CONDITIONS FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 123 
parturition. It is said to be most frequently observed 
in Cows in poor condition ; primipare often suffer. It 
is not always recurrent. If the pregnant Cow is 
attacked, it is thought to be usually about the middle 
of the period of gestation, when recovery may follow 
without premature labor being induced. 
Symptoms in the cases of Mr. Clark, recorded in the 
“Journal of Comparative Pathology and Therapeutics,” 
and referred to by Dr. George Fleming, are as follows: 
‘Foaming at the mouth, champing of the jaws, 
prominent, staring eyes, excited expression, head very 
often turned to the side; sometimes licking at the fore- 
leg, stall, or some imaginary object. Some Cows I 
have heard bellow, others do not do so; there was 
twitching of the body and limbs (clonic spasm), 
difficulty of respiration according to intensity of the 
attack. The convulsions generally last two or three 
hours, and in the majority of cases do not reach the 
stage of coma, although I have had cases which have 
done so.” 
Few cases have been reported in the other animals. 
Opinions as to etiology and pathology differ: 
neurosis, due to reflex irritation of the spinal nervous 
system; albuminuria; acute cerebral anemia; irritation 
of the vasa-motor centre, resulting from an anemic 
condition of the blood, produced by the retention of 
effete material which the kidneys had failed to remove; 
renal insufficiency; reflex irritation of uterine nerve- 
centres; excessive lactation, etc. 
Treatment.—T he recommendations are: venesection, 
diuretics and laxatives, belladonna, chloral, etc. 
