OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. 



205 



nesses give the animal rest and keep from excitement. Digitalis, 

 strychnine and other stimulants are indicated. 



Atrophy is the contracting and wasting of the muscular sub- 

 stance of the heart. The heart grows smaller and harder and 

 the muscle fibers lose their striations. In the muscle protoplasm 

 are to be found around the nuclei brown pigment granules and 

 in severe cases the pigments may lie loose between the fibers. 

 This condition is called brozvn atrophy of the heart. 



The chief symptom is weakness of the pulse. In the horse 

 the pulse could not be taken at the jaw and as the consequence 

 changes are apt to occur in any part of the body. 



FATTY DEGENERATION. 



This form of degeneration may involve the whole organ or it 

 may be limited to patches, which would give the heart a mottled 

 appearance. When the condition is general the heart is flabby 

 and in extreme cases collapses when cut. Fatty infiltration de- 

 posits fat between the fibres while in degeneration the muscle 

 protoplasm itself is changed into fat. Fatty degeneration is often 

 associated with other morbid conditions such as obesity, dilata- 

 tion, rupture, aneurism, etc. When it exists alone its presence 

 is seldom suspected previous to death. It may be due to de- 

 teriorated conditions of the blood in wasting diseases, excessive 

 hemorrhages, or to poisoning with arsenic and phosphorus. Fatty 

 infiltration co-exists with obesity. 



Symptoms. — The most prominent symptoms of fatty degener- 

 ation are a feeble action of the heart, a remarkably slow pulse, 

 general debility and attacks of vertigo. It may involve a lia- 

 bility to sudden death from rupture of the walls. 



Obesity of the heart is the deposit of immense quantities of 

 fat around the heart. The result of this is a very weak heart, 

 shortness of breath, which runs into dyspnoea. The animal may 

 be all right when standing still but as soon as exercised the 

 trouble shows. 



