CLINICAL THERMOMETER. 681 



Sutures. 



See page 73. 



Thermometer, Use of the ClinicaL 



This instrument is employed for taking the internal temperature 

 of the body, which is most conveniently done by placing the in- 

 strument for about three minutes in the animal's rectum. Owing to 

 the almost general adoption of this method, the expression " internal 

 temperature " is used as a rule to signify " rectal temperature ; 

 although the respective temperatures of different parts of the body 

 vary to a slight extent. The practice of placing the thermometer 

 in the mouth, as is the custom in human medicine, is not suitable to 

 horses, owing to the danger of the animal breaking the glass 

 instrument with his teeth. 



The indications afforded by the clinical thermometer are valuable 

 guides as to the state of the animal's health at the time, or to 

 what it will shortly be. Thus, in a horse at rest under ordinary 

 conditions, if there be a rise of three or four degrees without the 

 animal evincing any other sign of illness, we may be assured that 

 disease in some form will, after a day or two, manifest itself in 

 him. During illness, a temperature of, say, 106° F. or more 

 points to a condition of great danger. 



The clinical thermometer is specially useful for indicating the 

 state of the horse durino- infective diseases and diseases of the 



c5 



organs of breathing. A fall in the temperature, when it has been 

 abnormally high, will generally point to a favourable termination 

 of the disease ; although in some cases it is the precursor of rapidly 

 approaching death. 



TEMPERATURE DURING HEALTH.— As a rule, there is a daily 

 variation in the internal temperature of a healtJiy horse, of about 

 1° F. ; the maximum being attained at about 5 o'clock in the 

 evening. In the adult horse, the temperature is about 1° F. higher 

 than in a veiy young or a very old animal. It is about 1° F. less in 

 the mare than in the horse, except when she is " in season," during 

 which time it is about 2° F. higher than normal. The tempera- 

 ture of thorouo^h-breds is hio;her than that of common horses. A 

 rise of 4° or 5° F., compatible with health, may be obsei-ved in 

 horses doing violent work in hot weather. The temperature of 

 well-fed horses is higher than that of poorly-fed ones. During 

 digestion it rises about 1° F., and falls about the same amount 

 during sleep. Nocard shows that exposure to the rays of a hot 



