310 WOUNDS AND THEIB TREATMENT. 



nosis is concerned, the only value being when the normal temper- 

 ature is presented and the acute symptoms already described begin 

 to abate. 



We sometimes see very peculiar cases — for instance, the author 

 has observed a case of septicaemia with normal temperature the 

 first day accompanied by weakness, depression, loss of appetite, 

 etc. In the next few days the temperature gradually increases; 

 sleepiness, fatigue, and rapid emaciation; the symptoms increase 

 in intensity; the pulse becomes weak, rapid, and much slower, 

 until it falls below the normal rate, and finally ends in the death 

 of the animal. In many cases diarrhoea is present, and in rare 

 cases convulsions. 



Therapeutics. Antiseptic solutions must be used vigorously 

 and the wound irrigated frequently. If there is any dead tissue 

 that is hard to loosen, the thermo-cautery should be used to render 

 it aseptic. The animal must be stimulated by means of ether, alco- 

 hol, and camphor. The author finds subcutaneous injections (4.0 

 to 6.0 doses) of spirit of camphor or camphorated ether, 1 to 10, 

 of great value in such cases. This drug he is inclined to call a 

 specific agent in septicBemia. It must be injected every two or 

 three hours under the skin until the alarming symptoms have disap- 

 peared. Slight muscular contractions which sometimes follow the 

 use of camphor are not to be regarded as anything especially serious. 



3. Purulent Fever and Pycemia. When a suppurating wound 

 becomes very much inflamed and infects the surrounding tissues, 

 it is generally followed by the entrance into the blood of some 

 micro-organisms. If the symptoms of fever are slight, the patients 

 may recover, with only a chill and a slight increase of tempera- 

 ture. If the fever is very serious and the temperature rises high, 

 it is called pysemia. In this disease you will find that the majoritv 

 of cases are followed by metastatic suppuration in various organs 

 of the body. This is due to the fact that the thrombus undergoes 

 purulent destruction in the bloodvessels, breaks down, and the 

 infectious matter is carried into the circulation, and from there it 

 finds its way to different organs or locations in the body. The 

 symptoms of pysemia in the dog are not very easily distinguished 

 from those of septicaemia, and it is very hard in the majority of 

 cases to make a positive diagnosis. Very frequently we see symp- 

 toms of septicaemia and pysemia combined, forming what is known 



