THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 391 



stertorous. The visible mucous -membranes are purple in 

 colour, and the head and horns are hot. The animal is 

 delirious, and dashes the head about with extreme violence. 



Fia. 76. — Puerperal (Parturient) apoplexy in the Cow. (From Fleming'a 

 * Veterinary Obstetrics.') 



or becomes comatose, and lies with the head flexed round 

 on the shoulder^. Amaurosis sets in, and there are twitch- 

 ings of the muscles of the eyelids. The udder remains 

 soft and flaccid, or sometimes becomes hard and small. 

 All power of swallowing is lost, the bowels do not act, and 

 the urine is retained. Tympany also is present. Usually 

 the coma becomes more profound and the signs of vitality 

 less marked, until the patient dies ; but in other cases 

 the functions of the internal organs commence to be more 

 satisfactorily performed ; the bowels act, the pulse becomes 

 perceptible, and the respirations more frequent, and 

 gradually the patient recovers. Even after the animal is 

 far advanced towards convalescence relapse may take 

 place, and we have seen cases in which the slow recovery 

 was seriously interfered witb, the sloughing of large 

 patches of skin — bed-sores, in fact — resulting from a want 

 of attention to frequent turning and protection from the 

 acridity of urine while the animal was recumbent. To these 

 lesions an animal recovering from this disease seems par- 



^ This is by some considered due to special tonic spasm of the cervical 



mus 



icles. 



