side of the forearm or fetlock joint ; in the cow, at the lower part 

 of the neck, opposite the shoulder joint, or at the inner side of the 

 knee, or under the root of the tail ; in the sheep, pig, and dog, it is 

 felt for inside the forearm or thigh. 



419. The Blood is a red fluid (of varying specific gravity in 

 different animals — e.g., 1060 in the horse, ox, and pig), of which we 

 recognize two kinds : 



1. Arterial blood, of a bright scarlet colour. 



2. Venous blood, of a dark brownish-red. 



The difference in colour is due to the relative quantities of oxygen 

 in each. Blood consists of : 



1. Liquor sanguinis or plasma. 



2. Red corpuscles — of which there are, it is estimated, about 



204,113,750,000,000 in the body (Ellenberger). 



3. White corpuscles — the number of which is estimated to be 



in proportion to the red as 1 : 335. 



4. Some proteids, extractive and mineral matter. 



420. The Plasma {Liquor sanguinis) contains water, proteids 

 (some of which are capable of giving rise to fibrin), solids (not 

 proteid in nature), extractives (including fat), and inorganic salts. 



421. The Red Corpuscles are bi-concave, disc-shaped cells, 

 without nuclei ; they are said to be about 35^ of an inch in 

 diameter ; and it is to them that the red colour of the blood is 

 due, from the iron (containing the pigment hemoglobin) which they 

 possess, and which is the oxygen-carrier to the tissues. The red 

 corpuscles, when seen singly, are of a yellow colour, and float in 



