SYMPTOMS OF DISEASE. 15 
all acute attacks, oftentimes signs are manifested which point plainly to the 
parts or organs affected. 
Nearly all deviations from health affect at once two of the most important 
vital processes, namely, circulation and respiration. Perfect circulation depends 
upon the integrity of the heart and its blood-vessels, and to ascertain the condi- 
tion of that organ is the first important step to be taken in the attempt to deter- 
mine the existence of disease. The pulse is a guide; for its changes perfectly 
accord with those of the heart, of the action of which it is therefore an accurate 
index. It varies, however, so greatly even in health, under many different influ- 
ences, that more than a passing knowledge of its fluctuations is necessary before 
positive and infallible conclusions can be drawn from it. 
At birth the pulse is very rapid,— from 125 to 160. During the first three 
months the fall is but slight, and the pulse ranges from 115 to 135. Thereafter 
the decrease is more marked, and about the sixth month the rate is between 100 
and 120. Near the ninth month it is between go and 100; while at one year the 
normal pulse is between 70 and go. 
Other facts of interest bearing on the pulse-rate are, that it falls low — be- 
tween 50 and 60 in the mature — during sleep. It is usually a little more rapid 
in males than in females; in small, than in large breeds ; also in dogs of excitable 
nature than in those of rather dull and sluggish habit ; while manifestly the rate is 
increased by exertion, and the effect of merely getting up is apparent on the pulse. 
From the foregoing it must be evident that a rapid pulse only, unless it has 
kept up several hours, cannot be of great significance in the absence of other 
symptoms, and especially fever. Clearly, also, by the untrained, but little is to 
be learned from the pulse of puppies before they are nearly a year old. 
The character as well as frequency of the pulse is subject to variations, and 
it is affected by nearly all abnormal conditions of the body. In some inflamma- 
tory affections the pulse is quick, full, bounding, and resists compression ; in 
others it is hard, sharp, and contracted, vibrating under the fingers like a cord. 
In prostration from disease, in severe disorders of long continuance, and troubles 
characterized by great nervous excitement, also under the influence of intense 
fright, it is rapid and weak. In certain brain affections in which there is com- 
pression, as apoplexy, the pulse falls much below the normal rate, and is full 
and throbbing. In diseases attended by marked debility it is soft, and yields 
readily to pressure. While in exhaustion, the pulse is thin and feels like a 
thread; and as death approaches it becomes flickering. In occasional cases it 
drops a beat at quite frequent intervals, every minute, or even two or three 
times during a minute, — and while this may indicate grave disease of the heart, 
as a rule it is merely a functional disturbance due to excessive nervousness, and 
disappears at once the cause is removed. There are yet other departures from 
the normal standard, but these already mentioned will suffice as illustrations of 
its variability. 
