148 THE HORSB. 



branes are tinged with j-ellow, which may even become a deep ochre in 

 color, the result of the decomposition of the blood corpuscles and the 

 freeing of their coloring matter, which acts as a stain. At the outset of 

 a fever the various glands are checked in their secretions, the salivary 

 glands fail to secrete the saliva, and we find the surface of the tongue 

 and inside of the cheeks dry and covered with a brownish, bad-smelling 

 deposit. The excretion from the liver and intestinal glands is dimin- 

 ished and produces an inactivity of the digestive organs which causes a 

 constipation. If this is not remedied at an early period the undigested 

 material acts as an irritant, and later we may have it followed by an 

 inflammatory process, producing a severe diarrhea. 



The excresion from the kidneys is sometimes at first entirely 

 suppressed. It is always considerably diminished, and what urine 

 is passed is dark in color, undergoes ammoniacal change rapidly, 

 and deposits quantities of salts. At a later time the diminished ex- 

 cretion may be replaced by an excessive excretion, which aids in 

 carrying off waste products and usually indicates an amelioration of 

 the fever. 



While the ears, cannons, and hoofs of a horse suffering from fever are 

 usually found hot, they may frequently alternate from hot to cold in 

 their temperature, or be much cooler than they normally are. This lat- 

 ter condition usually indicates great weakness on the part of the circu- 

 latoJ-y system. It is of the greatest importance as an aid in diagnosing 

 the gravity of an attack of fever and as an indication in the selection of 

 its mode of treatment, to recognize the exact cause of a febrile condi- 

 tion in the horse. In certain cases, in very nervous animals in which 

 fever is the result of nerve influence, a simple anodyne, or even only 

 quiet with continued care and nursing, will sometimes be sufEcient to 

 dimihish it. 



When fever is the result of local injury the cure of the cause produces 

 a cessation in the constitutional symptoms: when fever is the result of a 

 pheumonia or other severe parenchymatous inflammation, it usually lasts 

 for a definite time, and subsides with the first improvement of the local 

 trouble, but in these cases we constantly have exaccerbations of fever 

 due to secondary inflammatory processes, such as the formation of small 

 abscesses the development of secondary bronchitis, or the death of a 

 limited amount of tissue (gangrene). 



In specific cases, such as influenza, strangles, and scepticasmia, there 

 is a definite poison contained in the blood-vessel system, and carried to 



