CHAPTER II. 



Diseases of the Circulatory Organs 



TRAUMATIC PERICARDITIS OF THE OX 



An inliammation of the heart sac caused by foreign bodies. 

 This is one of the most common sporadic diseases of the ox. Witli 

 the possible exception of tuberculosis of the heart sac, it is the 

 )nost common disease of the heart. It occurs not only among dairy 

 cattle, but also beef cattle, especially on farms where hay baling is 

 practiced, pieces of baling wire being picked up and swallowed. . 



The frequency with which foreign bodies (needles, wire, etc.) 

 are found in the reticulum (second stomach), the close proximity 

 of the reticulum to the pericardium (heart sac), and the marked 

 contractions of the compartment of the stomach, are the most im- 

 portant factors in the termination of this commrm condition. 



SYMPTOMS 



In traumatic pericarditis of the ox, the heart symptoms arc 

 usually preceded by those of traumatic indigestion. Inquiry,, there 

 fore, should always be made into the past history of the patient in 

 this regard. The cardinal symptoms are as follows: 1st. In the 

 early stages stiffness and disinclination to move. The patient is 

 forced to exercise, the abdominal type of respiration predominating. 

 2nd. The pulse is rapid and irregular. 3rd. A pronounced undula- 

 tion of the jugulars is seen. 4th. Later edematous swellings appear 

 under the throat, neck, brisket, and chest. 5th. Percussion is 

 usually painful, the animal wincing and grunting when the chest 

 is struck over the heart region. An increased area of cardiac dull- 

 ness may be determined in cattle if not too fat. 6th. On ausculta- 

 tion, provided no fusion has taken place, a friction tone like that 

 lieard in pleuritis, but occurring with the heart beat, is heard. If 

 the heart sac is filled with fluid and gas, metallic tinkling tones 

 modify the normal heart sounds, which are muffled and distant. 

 7th. The patient usually shows rise in temperature, but the fever 

 is generally mild. Not infrequently the clinical symptoms of trau- 

 matic pericarditis are entirely overlooked, the first intimation of 

 any trouble appearing when the patient drops over dead. The gen- 



