142. RABIES. 



filth with which it has been brought into contact, and, not unfrequently, its 

 anterior portion is coated with some disgusting matter. The papillae, or 

 small projections on the back of the tongue, are elongated and widened, 

 and their mucous covering evidently reddened. The orifices of the glands 

 of the tongue are frequently enlarged, particularly as they run their course 

 along the fraenum of the tongue. 



The fauces, situated at the posterior part of the mouth, generally exhibit 

 traces of inflammation. They appear in the majority of cases of ferocious 

 madness, and they are never deficient after dumb madness. They are usu- 

 ally most intense either towards the palatine arch or the larynx. Some- 

 times an inflammatory character is diffused through its whole extent, but 

 occasionally it is more or less intense towards one or both of the termina- 

 tions of the fauces, while the intermediate portion retains nearly its 

 healthy hue. 



There is one circumstance of not unfrequent occurrence, which will at 

 once decide the case the presence of indigestible matter, probably small 

 in quantity, in the back part of the mouth. This speaks volumes as to the 

 depraved appetite of the patient, and the loss of power in the muscles of 

 the pharynx. 



Little will depend on the tonsils of the throat. They occasionally en- 

 large to more than double their usual size ; but this is more in quiet than 

 in ferocious madness. The insatiable thirst of the rabid dog is perhaps 

 connected with this condition of them. 



The epiglottis should be very carefully observed. It is more or less 

 injected in every case of rabies. Numerous vessels increase in size and 

 multiply round its edge, and there is considerable injection and thick- 

 ening. 



Inflammation of the edges of the glottis, and particularly of the mem- 

 brane which covers its margin, is often seen, and accounts for the harsh 

 guttural breathing which frequently accompanies dumb madness. The 

 inflammatory blush of the larynx, though often existing in a very slight 

 degree, deserves considerable attention. 



The appearances in the trachea are very uncertain. There is occa- 

 sionally the greatest intensity of inflammation through the whole of it ; 

 at other times there is not the slightest appearance of it. There is the 

 same uncertainty with regard to the bronchial tubes and the lungs ; but 

 there is no characteristic symptom or lesion in the lungs. 



Great stress has been laid on the appearance of the heart ; but, generally 

 speaking, in nine cases out of ten, the heart of the rabid dog will exhibit 

 no other symptoms of disease than an increased yet variable deepness of 

 colour in the lining membrane of the ventricles. 



No dependence can be placed on any of the appearances of the oesopha- 

 gus ; and, when they are at the worst, the inflammation occupies only a 

 portion of that tube. 



With regard to the interior of the stomach, if the dog has been dead 

 only a few hours the true inflammatory blush will remain. If four-and- 

 twenty hours have elapsed, the bright red colour will have changed to a 

 darker red, or a violet or a brownish hue. In a few hours after this, a 

 process of corrosion will generally commence, and the mucous membrane 

 will be softened and rendered thinner, and, to a certain extent, eaten 

 through. The examiner, however, must not attribute that to disease which 

 is the natural process of the cessation of life. 



