ASTHMA — BROKEN WIND. 1 27 



modic, the inspiration or drawing in of the breath being performed 

 ■easily and quickly, while the expiration or expulsion of air from 

 the chest is performed with some difficulty, and frequently a dis- 

 tinct pause takes place in the act, dividing it, as it were, into'two 

 separate acts; if the ear be placed over the chest a wheezing noise 

 is readily detectable, and the cough is short, quick and difficult of 

 performance; the symptoms while they last produce an expression 

 ■of anxiety; they are urgent, and soon bring on evident exhaus- 

 tion; but the greater the severity the shorter time they continue. 

 In the more chronic form of the disease, according to one view, 

 when it would be recognized as broken wind by those who differ- 

 entiate between the two conditions, there is not much alteration 

 in the act of inspiration, but expiration is rendered much more 

 difl&cult and labored; the muscles of the abdomen become con- 

 tracted, forming a ridge which is observable from the lower part 

 of the hip bone to the bottom of the ribs, and the double effort at 

 expiration will be easily noted by the rolling motion of these 

 muscles being arrested, and recommencing in the one act of 

 expiration. The cough of broken wind is soft, and more resem- 

 bles a grunt which is wanting in force; the animal seems unable 

 to expel as he would like to do, and the cough is easily excited 

 by exercise, eating and drinking, by a poke in the ribs or any 

 similar disturbance. The sounds observable by auscultation are 

 not reliable, as they differ in various cases. The digestive system 

 would appear to exercise considerable influence in the production 

 of this condition, hence we can only conclude that the nervous 

 system plays no insignificant part in connecting the two systems; 

 moreover, care in dieting invariably assists in alleviating the more 

 acute symptoms; to attempt to explain the relation between cause 

 and effect would take up too much space, and probably involve an 

 argument in physiology that would hardly be appreciated in this 

 work. 



Treatment. — If the disease is fortunately detected in its 

 earlier stage Digitaline 3X administered three times a day will 

 usually arrest the development of the more chronic form and effect 

 a cure. 



Arsoiicum album 3X takes the next place in the rota of remedial 

 agents. 



Nux vomica ix is specially indicated when the disease can be 



