SOME COMMON AFFECTIONS OF THE 



RESPIRATORY AND DIGESTIVE 



ORGANS AMONG PRIMATES 



By W. Reid Blair, D.V.S. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the examination of sick animals it is important to have a 

 definite method or system. A plan of examination should be fol- 

 lowed, so that when that task is finished there shall be no important 

 point overlooked; then the examiner is in a position to form an accu- 

 rate opinion. 



A thorough knowledge of conditions that obtain in the healthy 

 animal is of the highest importance, because it is only by a knowl- 

 edge of what is normal that one can detect the abnormal. A careful 

 study of different species of animals throughout their growth and 

 development, by the individual with good powers of observation 

 and a reflective turn of mind, is of great value. A thorough knowl- 

 edge of anatomy, the structure of the body, and of physiology or the 

 functions and activities of the body, also lie at the foundation of 

 an accurate diagnosis. 



Of course an experienced eye can detect slight alterations or 

 variations from the normal that are not perceptible to the unskilled 

 observer. He who is most familiar with the appearance and deport- 

 ment of a wild animal in health, at the various periods of its exist- 

 ence, will be in a position to most readily appreciate all departures 

 from the normal. It is also important to know that all animals of 

 different races and families deport themselves differently under the 

 influence of the same disease or pathological process. For instance, 

 a degree of fever that does not produce marked dullness in a nervous, 

 highly strung chimpanzee, may cause the most abject depression in 

 a coarse, plethoric orang-utan. The same is true of many other 



