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 . . , 30 to 40 beats per minute. 



Cow 40 to 50 " 



Sheep 70 to 80 " " " 



Dog 70 to 90 " " " 



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. 



