PLEURISY. 133 



restlessness disappear. Every movement of the chest causes pain, 

 therefore the cough is peculiar ; it is short and suppressed, and comes 

 as near being no cough as the animal can make it in his desire to sup- 

 press it. The breathing is hurried, the mouth is hot, the temperature 

 being elevated from 102° or 103° to 105° F. The usual symptoms 

 that accompany fever are present, such as costiveness, scanty dark- 

 colored urine, etc. The pulse is frequent, perhaps 70 or more a 

 minute, and is hard and wiry. The legs and ears are cold. 



Percussion is of valuable service in this affection. After effusion 

 occurs, the sound produced by percussing over the lower part of the 

 chest is dull. By striking different parts one may come to a spot of 

 greater or less extent where the blows cause much pain to be evinced. 

 The animal may grunt or groan every time it is struck. Another 

 method of detecting the affected part is to press the fingers between 

 the ribs, each space in succession beginning behind the elbow, until 

 you arrive at a place where the pressure causes more flinching than at 

 any other part. Auscultation is also useful. In the first stage, when 

 the surfaces are drj' and rough, one may hear a friction sound very 

 much like that produced by rubbing two pieces of coarse paper 

 together. The sound appears immediately under the ear and is dis- 

 tinct. No such friction sound occurs when the membrane is healthy, 

 as the natural moisture, heretofore mentioned, prevents the friction. 

 In many cases this friction is so pronounced that it may be felt by 

 placing the hand over the affected part. When the dry stage is suc- 

 ceeded by the exudation of fluid, this friction sound disappears. 

 After the effusion into the cavity takes place there sometimes is 

 heard a tinkling or metallic sound, due to dropping of the exudate 

 from above into the collected fluid in the bottom of the cavity, as the 

 collected fluid more or less separates the lung from the chest walls. 



Within two or three days the urgent symptoms may abate owing 

 to the exudation of the fluid and the subsidence of the pain. The 

 fluid may now undergo absorption, and the case terminate favorably 

 within a week or ten days. 



If the quantity of the effusion is large, its own volume retards the 

 process of absorption to a great extent, and consequently convales- 

 cence is delayed. In severe cases the pulse becomes more frequent, 

 the breathing more hurried and labored, the flanks work like bellows, 

 the nostrils flap, the eyes stare wildly, the countenance expresses 

 much anxiety, and general signs of dissolution are plain. After a 

 time swellings appear under the chest and abdomen and down the 

 legs. The accumulation in the chest is called hydrothorax, or dropsy 

 of the chest. When this fluid contains pus the case usually proves 

 fatal. The condition of pus within the cavity is called empyema. 



Pleurisy may affect only a small area of one side or it may affect 

 both sides. It is oftener confined to the right side. 

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