SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DISEASE 149 



the number of respiratory movements in a given time, and their character, 

 are almost as varied as are those affecting the circulatory system; thus the 

 breathing may be quick or slow, spasmodic or difficult. Stertorous breath- 

 ing is attended with a noise which may be compared to snoring. Breathing 

 may also be irregular, sometimes being carried on by the abdominal 

 muscles while the ribs remain fixed, and at other times by the thoracic 

 muscles almost exclusively, as in cases of acute peritonitis. A peculiar 

 form of the expiratory effort is exhibited in the act of coughing, the sound 

 of which is produced by a sudden spasmodic expiration, and varies as to its 

 character in different forms of disease; thus there are described moist, dry, 

 and spasmodic coughs. There is also a cough which is peculiar to the 

 broken-winded horse and to the roarer. A soft painful cough is present in 

 bronchitis of the acute kind, and its character is so well defined that the 

 expert will accept the sound as a diagnostic symptom. A hard, dry, or 

 husky cough indicates the absence of mucus, a fluid which in the normal 

 state moistens the lining membrane of the respiratory tubes, and in one 

 stage of bronchitis, or bronchial catarrh, is secreted in excess and often 

 assumes a purulent character. A dry cough is also a symptom of parasitic 

 bronchitis, which is commonly on this account designated " husk". 



Symptoms which are observed in relation to the digestive system 

 are often rather obscure in their indications; diarrhoea, for example, may 

 arise from so many and diverse causes that its presence does not materially 

 assist the examiner in forming a diagnosis. Nervous excitement is 

 capable of inducing it in some horses. The sight of a red coat or other 

 preparations for the hunting-field act on some sensitive hunters much 

 more rapidly than a dose of purgative medicine. Indigestion may be 

 accompanied by this symptom, or the presence of parasites in the in- 

 testinal canal may produce the disorder; and it may also be the sign of 

 a critical stage in certain febrile affections. 



In the opposite state, i.e. constipation, the same difficulties occur in 

 the endeavour to interpret the symptom, and in both cases it becomes 

 necessary to take cognizance of other symptoms in order to arrive at a 

 correct conclusion. 



Diarrhoea or constipation, in association with a yellow tinge of the 

 mucous membrane or the skin, or of both, will naturally lead to a suspicion 

 that derangement of the liver is the primary cause. This symptom is 

 also prognostic, as it points to the necessity of treatment being directed 

 to the liver rather than to the digestive tube. 



Disorder of the urinary organs is usually marked by obvious changes 

 in the quantity and character of the urine secretion, and the practitioner 

 frequently gains valuable information by observing that the secretion is 



