216 DISEASES OF THE BRAIN , 



Symptoms. — Usually a lightning stroke kills the animal 

 either instantly or in a few minutes. In other cases the 

 animal appears stunned from the stroke, but soon regains 

 consciousness' and normal condition. In a few instances, 

 however, the patient is left for a time with irregular gait, 

 weakness of the hind parts, may show forced movements, and 

 appear stupid and dull. Usually they recover after a few 

 days or weeks. In rare cases topical symptoms are retained, 

 such as monoplegia, paraplegia, paralysis of individual 

 nerves, from which the animal usually recovers in one or two 

 months. Horses are sometimes left permanently blind. 



Occasionally lightning stroke produces peculiar markings 

 or figures on the hair or skin. These figures are often branched 

 and forked, and may involve pigmented as well as unpig- 

 mented skin. On the unpigmented skin they are dark colored 

 and sometimes resemble a tree or forked shrub. 



Treatment. — If the patients remain down good bedding 

 should be provided. To assist the return to consciousness 

 excitants (alcohol, ether, camphor, caffein, skin rubbing) may 

 be tried. Usually treatment is unnecessary. 



HEMORRHAGE IN THE BRAIN AND ITS MEMBRANES. 

 APOPLEXY. 



Definition. — By apoplexy in a narrow sense is understood a 

 hemorrhage of the brain or its membranes which is due 

 neither to traumatism nor inflammation. 



Etiology. — The causes are very varied. In many of the 

 acute infectious diseases (anthrax, purpura hemorrhagica, 

 hemorrhagic septicemia), blood diseases (anemia, leukemia), 

 and in chronic inflammation of the liver and kidneys the 

 walls of the bloodvessels in the brain become weakened, a 

 condition conducive to hemorrhage. In rarer instances para- 

 sites (larvse of sclerostomes) form a cause. Arteriosclerosis, 

 a common cause of apoplexy in man, probably does not occur 

 in animals. 



Symptoms. — If the hemorrhage is severe enough, general 

 brain symptoms appear with which are associated topical 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



