471 



Diuretics operate through the kidneys in the same way. 



Diaphoretics aid depletion of the blood by pouring water in the form 

 of sweat from the surface of the skin and stimulating the discharge of 

 waste material out of its glands, which has the same efi'ecton the blood 

 pressure. 



Depressants are drugs which act on the heart. They slow or weaken 

 the action of this organ and reduce the quantity and force of the cur- 

 rent of the blood which is carried to the point of local disease 5 they 

 lessen the vitality of the animal ; so they act in two ways : first, as in the 

 previous classes, by reduction of the force of the blood; and, secondly, 

 as in the next class, by putting to rest the animal system. 



Anodynes quiet the nervous system. Pain in the horse, as in man, is 

 one of the important factors in the production of fever, and the dulling 

 of the former often prevents, or at least reduces, the latter. They pro- 

 duce sleep, so as to rest the patient and allow recuperation for the suc- 

 ceeding struggle of the vitality of the animal against the exhausting 

 drain of the disease. 



The diet of an animal suffering from acute inflammation is a factor of 

 the greatest importance. An overloaded circulation can be starved to a 

 reduced quantity and to a less rich quality of blood, by reducing the 

 quantity of food given to the patient. Matters of easy digestion do not 

 tire the already fatigued organs of an animal with a torpid digestive 

 system. IsJourishment will be taken by a suffering brute in the form of 

 sloi^s and cooling drinks where it wonld be totally refused if offered in 

 its ordinary form, as hard oats or dry hay, requiring the labor of grind- 

 ing between the teeth and swallowing by the weakened muscles of the 

 jaws and throat. 



Tonics and stimulants are remedies which enter rather into the after 

 treatment of inflammatory trouble than into the acute stages of them. 

 They brace up weakened and torpid glands ; they stimulate the secre- 

 tion of the necessary fluids of the body, and hasten the excretion of the 

 waste material produced by the inflammatory process ; they regulate 

 the action of a weakened heart; they promote healty vitality of dis- 

 eased parts, and aid the chemical changes needed for returning the 

 altered tissues to their normal condition. 



FEVER. 



Synonyms: .Fe&m, Latin; Pyrexia, Greek ; Fievre, French; Fieber, 

 German; Febb re, Italian : Galentura, S[mmsh. 



The etymology of the word fever from the Latin fecere, to boil or to 

 burn, and o^ pyrexia, from the Greek word Ttup, fire, defines in a general 

 way the meaning of the term. 



Fever is a general condition of the animal body in which there is an 

 elevation of the animal body temperature, which may be only a degree 

 or two or may be 10° Fahrenheit. The elevation of the body tem- 

 perature, which represents tissue change or combustion, is accom- 



