182 The Farmer's Veterinary Adviser. 



PLEUiaSY. INFLAMMATION OF THE MEMBRANE LINING THE 

 CHEST AND COVERING THE LUNGS. 



This is common in all domestic animals and pai-ticularly 

 in cold, exposed localities, which suffer at the same time 

 from rheumatism. Otherwise it Owns the general causes 

 of chest disease. 



Symptoms. Shivering, followed by heat of the skin and 

 even of the limbs, and partial sweats of the surface, ■un- 

 easy movements, pawing and sometimes looking at the 

 flanksj lying down and rising. If one side of the chest 

 only is involved that fore limb is often advanced in front 

 of the other. The pulse is rapid, hard and incompressible, 

 and the breathing highly characteristic. It is hurried, 

 carried on chiefly by the abdominal muscles, and has the 

 inspiration short and suddenly checked, while the expira- 

 tion is slow and prolonged. This character of the breath- 

 ing may be well observed with the ear placed on the false 

 nostril, on the windpipe or on the side of the chest. 

 There is a prominent ridge on the abdomen from the outer 

 angle of the hip bone to the lower ends of the last ribs. 

 By handling the spaces between the ribs a point is 

 reached which is exceedingly tender, the patient flinching 

 and even groaning when it is touched. The ear applied 

 to the same spot detects a soft, rubbing sound during the 

 movements of inspiration and expiration. There is at 

 first no other change in auscultation or percussion. The 

 animal often changes his posture or place as if seeking 

 an easier position, and emits a short, hacking, painful 

 cough. There is much less redness of the nose than ia 

 pneumonia or bronchitis, less heat of the expired air and 

 no nasal discharge. 



In twenty-four to thirty-six hours effusion ensues in 

 tne cavity of the chest, the rubbing sound ceases, the 

 catching breathing and ridge on the belly disappear, the 

 pulse becomes soft, the anxiety of countenance passes 

 away, and the patient may begin to feed as if weU. Bui 

 Boon the pulse loses its fullness, and gains in rapidity, 



