258 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 
fast trot; attacks of vertigo; congestion of the brain; dropsical swell- 
ing of the limbs. A blowing, cooing, or bubbling murmur may some- 
times be heard by placing the ear over the heart on the left side of 
the chest. 
Hypertrophy, or dilatation, or both, usually follow valvular 
disease. 
Treatment.—When the pulse is irregular or irritable, tonics, such 
as preparations of iron, gentian, and ginger, may be given. When 
the action of the heart is jerking or violent, 20 to 30 drop doses of 
tincture of digitalis or of veratrum viride may be given until these 
symptoms abate. As the disease nearly always is the result of endo- 
carditis, the iodid of potassium and general tonics, sometimes stimu- 
lants, when general debility supervenes, may be of temporary benefit. 
Very few animals recover or remain useful for any length of time 
after once marked organic changes have taken place in the valvular 
structure of the heart. 
ADVENTITIOUS GROWTHS IN THE HEART. 
Fibrous, cartilaginous, and bony formations have been observed in 
some rare instances in the muscular tissue. Isolated calcareous 
masses have sometimes been embedded in the cardiac walls. 
Fibrinous coagula and polypous concretions may be found in the 
cavities of the heart. The former consist of coagulated fibrin, sepa- 
rated from the mass of blood, of a whitish or‘yellowish white color, 
translucent, of a jellylike consistence, and having a nucleus in the 
center. They may slightly adhere to the surface of the cavity, from 
which they can easily be separated without altering the structure 
of the endocardium. They probably result from an excess of coagu- 
lability of fibrin, which is produced by an organization of the lymph 
during exudation. They are usually found in the right auricle and 
ventricle. 
Polypous concretions are firmer than in the preceding, more 
opaque, of a fibrous texture, and may be composed of successive 
layers. In some instances they are exceedingly minute, while in 
others they almost fill one or more of the cavities. Their color is 
usually white, but occasionally red from the presence of blood. They 
firmly adhere to the endocardium, and when detached from it give it 
a torn appearance. Occasionally, a vascular communication seems 
to exist between them and the substance of the heart. They may 
be the result of fibrinous exudation from inflammation of the inner 
surface of the heart or the coagulation of a portion of the blood 
which afterwards contracts adhesion with the heart. These con- 
cretions prove a source of great inconvenience and often danger, no 
matter how formed. They cause a diminution in the cavity in 
which they are found, thus narrowing the orifice through which the 
