224 PEINCIPLES OF VETERINAKY SCIENCE 



and when the surgical wound is properly cared for. Many 

 diseases that even a few years ago were thought to be incurable 

 are now amenable to surgical relief. For the removal of tumors 

 and foreign bodies, and in the treatment of many other diseased 

 conditions, this method of treatment is the only one that is 

 capable of bringing about a cure. Surgery is a method of treat- 

 ment that should greatly interest every live stock raiser as by its 

 means valuable animals can be saved that would otherwise be lost. 



(9) Medicines are agents of vegetable, mineral, and animal 

 origin used for the cure of disease or the relief of pain. They 

 are substances that exert influence over one or more of the 

 functions of the body. The study of the derivation, physical 

 and chemical properties, physiologic actions, and doses of medi- 

 cines is known as materia medica. 



Many of the medicines which have been in use for centuries 

 are now known to be of little or no value as remedies for the dis- 

 eases in which they have long been applied. Upon careful 

 inquiry into the reason for their having been recommended 

 originally, it was found that superstitious belief in signs and 

 symbols was responsible for the use of many. To illustrate, 

 bloodroot, on account of its red juice, is even today considered 

 to be good for the blood; eyebright, being marked with a spot 

 like an eye, was accordingly just the thing for sore eyes; liver- 

 wort, having a leaf shaped like the liver, was thought to be a 

 sure cure for diseases of the liver; bear's grease, coming from an 

 animal thickly covered with hair, was recommended to stimulate 

 the growth of hair. Red flannel bandages are given preference 

 to those of other colors because they look like blood and there- 

 fore are thought to have curative properties for rheumatism 

 and other blood diseases. 



Entire reliance should not be placed in medicines any more 

 than in any other of the therapeutic aids that have been men- 

 tioned, for each is dependent on others to accomplish a cure. 

 When any one of these aids is lacking, treatment may fail miser- 

 ably. The big task is first to select and then to apply the 

 medicines to the disorders which they are capable of correcting. 



Medicines of vegetable origin comprise a large group of very 

 great importance. The leaves, bark, roots, flowers, fruit, and 

 seeds are used, depending upon the nature of the plant. Although 

 powdered preparations of the above are frequently employed in 



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