108 | CANINE DISTEMPER 
cord is principally affected, or it may be total, when we 
conclude the brain is the seat of attack. The effects 
naturally vary according to the part of the central 
nervous system which is affected. 
This condition of coma may in a great many cases be 
accompanied by periods of excitement, nervousness, 
restlessness, yelping, and even true delirium, succeeded 
again by marked depression. These disturbances may 
prove to be the only manifestations of nervous dis- 
order. 
Clonic Spasms.—We may next observe twitchings of 
various muscles or groups of muscles—e.g., in the lips, 
eyelids, cheeks,- masseters, temporals, etc., followed 
perhaps by epileptiform convulsions, Since clonic spasms 
of the. muscles of mastication produce an automatic 
opening and closing of the mouth, the saliva is whipped 
into foam, and this so-called “foaming at the mouth,” . 
combined with the convulsive movements of the whole 
body, may lead one to suppose that the animal is in a fit. 
Epilepsy or Fits—A true epileptiform seizure, how- 
ever, implies loss of consciousness. Fits may occur at 
long intervals, or may follow so rapidly one on the other 
that the animal is hardly ever at rest. Sometimes a fit 
is preceded by general restlessness or excitement, in 
which the dog whimpers or yelps, and runs aimlessly 
about, occasionally stopping to stare stupidly about him, 
and then becomes suddenly convulsed, falls down, and 
loses consciousness; or the animal may lie quietly 
from the termination of one seizure to the beginning of 
_another. Owing to the occasional relaxation of the anal 
and vesicular sphincters, urine and feces may be in- 
voluntarily passed. The prognosis is extremely serious 
when fit after fit attacks the poor beast without inter- 
mission, lasting over a considerable period, and a fatal 
termination may fairly safely be predicted. 
