Symptoms. 



893 



Tne muscles of the paralyzed parts of the body feel at 

 trst, and sometimes even later, very dense, almost as hard as 

 a board; they are however not sensitive to pressure. At the 

 same tune the superficial muscles may show considerable en- 

 largement In the further course of the disease the muscles 

 usually return to their normal consistency, or even liecome 

 softer. The sensitiveness of the skin, as far as examination, 

 because of the excitement of the animal, is possible is not 

 changed ; sometimes it appears somewhat reduced, but no o-reat 

 importance can be attributed to this finding, as the skin in the 

 region of the croup or the thigh possesses a somewhat slighter 

 sensitiveness, as compared with other parts of the body 



Fig. 1.57. Parnhjtic Iteiiiofilohincinid. The horse rose on the second day of the 

 affection, but immediately fell back to the jjosition shown in the illustration. 



Spontaneous indications of pain are however not infrequent. 

 The passive resistance of the muscles is at first increased, later 

 diminished. Dexler and Marek found an absence of tendinous 

 reflexes in the region of the paralyzed muscles. As the M. 

 quadriceps cruris is also involved, the patella reflex is, as a 

 rule, absent either on one or both sides. Dexler found the 

 faradic irritability normal in the affected muscles, the mechanic 

 irritability on the other hand was alisent in Marek 's cases. 



In mild cases as well as in the early stages of severe affec- 

 tions the temperature is not much elevated; but owing to the 

 great restlessness of the animal a rise of i/. to 1° C. may exist 

 from the beginning. In the later course of severe cases a con- 

 siderably higher rise in temi^erature may be present, either 



