INTRODUCTION. 63 



of ttese vessels. The submaxillary we find the generally- 

 most convenient ; it is smaller and less firmly bound down, 

 and therefore suffers more displacement than the correspond- 

 ing vessel in the horse ; also the arrangement of the lower 

 margin of the inferior maxilla and masseter externus are 

 less advantageous for accurate determination of its position, 

 and the pulse can not be estimated here when the animal 

 is feeding. The brachial or radial artery will afford useful 

 indications after a little practice; the large metacarpal 

 is a vessel of considerable size, and can be conveniently 

 felt without disturbing a patient who chances to be in a 

 recumbent position. The pulse in the ox is small, slow, 

 and frequent as compared with that of the horse, its beats 

 average 46 per minute. In the young animal it is 

 faster (55—65). 



Pregnancy causes irregularity of the pulse, and con- 

 siderable increase in frequency. Digestion produces in- 

 creased fulness and sharpness ; and Dobson tells us : — 

 '^ Animals in warm cowsheds and in plethoric condition 

 will have the number of beats increased several strokes 

 per minute as compared with their brethren in the straw- 

 yard and the field.^' Williams says : — '' In the cow 

 during rumination it may be observed that the pulse is 70 

 or 80 a minute, and the respirations not more than ten. 

 Indeed, the pulse of the cow in a state of confinement, in 

 so far as regards the number of its beats, cannot be de- 

 pended upon in the diagnosis of disease; the states of 

 pregnancy and obesity, the effects of artificial food, and 

 of the activity of the lactiferous glands, as well as the ex- 

 citement caused by the act of rumination, generally pro- 

 duce such an impression upon the nervous system as to 

 cause the action of the heart to be much increased, such 

 increase being entirely consistent with a state of perfect 

 health in an animal so circumstanced.^^ 



Useful information is gained by examining the heart's 

 action by auscultation, placing the head against the 

 side. The " venous pulse " is the periodical change in 

 calibre of a vein, which sometimes results from regurgi- 

 tation of blood into it. It is seen at the jugulars in heart 



