PARTURIENT APOPLEXY— PUERPERAL COLLAPSE. 637 



following year it is alluded to by Jorj;,! who evidently knew Skellett's 

 work, as the latter's plates are copied. Some years after tliis period 

 the disease began to attract much attention, as with improvement 

 in the breeding of Cattle it gradually became more prevalent, until now 

 the literature of the subject is very extensive. 



Without entering at this moment into a discussion as to the nature 

 of the disease, it may be suHicient to say that it is a very serious and 

 acute affection, almost special to Cows in the parturient state — and 

 particularly those of the improved Milch breeds, in which it is frequent; 

 that its invasion is sudden and its course rapid ; and that it is character- 

 ized by loss of consciousness and paralysis, seldom by convulsions. It 

 is extremely fatal, death ensuing in a very short time ; or if recovery 

 takes place, this is sometimes nearly as rapid as the attack was sudden. 

 It has been confounded with parturient fever, or considered to be only a 

 nervous or paralytic form of that malady ; while Franck, who appears 

 to have studied it very carefully, is of opinion that it is identical with 

 the eclampsia of the human female, and considers that "puerperal 

 eclampsia " {Eklampsic in Folgc dcr Geburt) is the best designation for 

 it. He asserts that to look upon it as a " fever" is a mistake, as a high 

 temperature — the sure sign of such a condition — is not pi-esent ; while 

 to name it " calving fever " is not quite exact, as it has been known to 

 affect oxen and other domesticated animals — though seldom. 



We shall, however, revert to this question presently. 



Symptovis. 



The disease sets in suddenly after calving, and without any premoni- 

 tory symptoms. It may attack the Cow so early as twelve or twenty 

 hours after parturition, but it is most frequent on the second or third 

 day, and generally follows a rapid and an easy birth. It has, though 

 very rarely, manifested itself before parturition, and also during that 

 act. It is seldom that it appears after the third day ; though Harms 

 says it may occur so late as the tenth day ; Hess records an instance on 

 the fourteenth day, and a case has been witnessed in the fourth week ; 

 while Gierer states that he saw a Cow which offered all the symptoms 

 of the disease seven weeks after calving. 



In some instances, before the symptoms commence, the lacteal secre- 

 tion is either diminislied or suspended. Generally, however, the first 

 indications are the Cow hanging back in the stall, or the head drooping; 

 there is uneasiness, whisking of the tail, striking at the belly with the 

 hind-feet ; the appetite is suddenly lost and rumination ceases ; the 

 faeces are hurriedly expelled, and the animal becomes indifferent to its 

 Calf. There is often a shivering fit, but this is not followed by an 

 increase of temperature. In a few cases, congestion of the brain appears 

 to be present at the commencement ; the Cow presses its head to the 

 wall or leans against the stall-post, bellows, looks stupid, its mouth is 

 hot, the eyes are reddened and the eyelids wink, and it half uncon- 

 sciously treads with the hind-feet. The respiration becomes hurried 

 and plaintive, though the pulse may be normal ; and if the animal is 

 conscious, its physiognomy expresses anxiety and suffering. Unsteadi- 

 ness and staggering are manifested ; the animal can no longer stand, 

 and it either lies down, or falls on the floor of the stall. There it 

 may remain tranquil, merely moaning or bellowing, or striking with 

 its feet at the belly as if affected with colic, and making convulsive 

 ^ Anltitung zur Ehier Raiionelien OeburUhiilfe, etc., /ur Thierdrzte. 



