537 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



Diseases of the Liver. 



congestion and acute inflammation of the liver chronic 



inflammation of the liver. 



Congestion and Acute Inflammation of the Liver. 



As it is very difficult to distinguish the various diseases of the 

 liver of the horse, one from another, in the living animal ; I cannot 

 see, with our present state of knowledge, the use of following human 

 physicians in their minute divisions of these affections. Congestion 

 is the first stage of inflammation of the liver. Jaundice is a symp- 

 tom of derangement of that gland, and is not a disease in itself. 



Many of the grave diseases of the liver to which men are subject, 

 are practically unknown among horses. 



CAUSES. — The usual causes are too high feeding, want of exer- 

 cise, defective ventilation, residence in a damp, hot climate, and 

 chill. In India, these affections are very common. Horses in that 

 countrv are liable to o^eneral deranjzement of the liver durino^ the 

 hot weather; and acute attacks are frequent just after the rainy 

 season, in localities where there is a considerable fall in the tem- 

 perature of the air at night, as in jDlaces close to the hills. This 

 tendency is increased by the practice pursued by many of the 

 native grooms, who are, generally, but ill provided with garments, 

 of removing the horse's clothing to use as their own bedding. It 

 is easy then to conceive how the horse gets derangement of the 

 liver; for the cold, acting on the surface of the body, contracts 

 the superficial blood-vessels, and, thereby, drives the blood to the 

 internal organs. It stands to reason that the organ which is in 

 the worst state of health will be the first to suffer from a sudden 

 rush of blood. Hence we find that in cases of chill, the liver of 

 the horse is particularly liable to disease in India ; and that the 



