THERAPEUTICS.—A CRITICISM. 
685 
ORIGINAL ARTICLES. 
THERAPEUTICS. 
A CRITICISM ON THE ABUSE OR PROMISCUOUS USE OF PURGA¬ 
TIVES AND OTHER OLD AND ERRONEOUS LINES OF 
TREATMENT OF CERTAIN EQUINE DISEASES, 
TOGETHER WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR 
MORE MODERN AND COR¬ 
RECT TREATMENT. 
By E. L. Quitman, M.D.C., Chicago, Ills. 
A Paper read before the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association. 
Therapeutics is that branch of medical science which con¬ 
siders the application of remedies as a means of cure. 
It is not my intention to attempt to cover the whole field of 
therapeutics, which would be almost an impossibility for one 
man ; but it is my purpose, first, to criticise the methods pur¬ 
sued by so many veterinarians ; and, second, to bring to your no¬ 
tice my treatment for a few special and yet common diseases of 
the horse. Not that I have anything new and startling to offer, 
but simply to call to your mind the value of some of our old and 
well-tried drugs when used in proper combination and in proper 
instances, as well as to call from you criticism of the same and 
suggestions as to other forms of treatment for the ailments 
specified. 
The lack of success of many veteriniarians in the treatment 
of disease lies in the fact that they follow day in and day out a 
single line of treatment, a single formula for each complaint ; 
aye ! even worse than that, a half dozen or a dozen formulae for 
the treatment of all of the diseases to which animals are subject. 
A fever mixture, which must cure all febrile conditions, no mat¬ 
ter what the cause of the exalted temperature nor the condition 
of pulse, etc. A colic mixture that must cure all kinds of 
colics. A liniment for all forms of lameness, and so on. 
With a moment’s thought you can call to mind veterinarians 
