DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY
SYSTEM.

BLEEDING FROM THE NOSTRILS (EPISTAXIS),

Is the same in cattle as in horses. (See page 76.)
Remedy.—Draft : Tincture perchloride iron, 1½ oz.,

tincture ergot, 1 oz., water in proportion ; or, sulphate

iron, 2 drams, powdered ergot, 1 oz., water in proportion.
Cold water and styptic applications or plugging the

nostrils may be necessary. If from a polypus, remove

with ligature or écraseur.

SIMPLE CATARRH,

The cause and symptoms of which are practically the
same in the ox as in the horse, is described on page 70,
which see ; also ‘ Malignant Catarrh,' page 231.

Remedy.—Draft : Solution acetate ammonium, 4 oz.,
bicarbonate potassium, 1 oz., spirit chloroform, ½ oz.,
water in proportion, 2 or 3 times daily.

Steam with boiling hot water, to which has been added
a small proportion of carbolic acid or eucalyptus oil, and
put in warm but well ventilated shed.

SORE THROAT (LARYNGITIS),

Like the two preceding disorders, is the same in cattle
as in horses. (See page 72.) It differs from catarrh in
that the discharge is from the mouth instead of the nos­
trils.

Remedy.—Tincture belladonna, 6 drams, solution ac­
etate ammonium, 4 oz., water in proportion, 3 times a
day. Steam as for catarrh. Gargle : Tincture iodine, 1

BRONCHITIS.

259

part to 20 of water. Liniment for throat : Mustard, 4
oz., oil turpentine, 5 oz.; or, powdered cantharides, 1
oz., olive oil, 8 oz.

Fig. 114. Steam-bag for Catarrh, Laryngitis, Bronchitis, &c.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRONCHIAL TUBES
AND TRACHEA (BRONCHITIS),

Is of rather frequent occurrence in the ox. It is usu­
ally caused by exposure or such mechanical causes as the
entry of solid or fluid particles into the air passages, or
the presence of parasites in the lungs.

Symptoms.—Pulse hard ; respirations greatly increased
in number ; cough frequent and distressing ; mucous mem­
branes purple, owing to want of oxidation ; much debility ;
profuse discharge from nostrils, at first watery, afterward
becomes thick ; death may result from suffocation.

Remedy.—Maintain strength ; careful nursing; pure
air. Steam as for catarrh; stimulating applications to
chest and throat. Purge if necessary; injections may be
given. At a later time it is advisable to give diffusible
stimulants, together with vegetable tonics, and allow a
liberal diet.

260                       THE DISEASES OF CATTLE.

CHRONIC BRONCHITIS

Is frequent. There is a persistent hacking cough, gen­
eral weakness, a tendency to slight febrile attacks, ema­
ciation, and inability to undergo exertion. The disorder
may be associated with asthma, lung inflation, and con­
solidation of parts of the lung. Although in many cases
tonics, quiet, and digestible food will do a great deal of
good, slaughter is the best course. The following draft
may be given :

Carbonate ammonium, 3 drams, liquor strychninæ hy-
drochloratis, 2 drams, spirit chloroform, ½ oz., water in
proportion, twice daily.

PARASITIC BRONCHITIS,

Also called hoose or husk, frequently occurs in calves
under a year old, causing considerable mortality. It is
caused by a worm known as the ‘ Strongylus micrurus,'
which is found also in the alimentary canal and in the
heart and blood vessels. It is peculiar to wet seasons and
low, badly drained lands. Calves kept out late in the
autumn, on fields on which animals suffering with the
disease have grazed, are especially liable to it. The cough
is very forcible and has a special hacking character. It
causes the expulsion of stringy mucus, in which parasites
or their ova may be seen with a low power of the micro­
scope, and sometimes with the unaided eye. The calves
become emaciated and there may be diarrhea. The worms
are present in the bronchial tubes and air passages, im­
peding respiration.

Remedy.—Place the severely affected in comfortable
quarters. The bedding on which the discharges fall should
be frequently removed and destroyed. Place the slightly
affected on high and dry pastures. Pure water and rock
salt. Fumigation with the gas from burning sulphur and
iodine is strongly recommended, but it should be used

SIMPLE OR CURABLE PNEUMONIA.

