220 
W. J. COATES. 
ORIGINAL ARTICLES. 
COLD ABSCESSES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 
By W. J. Coates, M.D., D.Y.S., New York City. 
A most important and at the same time common occur¬ 
rence is that which is known as cold abscesses at the base of the 
neck or of the inferior and lateral cervdcal region at the junc¬ 
tion of the shoulder. It consists essentially of an accumula¬ 
tion of pus in the deeper layer of muscular and areolar tissue, 
situated principally beneath the mastoido-humeralis muscle, 
just external to the jugular groove of the neck, in which lies 
the jugular vein and carotid artery, taking place either on the 
right or left side, giving rise to a considerable swelling and 
the appearance of a tumor. 
This condition is rarely met with by the practitioner when it 
first makes its appearance, as it is caused by direct pressure of 
the collar, and the owner of an animal attacked, thinking it no¬ 
thing serious, treats the swelling by all remedies known to him, 
for a shorter or longer period and, seeing no improvement, con¬ 
sults a veterinarian, who often tries various remedies for weeks 
and months without success. 
The etiological factor is direct pressure of the collar, pro¬ 
ducing a contusion of the deeper layers of muscular structure, 
with a capillary hemorrhage in the areolar tissue, forming a 
nucleus from which structural changes take place. The blood 
becomes encapsuled by a firm layer of fibrin or plastic 
material being deposited, forming a wall; the contents of the 
cavity undergoing changes and pus forming. The walls be¬ 
come thicker by the deposit of plastic matter, which indur¬ 
ates and hardens, forming a capsule one to three inches thick, 
while the cavity is small in comparison to its membrane and 
contains a thin looking pus; in other cases the accumula¬ 
tion of pus is considerable and the walls thin, taking the ap¬ 
pearance of an acute abscess, but in the majority of cases the 
fiuid portion of the pus is absorbed, leaving a cheesy mass 
with thick fibro-plastic walls. 
