50 SWflSTE PRACTICE 



piratory efforts or cough or spasms of coughing and there is usually 

 a wheezing respiration. An examination of the lungs of swine is 

 not practical except to a limited extent in bacon hogs, because of 

 tlie thickness of the thoracic wall. 



NATURE OP PEED AND WATER SHOULD BE DETER.MINED 



It is always advisable to make a careful examination of the food 

 and water. The quantity and quality of food consumed is of prime 

 importance. Swine frequently consume young cockleburs and become 

 affected with acute gastritis or gastro-enteritis. Inappetence is an 

 outstanding symptom of acute infective diseases and especially hog 

 cholera. The desire for water is increased in diseases in which 

 there is diarrhea and also in febrile conditions. 



DIGESTIVE DISTURBANCES 



Swine experience little difficulty in deglutition and disturbance 

 of the pharynx and the esophagus are not common. Swine are ap- 

 parently provided with durable teeth as they seem to have little 

 difficulty in mastication which, however, is usually not thorough. 

 Little pigs occasionally become affected with ulcerative stomatitis 

 in which the buccal mucosa adjacent to the teeth is affected probably 

 as a result of infection with the B. necrophorus. 



Because of the anatomical natui-e of the stomach and esophagus, 

 swine vomit with ease, and this method of relief probably prevents 

 serious digestive disturbances resulting from gorging or overload- 

 ing the stomach. Vomition is frequently observed in the early 

 stages of hog cholera, also in intestinal obstruction, extreme cases 

 of constipation and when there are foreign bodies in the stomach. 



Swine are not as subject to the various digestive disturbances as 

 are larger animals. However, garbage-fed hogs may become affected 

 with digestive disturbances, the result of auto-intoxication or the 

 consumption of putrid protein foods. Constipation is evidence of 

 febrile diseases or excessively dry bulky foods, but it is not of com- 

 mon occurrence. 



Diarrhea is the characteristic symptom in pig scour and infective 

 necrotic enteritis. Fecal discharges should be carefully examined 

 for the detection of parasites or their ova. Arduenna strongylina, 

 Ascaris suum, Esophagostoma dentatum, Trichocephalus crenatus, 

 Trichina spiralis and Gigantorynehus hirudinaceus are the para- 



