Temperature and Respiration 113 



a rise of four degrees is serious. A sudden fall of tem- 

 perature below normal, unless due to some local cause, 

 is always serious, and usually denotes waning vitality 

 and the approach of death. A person who takes care 

 of much stock should equip himself with a good clinical 

 thermometer and familiarize himself with its use. He 

 will find it a valuable aid in recognizing disease. 



RESPIRATION 



Respiration, commonly called breathing, consists of 

 two movements — the taking in of air (inspiration) and 

 the forcing out of air (expiration). In the horse there 

 is usually one respiration to three pulse-beats. In 

 health, a horse takes from twelve to fifteen inspirations 

 per minute; a cow, ten to twenty-five, and a dog about 

 twenty. Rapid breathing may be caused by excitement, 

 by exercise or by excessive heat. The breathing is also 

 faster when the animal's stomach is distended with food 

 or with gas, or if, for any other reason, the capacity of 

 the lung cavity is diminished. 



Short, rapid or labored breathing usually indicates 

 disease of the respiratory organs. Snoring indicates 

 an obstruction of the air-passages of the throat or head, 

 or it may come from disease of the brain. It often 

 marks the near approach of death. Abdominal breath- 

 ing makes prominent use of the diaphragm (midriff) 

 and the abdominal muscles. It usually indicates sore- 

 ness of the lungs, and in horses is a symptom of 

 heaves. 



Coughing is the forcible expulsion of the air from 



