108 CANINE MEDICINE AND SURGERY 



during diastole and systole, dyepnea upon exertion, 

 vertigo, rapid exhaustion, emaciation, cyanosis of 

 visible mucous membranes, ascites, anasarca, albu- 

 minuria, and diminished renal secretion. 



Insufficiency of the mitral valve causes a, back 

 flow of blood into the left auricle during systole, 

 producing a blowing or hissing sound as the systole 

 is completed. The diastole sound is abnormally 

 pronounced, there is dyspnea, feeble pulse, and 

 engorgement of the venous system. 



The characteristic symptoms of mitral stenosis 

 are diastolic after-sounds, loud pulmonary tone, very 

 sm^ll pulse, dyspnea. 



Insufficiency of the tricuspid causes a regurgitation 

 of the blood from the right ventricle into the right 

 auricle, with sharp systolic after-sounds, cyanosis, 

 ascites, engorgement of the lungs and venous pulse. 



Insufficiency of the aartic valves causes a back flow 

 from the aorta into the left ventricle during diastole, 

 producing a whirring diastolic after-sound. The 

 pulse is strong, rapid and jumping — pulsus celer. 



Stenosis of the ventricular aortic orifice gives systolic 

 after-sound, slow, feeble pulse, and in extreme cases 

 cerebral anemia. 



Insufficiency of the pulmonary valves gives rise to a 

 diastolic after-sound, feeble heart action, and great 

 dyspnea. 



Treatment. — Up to a certain point valvular defects 

 are compensated for by hypertrophy of the auricles 

 or ventricles, and in addition to good feeding and 

 freedom from exertion require no medicinal treat- 

 ment. In time, however, compensation relaxes and 

 disturbances are set upon the lungs and venous sys- 

 tems. In these cases it is necessary to regulate the 

 action of the heart, reduce the pulse rate, and in- 

 crease arterial pressure. For this purpose the ideal 

 drug is digitalis; it equalizes the disturbed circula- 



