76 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 



be soft swelling (edema) beneath the neck, in the dewlap, and underthe 

 chest, between the fore legs. Breathing is short and difficult; it may 

 clearly be painful. The pulse is rapid, 80 to 120 per minute. The mus- 

 cles quiver as though the animal were cold. Rumination and appetite 

 are depressed or checked. The dung is hard, and to void it appears 

 to cause pain. These symptoms usually develop gradually, and, of 

 course, they vary considerably in different animals, depending upon 

 the size and location of the foreign body and the irritation caused by it. 

 As a matter of course, treatment in such cases is useless, but when 

 it is possible to diagnose the case correctly the animal could be turned 

 over to the butcher before the flesh becomes unfit for use ; that is, 

 before there is more than a little suppuration and before there is 

 fever. Knowing that cattle are prone to swallow such objects, ordi- 

 nary care may be exercised in keeping their surroundings as free of 

 them as possible. 



PERICARDITIS. 



Inflammation of the pericardium (heart bag) is often associated 

 with pneumonia and pleurisy, rheumatism, and other constitutional 

 diseases, or with an injury. It also occurs as an independent affec- 

 tion, due to causes similar to those of other chest affections, as expos- 

 ure to cold or dampness and changes of the weather. 



Symptoms. — It may be ushered in with a chill, followed by fever, of 

 more or less severity; the animal stands still and dull, with head 

 hanging low, and anxiety expressed in its countenance. The pulse 

 may be large, perhaps hard; there is also a venous pulse. The hand 

 against the chest will feel the beating of the heart, which is often 

 irregular, sometimes violent, and in other instances weak, depending 

 in part upon the amount of fluid that has transuded into the peri- 

 cardial sac. Legs are cold, the breathing quickened, and usually 

 abdominal; if the left side of the chest be pressed on or struck, the 

 animal evinces pain. There may be spasms of the muscles in the 

 region of the breast, neck, or hind legs. After a time, which varies in 

 length, the legs may become swollen, and swelling may also appear 

 under the chest and brisket. 



In those animals in which the heart sounds may be heard somewhat 

 distinctly, the ear applied against the chest will detect a to-and-fro 

 friction sound, corresponding to the beats of the heart. This sound 

 is produced by the rubbing of the internal surface of the heart bag 

 against the external surface of the heart. During the first stages of 

 the inflammation these surfaces are dry, and the rubbing of one 

 against the other during the contraction and relaxation of the heart 

 produces this sound. The dry stage is followed by the exudation of 

 fluid into the heart sac, and the friction is not heard until the fluid 

 is absorbed sufficiently to allow the surfaces to come in contact again. 

 But during the time the friction sound is lost a sound which has been 

 called a ' ' churning noise " may take its place. 



