HYDROTHORAX. 



All animals liable. Causes, pleurisy, obstruction to pulmonary or inter- 

 costal veins, heart disease, Bright's disease, anasmia, parasitic or otherwise. 

 ££fusion reddish gray or clear straw color, inflammatory and dropsical. 

 Symptoms, troubles of respiration, as a secondary disease complicated by 

 dropsies elsewhere, signs of hydrothorax without fever, shedding of hair. 

 Treatment, diuretic, tonic, derivative, thoracentesis, trochar and cannula or 

 aspiration, point of election for puncture, method, asepsis, drainage by as- 

 pirator, or into an antiseptic solution, eligible cases, dangers attending 

 thoracentesis, shock, rupture of false membranes and lung, infection of 

 pleura, injection of antiseptics. 



Hydrothorax or water in the chest is common to all domestic 

 animals. It is as we have seen one of the most ordinary results 

 of pleurisy, and may persist long after that disease has disappeared. 

 It likewise occurs independently of inflammation as a dropsical 

 effu.sion. Thus when the return of blood by the bronchial, pul- 

 monary or intercostal viens, is hindered by any cause such as 

 tumors in the bronchial glands or subvertebral region a passive 

 effusion may take place through the coats of the vessels. In im- 

 perfection of the mitral valves the regurgitation of blood in 

 the pulmonary veins during each cardiac systole equally causes 

 such transudation. Chronic disease of the kidneys (Bright's dis- 

 ease) with the retention of effete and injurious materials in the 

 blood leads to dropsy of the chest as in other parts of the body. 

 Again in many debilitated conditions parasitic and otherwise, with 

 a tendency to general dropsy the chest participates and a collec- 

 tion of fluid takes place in the pleurae. 



The nature of the contained fluid will vary according to the 

 conditions in which it has been effused. If the result of inflam- 

 mation there are the different stages already indicated : first, of a 

 yellow citrine color or red from contained blood ; second, grayish 

 and muddy either from contained pus or other changes taking 

 place in the fluid ; and third, clear limpid and translucent as seen 

 in the later stages. If merely a dropsical effusion the fluid is 

 watery clear and transluent or with a slight straw color. The in- 

 flammatory effusion contains fibrine or fibrinogenous elements, is 

 associated with the formation of false membranes, and though it 



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