THE ABSORBENT SYSTEM 425 



exaggerated and end in frenzy. These symptoms usually indicate that 

 a fatal termination is at hand. During the course of the disease the 

 temperature is but little affected, and, excepting when complications arise, 

 the pulse and respiration are nearly normal. On post mortem examination 

 it has been found that the membranes of the brain and spinal cord are 

 charged with blood, and effused blood and serum are frequently found on 

 the brain and spinal cord. The digestive and respiratory organs, and also 

 the spleen and kidneys, show considerable changes in their texture. 



No satisfactory explanation has been given of the origin of the disease. 

 It has been looked upon as infectious, and recent experience of the malady 

 goes to prove pretty conclusively that it is so. The fact of its recurrence 

 occasionally and under very different conditions is sufficient in itself to 

 prove that it is not due to any of the ordinary causes. Whatever the 

 cause may be, it is quite certain that it only exists at intervals, and also 

 that it affects a considerable number of animals in the district in quick 

 succession. The cessation of the disease is sometimes as sudden as its 

 appearance. 



Treatment. Of the different plans of treatment which have been 

 tried none has proved so successful as to claim any pre-eminence. Laxa- 

 tives, cold applications to the head, and in cases where muscular spasms in 

 the neck, for example, are present, injections of morphine have been tried 

 with partial success. 



For the prevention of the spreading of the affection it is desirable to 

 remove healthy animals from the immediate neighbourhood of the sick. 

 Efficient cleansing and disinfection of the stables in which sick horses have 

 stood must on no account be neglected, and a complete change of food is 

 also desirable. 



5. THE ABSORBENT SYSTEM 



This important system is composed of two parts, of which one is 

 especially connected with the alimentary canal, whilst the other is widely 

 distributed throughout the body. The former is named the lacteal system, 

 the latter the lymphatic system. Both are composed of vessels presenting 

 a general resemblance to those which convey the blood, and both ult, 

 mately discharge their contents into the thoracic duct, a tube which 

 beneath the vertebral column and opens directly into the anterior ve 

 cava. Both are interrupted in their course by gla nds- he , lymph.bc 

 alands-of which those in relation with the lacteals are chiefly s.tuat 



