RABIES IN THE DOG—THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 235 
deadly poison—or, by some morbid secretory action, the fatal virus 
has increased in quantity as well as in power. From the mo¬ 
ment of the bite this morbid action must be going forward, and 
should be considered as a powerful incentive, after any lapse of 
time, before the constitutional affection has taken place, to en¬ 
deavour to destroy the focus of mischief. 
The particular System most affected .—At length, at a period 
differing most materially in different patients (two horses were 
bitten by the same dog, but one of them became rabid three 
weeks before the other) at a certain indefinite period, the animal 
betrays incipient illness—he is dull—his appetite fails—the 
general constitution is affected—empoisoned—and the effect of 
the poison shews that the tissue which is chiefly attacked belongs 
to the nerves. There is rarely more than a very slight degree 
fever. It is a nervous affection, extending to every system, but 
more particularly connected with the motor nerves of organic 
life, and of the cerebrum. Let us glance fora moment at the 
systems that are most affected. Take the head and face: the 
strabismus, w hich we almost always may perceive in the early 
stao^e of rabies, shews some affection of one or more of the motor 
nerves of the eye on that side. If more than one is affected, it 
is not in an equal degree, and hence the principle of antagonism 
is lost among them. Here the fifth pair of nerves is involved. 
A most singular affection of the ball of the eye has been 
noticed. First there is a peculiar, or almost intolerable bright¬ 
ness of the eye, probably arising from some intense influence on 
the hyaloid membrane, from the branch of the fifth pair of nerves, 
which is directed to the eye ; but this excessive influence seems 
to be soon exhausted, for the eye not only returns to its former 
hue and expression, but, immediately after that, it becomes dull 
and wasted—in fact, it changes into a perfectly disorganized mass. 
The life and nourishment conveyed through the influence of that 
nerve being suspended, the eye collapses, and shrinks aw^ay. 
We have another illustration of loss of power in the fifth pair 
of nerves—the temporal, masseter, and buccinator muscles lose 
their power, and we have the dumb variety of madness—the 
open mouth and protruded tongue, and the tongue principally pro¬ 
truded on account of the withdrawal of the support which was af¬ 
forded it by the lips and mouth. Oftenestin ferocious madness, 
but occasionally in the dumb variety, we have spasmodic action of 
the seventh pair on various parts of the face, and with or with¬ 
out much distortion of the muscles. This sometimes gives a truly 
frightful appearance to the countenance of the rabid horse. 
Almost every branch of the great spinal organic nerves is in¬ 
volved. Immediately anterior is the glosso-pJiaryiigeuSf wYnch is 
