CHAPTER VI. 



DISEASES OF THE PHARYNX. 



Examination.— The pharynx is easily exposed to view by 

 opening the mouth and pulling the tongue forward. For a 

 more careful examination the mouth speculum may be used 

 to immobilize the jaws, while in vicious animals it is always 

 best to use an anesthetic. 



PHARYNGITIS. 



Pharyngitis is divided into (a) acute, and (b) chronic. 



Acute Pharyngitis.— Definition.— An acute inflammation 

 of the pharynx. 



Etiology.— Mechanical.— Sharp foreign bodies (needles, 

 pins, sharp pieces of bone, etc.) may penetrate the mucous 

 membrane and produce an acute local inflammation. 



Chemical.— Inhalation of gases (smoke, ammonia, etc.) 

 will produce inflammation in the pharynx as well as in the 

 larynx. Drugs administered in concentrated form. 



Thermic.— Very hot liquids or foodstuffs when swallowed 

 frequently produce in dogs a severe pharyngitis. Exposure 

 to cold when the body is heated will produce a congestion 

 in the pharyngeal mucous membrane and this may result 

 in an acute pharyngitis. 



Infectious.— Many of the above causes predispose to infec- 

 tion, the most common of which are produced by the strepto- 

 coccus and the Bacillus necrophorus. 1 A severe form of 

 infectious pharyngitis is occasionally seen in week -old 

 puppies and kittens, in some cases amounting almost to an 

 enzootic, affecting the entire litter. Pharyngitis is secondary 

 to infectious diseases as rabies, distemper, infectious nasal 

 catarrh and cholera of birds. It is often produced by an 

 extension of inflammation from the adjacent organs and 

 tissues (nasal catarrh, bronchitis, stomatitis, etc.). 



