Diseases of the Respiratory Organs. 17 
more highly contagious. The direct cause is unknown ; it 
was supposed by the Italians to be due to some stellar influ- 
ence, hence the term /nfluenza, signifying influence. It is 
now generally believed to arise from a peculiar condition of 
the atmosphere, but in what that condition consists is still, 
a mystery. Dogs are liable to it at any age, and at all 
periods of the year. Spring and autumn are, however, the 
seasons in which it is most frequently seen, and this tends 
to prove that if cold and damp do not actually produce 
influenza, they may be certainly looked upon as predisposing 
agents. 
Sympitoms.—These vary somewhat in their manifestation. 
Frequently the disease is ushered in with scarcely any pre- 
monitory symptoms, beyond extreme lassitude. In some 
sneezing, redness of the eyes, and flow of tears are the first 
observed. In others sore throat, loss of appetite, nausea 
and vomiting, are alone present. Whilst in others, again, 
cough, expectoration, and muco-purulent discharge from 
the nostrils almost immediately follow the first signs of 
lassitude. Whatever form, however, it primarily assumes, 
‘it invariably terminates in the one which is diagnostic of 
influenza, and the symptoms named become more or less 
associated ; and added to these, we have hurried respiration, 
increased weak pulse, scanty and turbid urine, feces dry 
and slimy, hot skin, dry furred tongue, internal temperature 
high, and in the latter stages an cedematous condition of 
the limbs. In severe types that are allowed to run on un- 
checked, pleurisy and effusion in the chest becomecomplicated 
with it. 
Treatment.—Bodily warmth, proper ventilation, and dif- 
fusible stimulants are first indicated. 
The medicine prescribed in the preceding disease is 
equally adapted to this ; and where there is extreme debility 
the tinct. ferri should follow, or if cedematous, the iodide of 
iron in the same proportions. Linseed-meal poultices, or 
mustard or ammonia embrocation, may be applied to the 
throat if swollen or sore, and steaming the head will be 
