DISEASES OF THE HOG. 125 
being restless or in some cases squealing. Little 
can be obtained from physical signs in the pig and 
we have to content ourselves with the other symp- 
toms; but no great mistake can be made if we treat 
the inflammation and fever on general principles. 
Post mortem examination reveals effusion in the 
cavity; this usually begins about the third day and 
if the disease is not checked it increases until the 
end. There is also a fibrinous matter or lymph 
which is at first generally in the form of a soft, deli- 
cate film over the surface of the membrane from 
which it is easily separated; by degrees this be- 
comes thicker and thicker over the surface of the 
membrane until in some cases it will be found to be 
an inch in thickness and somewhat hard. The oc- 
currence of such changes must add greatly to the 
danger of the disease and indicates the need of 
prompt application of efficient treatment before it 
reaches this point. The changes which take place 
are not always the same. In some violent cases the 
disease has been known to run its course in a very 
short time and to terminate in forty-eight hours. 
In other cases the inflammation terminates in a 
few days before the effusion takes place. Some- 
times mild cases may last for several weeks and 
the animal recover. When it is likely to prove fatal, 
the animal becomes very weak and staggers about, 
refuses food, the pulse is small and fast—from one 
hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty. 
There is usually some anasarca between the fore 
legs; an animal in this condition is liable to die at 
any moment from loss of heart power, 
