472 
JOHN J. REPP. 
may be carried on visits without injury. The case-book should 
be taken along on each visit and the record made at the time 
of examination. When it is not at hand a few notes should be 
made and the subject elaborated on return to the office. 
There should be entered in the case-book, (a) the descrip¬ 
tion of the patient; (b) history of patient, including previous 
illness; (c) environment; (d) history of present illness, includ¬ 
ing treatment given by owner or others, if any; (<?) etiology; 
(/) present symptoms, including what is learned from particu¬ 
lar examination of the region complained of, and of all the vital 
organs and functions of the body ; (g) methods of diagnosis; 
(h) diagnosis; (z) prognosis ; (/) detailed description of treat¬ 
ment; (k) results of treatment; (/) history subsequent to ill¬ 
ness ; (ni) results of macroscopic, microscopic, and bacteriologi¬ 
cal examination post mortem. 
This outline should not be printed in the blank book, but 
should be carried in the memory and the record made in ac¬ 
cordance with it. The book should be the simplest possible., 
A printed outline is undesirable. The requirements of each 
case so vary that headings and subheadings are misleading 
rather than helpful, and often divert the attention to unimpor¬ 
tant details. In addition any peculiarities not included in the 
usual outline should be made a matter of record. All these de¬ 
tails are essentials in the production of a case record of value 
and none should be omitted. 
The record should be faithful. Mistakes as well as right 
judgment and good care should be recorded. A garbled record 
defeats its own object. It should be technical and scientific. 
Here the veterinarian should practice the use of scientific rather 
than vulgar terms. The sentences should be concise, yet their 
meaning unmistakable. The record should be absolutely pri¬ 
vate. The privilege of reading it should not be granted to 
anyone. 
The advantages which accrue from a systematic and techni¬ 
cal making of case records are: 
First. —It engenders more careful and systematic observa- 
