14 CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS. 



symptoms of disease, although they might, under other cir- 

 cumstances, be such; e. g., a horse refuses its. feed — this is a 

 frequent occurrence in gastro-intestinal affections or in the 

 course of severe general diseases, but it may also be due to an 

 excitable temperament of the animal or to the fact that the food 

 in itself is undesirable — spoiled, mouldy. Hence the practi- 

 tioner must always endeavor to determine the cause of the 

 symptoms, whether the deviations from the normal are really 

 due to disease or to external conditions. 



The importance of symptoms depends very largely upon 

 the conditions under which they appear. 



Rapid respiratory movements may be due to a disease of 

 the respiratory apparatus or to some other affection ; again, 

 they invariably occur after bodily exertions, and high tempera- 

 tures, even when the animal is at perfect rest, will cause the 

 respiratory movements to become accelerated. 



To avoid confusing symptoms produced by muscular ex- 

 ercise, or other efforts on the part of the animal, with symp- 

 toms of disease, the patient should first be examined in a state 

 of rest. Furthermore, all conditions that could possibly influ- 

 ence normal physiological processes must ever be taken into 

 consideration ; for example, we will mention age, estral 

 period, pregnancy, fright on part of the animal, etc. 



After noting the symptoms of the disease we come to the 

 most difficult part of clinical diagnostics, viz : 



The determination of the organ diseased. There are 

 only a few symptoms which point with certainty to an affec- 

 tion of a definite organ, fewer still enable us to recognize the 

 character of the disease; these latter are called pathognomonic 

 symptoms. As a rule all symptoms must be first noted and 

 then considered as a whole, always bearing in mind the prin- 

 ciples of general and special pathology. 



The symptoms which appear in a disease have for the 

 determination of the affected organ a varied importance. 

 Local Symptoms emanate from the diseased organ and there- 



