Pericarditas. 327 



badly arranged buildings, a want of sufficient attention to the 

 conditions of health, and in the case of herbivora, wet, cold, and 

 badly exposed pastures. ' ' In other words whatever deteriorates 

 the health and vitality predisposes. 



Symptoms. These are less characteristic than in man owing to the 

 smaller portion of the heart exposed, but they are usually marked 

 enough to permit a recognition of the disease. Acute form. The 

 affection is ushered in by chill, general fever, hyperthermia, (103° 

 to 104°), staring coat, hot, dry mouth, dilated nostrils, excited, 

 difficult breathing, double lifting of the flank with each expira- 

 tion, the existence of a prominent ridge from the lower end of the 

 last ribs along the flank to the outer angle of the hip bone, as in 

 pleurisy, pinched, anxious expression of countenance, fixed eyes, 

 accelerated, full, hard and often wiry pulse, and tenderness when 

 the ribs behind the left elbow are pinched or struck. The same 

 tenderness is noticed particularly in the ox and smaller quadru- 

 peds when pressure or compression is made beneath the breast 

 bone. Auscultation over the lower ends of the fifth and sixth 

 ribs and their cartilages detects a friction or rubbing sound in the 

 early stages and until liquid has been thrown out into the pericar- 

 dial sac. This sound may be at first the finest possible creaking, 

 afterward increasing to a distinct rubbing, is synchronous with the 

 beat of the heart, and usually with the first sound. It is distin- 

 guished from the friction sound of pleurisy in occurring rythmi- 

 cally with the sounds of the heart and not with those of breath- 

 ing, and from sounds produced in the interior of the heart by its 

 absence when auscultation is made over the carotid or other large 

 artery. This friction sound is lost when serous effusion takes 

 place into the pericardium, but reappears when the liquid is ab- 

 sorbed in the process of recovery. Until effusion takes place the 

 impulse of the heart is strong, often irregular, in force, and some- 

 times accompanied by a purring tremor or, according to I<eblanc, 

 a metallic tinkle. 



When effusion has taken place the pulse is weaker and softer, 

 irregular or intermittent, the impulse of the heart is weaker, the 

 friction sound is lost, and the area of dulness corresponding to the 

 heart is increased. Percussion shows it to extend higher than 

 three inches above the breast bone in the horse and more than 

 two or two and a half inches transversely. It is distinguished from 



