SYMPTOMS 111 
absolutely voracious. Nature seems to be providing for 
the great expenditure of power which epilepsy will soon 
occasion. The mucus almost entirely disappears from 
the eyes, although the discharge from the nose may 
continue unabated; and for an hour or more before the 
fit there will be a champing of the lower jaw, frothing 
at the mouth, and discharge of saliva. The champing of 
the lower jaw will be seen at least twelve hours before 
the first fit, and will for a little while precede every 
other.” I might add that diarrhoea also receives a 
temporary check, but how far this is concerned in help- 
ing to produce epilepsy I cannot say. 
When epilepsy makes its appearance quite late in the 
disease, it is always a more sinister sign than when it is 
manifested early, for it seems more prone to lead to the 
more chronic nervous affections, such as chorea and 
paraplegia, and perhaps even to coma and death. 
Cerebral Meningitis and its Sequele.—An occasional 
sequel to distemper is the production of meningitis, 
which, among other causes, may be directly due to an 
extension of inflammation from neighbouring structures 
to the meninges. In some cases symptoms occur that 
indicate irritation of the nerves at the base of the brain— 
such as strabismus or squint, ptosis or drooping of the 
eyelid, optic neuritis, facial paralysis, muscular spasms, 
etc. In this connection it is interesting to note that 
ptosis and strabismus are also complications of human 
measles. Dogs are liable to all these affections, though 
they are seen but rarely. 
Chorea, or St. Vitus’ Dance.—More commonly they are 
stricken with chorea, which is apparently an interrupted 
or intermittent supply of nerve force to the muscles, 
which is attended with irritability and depression, or 
with mental impairment. It may become pronounced at 
any stage of the disease, but in the vast majority of cases 
