The Pulse 111 
lower jaw. By standing at the left side of the horse’s 
head and running the finger gently along the lower 
jaw-bone, the artery will be felt just at the front 
edge of the large muscle at the side of the jaw. In 
taking the pulse of a cow, the person stands on the 
left side of the animal, but takes the pulse of the 
right jaw by reaching over the neck. In the dog and 
the sheep the pulse is usually taken from the femoral 
artery, which comes down close to the bone on the 
inside of the hind leg. 
In health, the pulse feels full, round and regular, 
as it’ throbs against the finger. It varies in frequency 
in the different animals as follows: 
Horse = #6 #5 . 30 to 40 beats per minute. 
COW 6 Gee OB eR a -w 40 to 50“ te ee 
Sheépri i. « 2 ae we @ « 70to8so0 ‘“ * a 
DOs. a wee ew . Ttog9o ‘ * ie 
The pulse beats more rapidly in young animals than 
in old. Excitement and exercise also increase its ra- 
pidity. The pulse varies not only in rate, but also in 
quality. The pulse may be “hard”; that is, the artery 
wall is not easily depressed by the finger. A “quick” 
pulse is one in which the beat comes up suddenly; but 
this does not necessarily imply a greater number of beats 
per minute. In fact, a quick pulse may be an infre- 
quent one. A “slow” pulse is the opposite of the quick, 
the beat coming up very gradually against the finger. 
A “soft” pulse is the opposite of the hard. It is easily 
compressed by the finger. An “irregular” pulse beats 
unevenly,—very rapidly for a time and then very slowly. 
