540 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



without removing the cause. (2) They debilitate, and ought to be prescribed along with some 

 bitter tonic, and must not be continued for too long a time. (3) Their continued use might 

 result in intestinal concretions. (4) They have a solvent power over fatty matters, hence 

 their use in obesity. (5) If acid exists in the stomach, give soda or ammonia ; if in the 

 bowels, magnesia or lime ; if in the urine or blood, the salts of potash and lithia. 



Alteratives are medicines which tend gradually to restore a diseased organ to its proper 

 state and tone. Some, such as mercury, exert their action on particular organs. 



An (Esthetics. Medicines which do away with pain by paralysing sensation, and are used 

 either locally, as in the application of ether spray to a painful part, or generally, as in the 

 exhibition of chloroform, either to relieve cough and spasm, or produce complete insensibility 

 to enable us to perform an operation. They are to be used with great caution. 



Anti-spasmodics. A very useful class of medicines to counteract and allay the spasms of 

 muscular action, and to relieve the nervous affections which give rise to them. It is evident 

 that, as the causes of spasm are many and various, these must be sought for before we can 

 prescribe ; but, nevertheless, there are some medicines which exert a direct action on spasms, 

 such as opium, brandy, chloroform, &c. Anti-spasmodics do not take long to act, and when 

 we fail with one we must try another. Their action too, when induced, does not last long. 



Anthelmintics. Very valuable medicines, used either to kill internal parasites, vermicides 

 or to expel them, vermifuges. 



Aperient medicines are also called purgatives, or cathartics, or evacuants, or laxatives, the latter 

 acting very mildly. There is a difference in the action of different classes of aperients. Some 

 simply increase the peristaltic motion of the bowels, and so hurry onwards, so to speak, their 

 contents ; others, by exciting the flow of mucous secretion, liquify the fceces, and wash them 

 onward ; and others, in addition to this, increase the flow of bile and pancreatic juice. 



Our purgative medicines are among the most valuable we possess, and yet they are only too 

 liable to be abused by the unskilled prescriber. They are often much more effective and less 

 weakening, when combined with small doses of tonics, stimulants, or anodynes. Medicines of this 

 class, that act slowly, are best given at night ; others as salines in the morning. 



Astringents are medicines which possess the power of contracting muscular tissue, and also 

 of diminishing secretion. Applied to wounds or ulcers they not only coagulate albumen, and so 

 in a manner tan the surface, but they constrict the calibre of the smaller blood-vessels. 



Blisters. See Epispastics. 



Diaphoretics are medicines that increase the flow of the natural perspiration. Note. It 

 is a mistake to say that dogs do not perspire. 



Diuretics increase the secretion and promote the speedier discharge of urine. 



Emetics. Medicines given for the purpose of producing vomiting. Emetics should be ad- 

 ministered to the dog with great caution, and not in very large doses. There are emetics that 

 depress the system, such as tartar emetic ; these should be avoided in cases of poisoning, because 

 absorption takes place much more quickly when the vital energy is lowered ; we should therefore 

 prefer in such cases, sulphate of zinc or copper, all the more so in that their action is much 

 quicker. Emetics, from the shock they give to the system, are often useful in cutting short fevers, 

 but they must be given at the earliest stage. 



Emmenagogues. Medicines supposed to exert an influence in bringing the bitch in season. 

 This should never be attempted : it is highly dangerous, and never of the least avail. 



Emollients. Under this heading we include remedies that, applied locally to the solid tissues, 

 render them lax ; they also lubricate and soften the tissues they are applied to, and defend them 



