112 CANINE DISTEMPER 
it occurs near the crisis or during convalescence, and 
occasionally long afterwards. A convulsive involuntary 
twitching attacks sometimes the head, sometimes one or 
more limbs, and at other times the whole body, which then 
becomes contorted into strange attitudes. Most frequently 
the temporal or masseter muscles are affected in mild 
cases, or the whole head may exhibit a jerky side-to-side 
movement ; in other cases, one leg may show a jumpy or 
extravagant action when the dog progresses, or regular 
spasmodic flexions when at rest. When the intensity of 
the spasms increases, they are noticed equally as well 
during sleep as when awake; in fact, they often become 
so violent and continuous as to prevent the animal from 
sleeping, and so exhaust the patient that death eventually 
ensues. In the human being, it is most common among 
children, and is closely associated with acute rheumatism; 
in many cases also, the heart shows signs of an endo- 
carditis similar to that observed in acute rheumatism. 
The so-called chorea in adults is said to be habit-spasm 
only. 
This affection, however, is not necessarily a fatal one, 
and may after a lengthy duration gradually diminish and 
finally pass away, though unfortunately it has a tendency 
to increase in severity and terminate in fatal convulsions. 
Dogs sometimes live for several years affected with 
chorea, which then may or may not disappear entirely ; 
thus it is an imprudent and faint-hearted procedure to 
abandon all hope of recovery and condemn a dog to an 
untimely death, especially where the animal is of con- 
siderable value either in a sentimental or monetary sense. 
A poor man might probably be well advised to follow 
such a course in view of the very problematical prospect 
of a complete return to usefulness, and the cost of 
administering treatment over a protracted period ; also, 
in arriving ai a.decision, the possibility of a paralysis 
