110 PLEURISY. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



PLEURISY. 



This is inflammation of the membrane covering the 

 lungs and lining the chest. Its causes are the same 

 as those of inflammation of the air-passages or the 

 substance of the lungs, viz., exposure to cold ; sudden 

 alternations of temperature; hard riding; to which may 

 be added, as more likely to produce pleurisy than 

 pneumonia, the absurd practice of leading horses, when 

 hot, into cold water, in order to save a little trouble in 

 washing them. Riding against a sharp wind in a 

 cold winter's day has produced pleurisy ; and wounds 

 which have penetrated into the chest, and injured the 

 pleura, without reaching the lungs, have given rise to 

 it in intensity. 



A careful observer will easily distinguish between 

 inflammation of the investing membrane of the lungs 

 and that of the lungs themselves. Many of the symp- 

 toms in both cases are alike. The preceding shivering 

 fit ; the loss of spirits and appetite ; the hanging of 

 the head ; the disinclination to move — all are the 

 same ; the cough, also, is similar ; excepting that it is 

 shorter and more painful in the present disease ;— all 

 these for the most part are characteristic of both dis- 

 orders; but there are other symptoms peculiar to this 

 complaint. 



The breathing is different. In pneumonia it is 

 quick, but laborious, and the flanks heave. So, also, 

 in pleurisy the breathing is quickened ; but its cha- 

 racter is altered. It is sharp, spasmodic, and catch- 



