456 
DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 
spontaneous diarrhoea. The occurrence of febrile symptoms 
tends much to strengthen the conviction that some cause 
of irritation exists in the blood, the more particularly as no 
excitement sufficient to account for them can be detected in 
any part of the organism ; doubtless fever is present in cases 
of positive local disease, but the explanation in such in¬ 
stances is easy; the extension of the excitement through the 
sympathetic system is sufficient to account for all the symp¬ 
toms observed; in the case of catarrhal disease, however, 
this is not so, as fever is developed early in the attack, and 
is often the prominent symptom throughout. 
Influenza or epidemic catarrh generally affords us very 
marked illustrations of sympathetic fever disproportioned to 
the local irritation, although in many cases a primary de¬ 
rangement of liver will in a great measure explain the morbid 
state of blood, that results in the phase of the disease not 
inaptly called bilious feveiV^ 
Under whatever form catarrhal affections present them¬ 
selves, the pathologist who examines minutely and analyses 
critically will not rest contented with the prevailing im¬ 
pressions upon the subject; there will be much that he may 
fail to cornprehend, but sufficient will be apparent to con¬ 
vince him that no mere local excitement from change of 
temperature can account for the very complicated phenomena 
presented. 
The treatment of catarrhal maladies seems in all cases to 
be based upon the assumption that something is to be got 
rid of, while at the same time the system is to be protected; 
thus all popular remedies applied to ourselves refer to pur¬ 
gatives, diuretics, or, most prominently of all, sudorifics; 
violent excitation of the excretory functions of the skin 
seems at once the most favourite and the most successful of 
all remedies. 
In veterinary practice our object is also to eliminate by 
the medium of the skin, the kidneys, and the intestines; 
accordingly salines, such as the sulphate of magnesia, nitrate 
of potass, and potassio-tartrate of antimony, are useful medi¬ 
caments; warm clothing, friction to the skin, soft diet, and 
moderate exercise, appear also to be conducive to a cure. 
A successful termination may be confidently prognosticated 
in the majority of instances, but certain states of system 
occasionally complicate the case, and even lead to fatal 
results; some of these we propose to consider in the next 
paper. 
[To be conlimied.) 
