EASTERN COUNTIES VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 481 
Symptoms .—The symptoms of tetanus are generally so well 
defined that the merest tyro can scarcely fail in pronouncing a 
correct diagnosis; there is no other malady for which it can be mis¬ 
taken, and probably the only two which at all resemble it are 
meningitis and poisoning by the mix vomica or its alkaloid, strych¬ 
nine ; in the former case the inflammatory pulse, the injected mem¬ 
branes, and the general history of the case, will suffice to prevent 
mistakes, while in the latter the intermission of the spasms, the 
suddenness of the attack, and its fatal termination, often in a few 
minutes, will enable us to speak with certainty as to the true 
nature of the malady. By some persons various premonitory 
symptoms of tetanus are described, as disinclination for food and 
dislike to having the head touched, a peculiar brightness of the 
eye, anxious countenance, watchfulness, constipation, &c. But I 
imagine that the opportunity of observing the above rarely presents 
itself to the veterinary surgeon ; on the contrary, when his services 
are required, the symptoms are generally so decided in character as 
to carrv conviction to the mind that it is nothing less than a con- 
firmed case of tetanus with which he has to contend. They are as 
follows :—The muscles of the head and neck are rigid and the 
mouth persistently closed, the lips compressed, and the nostrils 
dilated. The head is elevated, the nose protruded, and the ears 
erect. The eyes are drawn into the orbits, and the cartilago 
nictitans partly protrudes over the cornea. In the horse the pulse 
is usually about fifty beats per minute. The urine is small in 
quantity. The bowels are usually torpid, but in exceptional cases 
the reverse obtains. The above, 1 believe, correctly describes the 
trismatic form of the disease ; but trismus, although more amenable 
to treatment, is unfortunately not the most frequent form in which 
the malady presents itself to our notice ; too frequently it assumes a 
more general and severe type, involving the muscles of the trunk 
and extremities, and also those of respiration, causing the belly to 
be drawn up, the legs to be abducted, and difficulty in breathing. 
The tail is elevated and quivering. Much pain is evinced, and per¬ 
spiration frequently bedews the body. These symptoms, although 
persistent, are greatly aggravated upon the slightest noise or alarm 
being made ; the paroxysms are sometimes fearful to contemplate. 
If the malady has been caused by docking, the tail will early assume 
the erect position, the extremity will be swollen and present a dry 
and irritable appearance ; this latter feature, however, is not pecu¬ 
liar to wounds of the tail, but rather the ordinary condition in which 
wounds of almost every description are found when tetanus super¬ 
venes. The ordinary duration of acute tetanus when it terminates 
fatally is from two to seven days; in such cases the symptoms admit 
of no alleviation, but, on the contrary, become more aggravated, the 
paroxysms are more frequent and severe, the respiration more diffi¬ 
cult, and death closes the scene by asphyxia or by exhaustion of the 
vital powers, and not from anaemia, as w^as formerly supposed. Our 
prognosis will be favorable if the symptoms come on gradually, are 
materially influenced by the treatment employed, the paroxysms 
