924 Veterinary Obstetrics 



a profound paralysis. There is difficulty in deglutition, so 

 that in former times many cows were killed in attempting to 

 drench them with fluids, which, instead of being swallowed, 

 passed into the lungs, causing fatal strangling or bringing about 

 an equally fatal foreign-body pneumonia. The rumen is para- 

 lyzed, and as a consequence tends to become filled with gas owing 

 to decomposition of its contents. This is especially marked if 

 the animal lies upon her side. This symptom is one of great 

 danger for the animal, because the tympany tends to press the 

 food up through the oesophagus into the pharynx, whence it 

 drops into the larynx and is inhaled, to either cause fatal 

 strangling or later a fatal foreign-body pneumonia. The in- 

 testines are likewise paralyzed, and little or no defecation occurs. 

 If the hand is introduced into the rectum, a small ainount of dry 

 feces is found. 



The kidneys cease to function, and little or no urine is poured 

 into the bladder. Some veterinarians have urged that it is 

 essential in the treatment of the disease for the catheter to be 

 frequently passed in order to prevent rupture of the bladder. 

 As a matter of fact, unless the bladder is distended when the 

 disease comes on it does not become so until after the malady 

 has ceased. 



The .secretion of milk is wholly in abeyance. There may be a 

 small amount of milk in the udder at the time that the cow goes 

 down, and this may remain for a time, but there appears to be 

 some tendency for it to become resorbed and the udder very 

 flaccid. 



The pulse at first may be ^ow and weak, becoming later more 

 frequent and irregular. 



The general sensation is much depressed. Early in the disease 

 the eye seems somewhat sensitive to light or touch, but later the 

 cornea may be touched without causing any reaction, and the 

 skin may be pricked at any point with a pin or other sharp ob- 

 ject, without producing any evidence of feeling. 



As the disease progresses, the coma and paralysis become more 

 and more profound, and death may occur at any time without 

 warning, or the coma may gradually deepen and the animal ap- 

 pear almost lifeless for hours before death occurs. As the fatal 

 termination approaches, the coma and paralysis become more and 

 more profound, the breathing more shallow, and the pulse weaker 

 and more irregular, while the temperature continues to sink. 



