210 



BOVINE PATHOLOGY. 



prominences and cords inside the cavities. The prin- 

 cipal symptoms are powerful and jerky action of the 

 heart, frequent and small pulse, anxiety, and loss of ap- 

 petite. 



Organic Diseases : — Inflammation op the Heart — Car- 

 ditis — Myocarditis. — Is not of frequent occurrence, and it 

 is doubtful whether it is ever present as a distinct disease, 

 being generally a complication of pericarditis. Traumatic 

 carditis has been recorded, and sometimes it is found that 

 penetration of the heart by a foreign body leads to 

 instant death. Circumscribed inflammations occasionally 

 affect this organ, leading to the formation of small abscesses 

 in its walls. The principal symptoms are extreme quick- 

 ness of the pulse, considerable elevation of internal tem- 

 perature, increased respirations, coldness of the extremities, 

 and rapid death. An instance of this disease is men- 

 tioned by Armatage. If a case of this nature is diagnosed 

 it may be treated in the same way as pericarditis in the 

 early stage. Formation of abscesses in the walls of the 

 heart may result from certain forms of blood poisoning. 



Hypertrophy oe the Heart may be simple when the 

 walls are thickened, but the cavities normal in size; 

 excentric when the heart and its cavities are proportion- 

 ately dilated; concentric when the walls of the organ are 

 thickened at the expense of the cavities, which are, there- 

 fore, small. Simple hypertrophy may be seen in some 

 working oxen, and is not to be considered disease when it 

 clearly is an attempt of nature to perform the duties 

 necessitated by the special labour of the animal. It must 

 be remembered, however, that there should be a due uni- 

 formity between this increase and that of other parts of 

 the body. The other forms ensue generally from impedi- 

 ment to escape of blood from the heart, either as a result 

 of disease affecting the arterial valves, or of pressure upon 

 or disease of the large arteries, while hypertrophy of the 

 right side may accompany chronic lung disease. Ex- 

 cessive force of the hearths contraction, with sometimes a 

 laboured effort and irregularities of the pulse, indicate 

 these conditions, which, however, are very rare. The 



