206 KENNEL DISEASES. 
POLYPUS. 
This is a growth of a fleshy substance, similar in appearance to some warts, 
and is the result of a natural effort to heal up a broken drum membrane or some 
spot of denuded or ulcerated tissue, either in the external canal or drum cavity. 
Most frequently it is an accompaniment of one or another of the diseases of the 
external or internal ear, in which a granulating mass of proud flesh, so-called, 
has existed for a long time. 
Of polypi there are two forms to be considered, although one is rare. The 
latter is nearly colorless, of the appearance of flesh, and is attached by a stalk at 
about the middle of the passage to the ear. Its surface is smooth; it is not sen- 
sitive under touch, and frequently exists without causing any discharge. 
Cases of the other form, although it is more common, are not often encoun- 
tered. It bleeds easily, and for that reason is sometimes called bleeding poly- 
pus. It varies in size, and may be sufficiently large to appear at and fill the 
outer opening of the ear. In color it is deep red, and its surface rough and 
glistening. It is almost like gelatin in substance. Unlike the other polypus, it 
is exceedingly sensitive, and bleeds easily; it also forms more deeply within the 
passage, and nearer the drum membrane. 
As polypi are favored by, if not the product of, inflammation of the ear and 
discharges therefrom, they are most common in old cases of otitis, externa or 
interna; and therefore they may be suspected to be present when such cases 
do not improve under treatment, and when yellowish, bloody, and highly offen- 
sive discharges persist. Only when seen, however, can their existence be deter- 
mined, for none of the symptoms occasioned by them are positive. 
Powdered alum or boracic acid blown into the ear might cause a polypus to 
shrivel and waste, but a physician should be employed to remove it by means of 
proper instruments. 
DEAFNESS. 
Impairment or loss of hearing power is generally the consequence of otitis, 
during which the drum membrane was ruptured or seriously involved by the 
inflammation; and it may be caused by direct injuries, such as blows on the 
head, and by accumulations in the passage to the ear. It is an occasional 
accompaniment of age, although old dogs as a rule retain their hearing to a sur- 
prising degree. After disease of the brain the hearing may be affected, but 
death is generally speedy in such cases. Deafness is also sometimes caused by 
quinine ; but this effect is usually transitory. It may be transmitted by inheri- 
tance; and in some breeds, notably bull-terriers, instances of this fact are quite 
