FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DISEASE. 41 



acute one ; without alteration of blood the mucous membranes become 

 of a rosy or deep-red color at the outset ; if the fever is attended with 

 distinct alteration of the blood, as in influenza, and at the end of two 

 cr three days in severe cases of pneumonia or other extensive inflam- 

 matory troubles the mucous membranes are tinged with yellow, which 

 may even become a deep ocher in color, the result of the decomposi- 

 tion of the blood corpuscles and the freeing of their coloring matter, 

 which acts as a stain. At the outset of a fever the various glands 

 are checked in their secretions, the salivary glands fail to secrete the 

 saliva, and we find the surface of the tongue and inside of the cheeks 

 dry and covered with a brownish, bad-smelling deposit. The excre- 

 tion from the liver and intestinal glands is diminished and produces 

 an inactivity of the digestive organs which causes a constipation. 

 If this is not remedied at an early period, the undigested material 

 acts as an irritant, and later we may have it followed by an inflamma- 

 tory process, producing a severe diarrhea. 



The excretion from the kidneys is sometimes at first entirely sup- 

 pressed. It is always considerably diminished, and what urine is 

 passed is dark in color, undergoes ammoniacal change rapidly, and 

 deposits quantities of salts. At a later period the diminished excre- 

 tion may be replaced by an excessive excretion, which aids in carrying 

 off waste products and usually indicates an amelioration of the fever. 



While the ears, cannons, and hoofs of a horse suffering from fever 

 are usually found hot, they may frequently alternate from hot to cold, 

 or be much cooler than they normally are. This latter condition 

 usually indicates great weakness on the part of the circulatory system. 



It is of the greatest importance, as an aid in diagnosing the gravity 

 of an attack of fever and as an indication in the selection of its mode 

 of treatment, to recognize the exact cause of a febrile condition in the 

 horse. In certain cases, in very nervous animals, in which fever is 

 the result of nerve influence, a simple anodyne, or even only quiet 

 with continued care and nursing, will sometimes be sufficient to dimin- 

 ish it. When fever is the result of local injury, the cure of the cause 

 produces a cessation in the constitutional symptoms. When it is 

 the result of a pneumonia or other severe parenchymatous inflam- 

 mation, it usually lasts for a definite time, and subsides with the 

 first improvement of the local trouble, but in these cases we constantly 

 have exacerbations of fever due to secondary inflammatory processes, 

 such as the formation of small abscesses, the development of second- 

 ary bronchitis, or the death of a limited quantity of tissue (gangrene) . 



In specific cases, such as influenza, strangles, and septicemia, there 

 is a definite poison in the blood-vessel system and carried to the 

 heart and to the nervous system, which produces a peculiar irritation, 

 usually lasting for a specific period, during which the temperature 

 can be but slightly diminished, by any remedy. 



