638 



PATHOLOGY OF PARTURITION. 



movements. Other signs of congestion of the brain may be more or less 

 marked ; the ears and horns may be warmer than natural, and in 

 addition to the redness of the eyes, tears may flow down the cheeks. 



All these changes generally become developed in a very few hours ; 

 so that an animal which was left in apparent good health only a short 

 time before, is found lying, cannot get up, and is in a soporific con- 

 dition. This is the stage of the malady at which the veterinary 

 surgeon is usually sent for. 



Then he finds it lying tranquilly on its side, fully extended or, 

 which is far more frequent, resting on the sternum, and the head 

 turned round towards the shoulder or flank (Fig. 220). This position 

 of the head is supposed to be due to contraction or tonic spasm of the 

 cervical muscles of one side of the neck. It is sometimes observed at 

 the commencement of the attack, even while the animal is standing. 

 The neck is so rigidly bent that force cannot extend it, and, the 

 temperature is distinctly increased on the concave side — that on which 

 the muscles are contracted. 







Fig. 220. 

 Parturient Apoplexy : Cow. 



From time to time it may attempt to rise, but it cannot, as a rule, 

 do so ; the knees may be flexed, but the hind parts of the body seem 

 to be fixed to the ground. If assistance is afforded, it cannot avail 

 itself of it ; or if it chances to be raised, it falls again as soon as let 

 alone. It appears to be insensible to blows or pain of any kind ; and 

 if the head is lifted and let go, it drops an inert mass, or is again 

 pressed round against the shoulder. The teeth are ground at intervals, 

 and the stupor or coma becomes more marked. The animal pays no 

 heed to surrounding objects ; the eyes are half closed, and they either 

 move convulsively in their orbits, or are fixed, dull, and lustreless ; the 

 hair is erect and dry, and flies settle on the surface of the body. 



The pulse does not vary much in the earlier stage ; it is generally 

 more frequent, and may number fifty, sixty, or seventy beats per 

 minute ; or it may be fewer than in health, but it is very full and soft. 

 When coma is well advanced, however, and paralysis appears to be 

 complete, it becomes small and quick, numbering 100 to 120, and at 

 last is irregular and almost imperceptible. 



