IXJrniES TO THE Th'.lTS. G97 



secretory function of the inanimoe. Great attention must be paid to 

 the digestive organs, and tlie teats should be frequently stripped and the 

 niamune rubbed, either dry or with some stimulating application. 



Macorps' records a case in which the udder was rubbed with brandy, 

 friction applied to the abdomen, and warm milk and fennel-seeds ad- 

 ministered ; in two days the milk began to appear. 



When the absence of milk is due to disease of the gland, this must bo 

 combated according to the indications. 



CHAPTER XL 

 Injuries to the Teats. 



FiSSUKES. 



Thk chief injuries to the teats consist of wounds, in the form of fissures 

 or " cracks," which are most frequently witnessed in the Cow a few days 

 after parturition ; and though apparently unimportant, they nevertheless 

 may become very troublesome and serious if neglected, and even lead 

 to mastitis and icorrhaimia or septicicmia ; while they render the animal 

 fidgety and averse to being milked or suckled — the latter being especially 

 inconvenient, particularly in the case of the Foal. 



Causes. 



These injuries are generally produced by the powerful traction of the 

 young creature on the teat while sucking, and mainly when the teat is 

 empty, the milk scanty, and the skin very thin and line — as in primi- 

 paru>. Even when the milk is abundant but the skin thin, these fissures 

 may occur. The teat is alternately distended by milk — when it is 

 covered and softened by the externally warm saliva and buccal secre- 

 tions of the progeny, in the act of sucking — then retracted and corrugated 

 when emptied. At the bottom of the folds the epidermis is rendered 

 soft, and its cells become loose and swollen ; these finally, instead of 

 forming a continuous layer capable of protecting the subjacent derm, 

 give rise to a whitish unctuous pulp, which accumulates at the bottom 

 of the corrugations. When this is removed a sore is left, and the 

 development of this sore is hastened by cold, which still further corru- 

 gates the part ; as well as by want of cleanliness, contact with dirty 

 litter or manure, which irritates the organ ; besides the act of milking or 

 suction, which extends the sore in length and depth. It may be that 

 certain conditions of the saliva in the young creature also lead to irrita- 

 tion. Cows with voluminous udders and long teats are often the 

 subjects of this injury. 



Si/niploms. 



The sore appears as a more or less deep, narrow, and sinuous ulcer, 

 running transversely around the teat, and having indurated, thickened, 

 raised margins, greyish at the bottom, or very red and erythematous, 

 and containing a variable quantity of the thick unctuous matter just 

 mentioned. The teat is apparently not much deformed — at least after 

 milking, when it is retracted ; and the fissures might readily pass un- 

 perceived. Then it is necessary to pull the end of the teat gently, in 

 order to discover them. 



When superficial, they are not so troublesome as when deep, irritable, 



' Canstatt's Jahi-etberichl, 1S60. 



