PRINCIPLES OF VETERINARY SURGERY 323 



The movith is hot and discharges a ropy saliva, and the loins 

 are. stiff. The dog exhibits general weakness, somnolence, 

 delirium, cramps and even general convulsions. The di- 

 gestive functions are disturbed by emesis and diarrhoea. 



How is the appearance of these symptoms to be ex- 

 plained? This question has interested scientists at different 

 periods, and although various hypotheses have been ad- 

 vanced the problem is not definitely solved. The interpreta- 

 tion of these complications is grouped into five theories: 

 That of irritation was one of the first, and was defended by 

 Petit, Remy, etc. ; that of shock, advanced by Dupuytren, at- 

 tributing every complication to the shock of the nervous 

 system or to its exhaustion ; a third, that of purely mechani- 

 cal blocking of the circulation, sustained by Dupuytren, 

 Couston and Morton. These different hypotheses do not 

 appear to have long enjoyed the favor of the medical pro- 

 fession. They have been abandoned and other theories have 

 taken their place. 



For a long while nearly all physicians attributed all 

 the results they observed to disturbance of the function of 

 the skin, — the skin being destroyed the body is deprived of 

 one of its excretory channels and the blood will become cor- 

 rupted by the accumulation of waste matter. The distur- 

 bance of the cutaneous function is therefore closely con- 

 nected with corruption of the blood, which is increased by 

 absorption of products from the burned area. This point of 

 view is upheld by Reiss, Kijanitzin, Boyer and Guinard. The 

 burnt tissue is the starting point of the formation of toxins, 

 (Reiss) which arise from the action of organic ferments and 

 the dead elements. Reiss classes these toxic substances with 

 pyridine and quinoline, while Kijanitzin compares them to 

 the peptotoxins of Brieger. 



Boyer and Guinard have attempted to demonstrate that 

 the body of the burned subject absorbs poisons of consid- 