261

cautiously, as the parasites can stand more perhaps than
the calves.

PNEUMONIA (Inflammation of the Lungs),

Is not common in cattle as a distinct disease, being
usually associated with pleurisy. Pneumonia must not be
confounded with the deadly, infectious, and incurable
pleuro-pneumonia already described. Simple, non-infec-
tious pneumonia is usually caused by cold, damp or chill.
It often takes a favorable turn in 10 days, but death may
result in 5, 10, or 14 days.

Symptoms.—Onset usually sudden and characterized
by shivering fits ; respirations increase from 16 (about
the average normal number) to 40 or 70 ; pulse 70 to
100 (the normal pulse being 40 to 50) ; temperature is
raised several degrees (the normal or natural number be­
ing from 101.5 to 102.°5); febrile symptoms very mark­
ed ; skin dry, parched, hot; thirst marked; as a rule—
un­like the horse—sinks to the ground; milk stopped ;
breathing harsh and loud—distinguished by applying ear
to side of chest; cough, though sometimes not marked;
bowels constipated ; urine scanty and high colored; anxious
look; head and neck protruded; as disease progresses,
cough, not often frequent, becomes weak, and blood-
stained expectoration may be thrown up, &c.

Remedy.—Place in well ventilated box or shed. Purge
with a fair dose of Epsom salt in a pint of warm water,
and drench with solutions of carbonate and also acetate
of ammonium and camphor. Digitalis is also sometimes
useful. Apply cloths wrung out of hot water to the chest
every hour while acute symptoms last. Then blister on
one side with mustard and on the other, if it be also
affected, with ointment of cantharides or a strong am­
monia or turpentine liniment. It is customary to bleed
in acute cases, though aconite, in 45-drop doses, is a
good substitute for bleeding. In cases that are slaugh-

262                          THE DISEASES OF CATTLE.

tered for food, aconite, for obvious reasons, must not be
given.

PLEURISY.

Or inflammation of the lining membrane of the chest
and lungs, seldom occurs alone in the ox, for it is nearly
always accompanied by pneumonia. Like pneumonia, it
is usually caused by cold and damp, but it may result
from injury or acute rheumatism.

Symptoms.—Fever; pulse 60 to 70, small and firm;
breathing : inspiration shallow and short, expiration easier
and more prolonged, the chest being fixed as it were, the
walls of the belly moving more, thus compensating for
the shallow motions of the chest walls; sides of chest
and rib spaces tender; by placing ear at side the usual
respiratory murmur may be heard, and in addition a loud
sound, as of leather creaking and rubbing; dejection and
anxiety; eyes half closed ; head droops; ears lop; short,
painful, hacking cough ; appetite diminished or lost, &c.

Fig. 115. Tapping the chest for the dropsical stage of Pleurisy.

In many cases the inflammation gradually subsides and
the animal slowly recovers; but in others water accumu­
lates in the chest and ends sooner or later in dropsy.

REMEDY FOR PLEURISY.

263

The symptoms change and gradually grow worse. If not
relieved by tapping, death soon follows.

Remedy.—No bleeding. After a laxative give a drench
of acetate ammonium, camphor, and nitric ether every 4
hours, with the addition of aconite in acute cases in vig­
orous subjects. Hot cloths and blisters as above for pneu­
monia. Stimulate with carbonate ammonium, iodide pot­
assium, and digitalis, combined, in dram doses. Tincture
perchloride of iron with nux vomica as tonic. Generous
diet.

Acute Pulmonary Congestion occasionally results
from overwork. It is manifested by extreme difficulty in
breathing, profuse cold sweats, cold extremities, very rapid
and almost imperceptible pulse, rapid respirations and
sometimes a mucous discharge, mingled with a little blood,
from the nostrils. The ox lies clown, coughs frequently
and has a wild look.

Bleeding from the Lungs may be due to acute pol-
monary congestion, lung laceration, or consumption. The
blood may flow profusely, vary in color, be mixed with
mucus, and be discharged from both the nose and mouth.

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