7 2 



DISEASES OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



for a great many years), yet in veterinary practice this may not be 

 worth while. Glucose is derived from the food (chiefly carbo- 

 hydrates) and is normally stored as glycogen in the liver and 

 muscles and liberated only as needed, to be slowly converted into 

 glucose and oxidized to supply energy. In diabetes there is great 

 nutritive loss owing to the escape of glucose in the urine, either ( i ) 

 because it is not oxidized, or (2) because it is set free too rapidly, 

 or (3) because that formed by the digestion of carbohydrates is 

 not converted into glycogen but eliminated at once unchanged. 

 Diabetes may be a symptom of disease of the brain and cord, of 

 . the liver and pancreas, and sometimes is associated with obesity. 



It is usually, however, impossible to remove the cause*, and the 

 dietetic treatment, which has been carried out with such detailed 

 precision as to amount, and chemistry (chiefly avoidance of carbo- 

 hydrates) in human medicine is scarcely applicable to herbivora. 

 In dogs an exclusive ration of broths and cooked meat and fat is 

 often of great benefit. Coma appears to be due to the presence of 

 acetone bodies in the blood which are 'derived from destruction of 

 the tissues of the body. Among these is diacetic acid, and the 

 discovery of this in the urine will indicate the likelihood of coma. 

 To test for diacetic acid, add a few drops of solution of ferric 

 chloride to the suspected urine and if diacetic acid is present the 

 urine will take on a burgundy-red hue. Previous heating of the 

 urine will volatilize the diacetic acid so that the test should not be 

 positive after heating. Approaching coma may be averted by giving 

 large and frequent doses of sodium bicarbonate. 



There are several remedies which tend to lessen the loss of 

 sugar in the urine and these may be used in dogs. Opium is the 

 best (of powdered opium, gr. J/£ to gr. 1 thrice daily) ; or Fowler's 

 solution of arsenic, beginning with 5 drops and increasing slowly 

 to 30 minims thrice daily, if it is borne by the digestion ; or uro- 

 tropin (in capsule or pill) in a dose of 7 gr. twice daily. 



* Williams affirms that an habitual diet of liver causes diabetes mellitus in 

 dogs. 



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