PREVENTION, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT ^5 



serves trial in veterinary practice. Adrenalin is very expensive, 

 however. 



Paralysis. 



This term of course merely stands for a symptom of innumer- 

 able lesions of the nervous system — cerebral, spinal and peripheral. 

 It may, however, be convenient to consider paralysis as a symptom 

 in order to include a number of conditions not readily considered 

 under separate heads. Paralysis we may subdivide into hemiplegia, 

 paraplegia and local or peripheral paralysis. 



Hemiplegia, which is so common in human medicine, as a 

 result of cerebral hemorrhage (apoplexy), embolism and throm- 

 bosis, is not frequent in veterinary medicine and responds but 

 poorly to therapeutics (see Cerebral Hyperemia). » 



Paraplegia, or paralysis of the posterior extremities, is quite 

 common in veterinary medicine and is due to a bilateral lesion of 

 the lower segment of the cord. It may be distinguished from cereb- 

 ral trouble by the absence of head symptoms; by the presence of 

 paralysis of the bladder and rectum ; and by the fact that the lesion 

 often extends along the cord (ascending paralysis). Paraplegia 

 occurs in meningitis, myelitis, fracture, hemorrhage or tumor of 

 the cord — in which case treatment is of little utility. But there are 

 many cases in which the trouble has been described as reflex, sup- 

 posedly due to disturbed circulation in the cord (hyperemia or 

 anemia), in which recovery is hastened by therapeutic measures. 

 In some of these cases it is, however, probable that an infectious 

 lesion (myelitis) of the cord exists. Again, constipation may in- 

 duce paraplegia by pressure on the sacral plexus. Thus obstinate 

 constipation, intestinal worms, acute indigestion (impaction of the 

 rumen in cattle, colic in horses), abnormal dentition, oestrum or 

 heat in mares, nephritis, cystitis, and (in dogs) heart disease (dis- 

 turbed spinal circulation; thrombosis or embolism of femoral ar- 

 teries) may apparently induce paraplegia. Lumbago, or muscular 

 rheumatism of the lumbar muscles in dogs, hemoglobinuria in 



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