AZOTURIA. 
By A. B. Ellis, D.V.S., Los Angeles, Cal. 
I have read page after page written on azoturia and no 
version of it seems to agree with mine. This disease occurs 
usually in valuable horses, because it appears in well-fed horses 
put to work after a period of idleness. McFadyean’s theory is 
that in a horse in good condition there are about 7,000,000 red 
blood corpuscles in a cubic centimeter of blood, and when the 
horse is taken out and exercised there is an increase of about 
4,000,000 to a c.c., making a total of about 11,000,000. This 
increase of red corpuscles causes embolism in all the large 
arteries, in the gluteal region, in the crural region and just over 
the patella; hence we get the “woody” condition of these sets 
of muscles which we all know! is present in cases of azoturia. 
This is also why we get the black coffee color in the urine; 
breaking down of the red blood corpuscles. In most cases that 
are down, we have a bilateral paralysis of the crural muscles. 
We know the muscles are not thick in this region, and we also 
know that the great sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body, 
leaves the pelvis in company with the gluteal nerves, through the 
great sciatic notch, and is directed downward along the posterior 
face of the femur. Near the stifle, it passes between the two 
portions of the gastrocnemius muscle. The crural muscles get 
the greater part of their nerve supply from the crural or anterior 
femoral nerve, as it is sometimes called. These nerves, passing 
through these thick, heavy muscles, cause pressure on the nerve 
and paralysis of the whole hind quarters. 
Azoturia is never considered a nervous disease, but we know 
the patient is always greatly excited during one of these attacks. 
This, in my opinion, is due to inability to control himself; and 
I believe that here is one place where an anodyne is indicated. 
I won’t attempt to outline any certain treatment, for I have 
had very poor success in cases that were down. I had one case 
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