54 BOVINE PATHOLOGY. 



supposed to assist the process of absorption in these cases. 

 When absorption is prevented by lympby deposits on the 

 walls of a sac, or when the fluid has collected in such 

 quantity as to cause extreme tension, paracentesis (or 

 tapping) must be resorted to. Injection of a stimulating 

 agent may close a serous abscess by lymph exudation. 

 This is, of course, inadmissible in dropsies of serous 

 cavities. Senile dropsy is generally incurable. 



Section 2. 



The ox. Bos Taurus, is a ruminating, hoofed mammal, 

 and presents certain leading anatomical and physiological 

 characteristics which leave their impress upon his patho- 

 logical conditions. Thus the alimentary system is remark- 

 ably well developed, constituting a considerable propor- 

 tion of the total weight of the body. It is largely composed 

 of stomachs, which fill the greater part of the abdomen and 

 consist mainly of three compartments, modified forms of 

 the inferior extremity of the oesophagus, adapted for pur- 

 poses of rumination. The fibres of the tubular portion of 

 the oesophagus are arranged in such a manner as to readily 

 permit either upward or downward passage of the food, 

 and the organs of mastication and salivation are specially 

 adapted for prolonged action. 



As in other herbivorous mammals, the molar teeth are 

 large grinding organs, which, by the size of the fangs 

 firmly implanting them in the jaw, necessitate a large 

 condition of the face in comparison with the cranium ; 

 and by their weight so increase that of the head that the 

 neck is short and presents superiorly a highly developed 

 ligamentum nuchaQ. The weight of the skull is also in- 

 creased by offensive organs, the horns, developed from the 

 fontal bones at the superior prominence of the skull. 

 But the weight of these is lessened by the fact that into 

 them extend prolongations of those large facial sinuses 

 which contain rarefied air, and buoy up the unsupported 

 skulls of most mammals, as the air sinuses in the bones of 

 birds also buoy up their bodies in adapting them for rising 



