e to do so; if water is offered him from a pail he will apparently
drink with avidity, but the quantity of water in the pail will remain
about the same; he will continue by the hour to try to drink; if he can
get any fluid into the back part of the mouth it will come out at once
through the nose. Feeds also return through the nose, or are dropped
from the mouth, quidded. An examination of the mouth by inserting the
hand fails to find any obstruction or any abnormal condition. These
cases go on from bad to worse; the horse constantly and rapidly loses in
condition, becomes very much emaciated, the eyes are hollow and
lusterless, and death occurs from inanition.
Treatment is very unsatisfactory. A severe blister should be applied
behind and under the jaw; the mouth is to be frequently swabbed out with
alum or chlorate of potash, 1 ounce to a pint of water, by means of a
sponge fastened to the end of a stick. Strychnia may be given in 1-grain
doses two or three times a day.
This disease may be mistaken at times for foreign bodies in the mouth or
for the so-called cerebrospinal meningitis. It is to be distinguished
from the former, upon a careful examination of the mouth, by the absence
of any offending body and by the flabby feel of the mouth, and from the
latter by the animal appearing in perfect health in every particular
except this inability to eat or drink.
ABSCESSES.
Abscesses sometimes form back of the pharynx and give rise to symptoms
resembling those of laryngitis or distemper. Interference with breathing
that is of recent origin and progression, without any observable
swelling or soreness about the throat, will make one suspect the
formation of an abscess in this location. But little can be done in the
way of treatment, save to hurry the ripening of the abscess and its
discharge by steaming with hops, hay, or similar substances and by
poulticing the throat. The operation for opening an abscess in this
region necessitates an intimate knowledge of the complex anatomy of the
throat region.
DISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS OR GULLET.
It is rare to find diseases of this organ, except as a result of the
introduction of foreign bodies too large to pass or to the administering
of irritating medicines. In the administration of irritant or caustic
medicines great care should be taken that they be thoroughly diluted. If
this is not done, erosions and ulcerations of the throat ensue, and this
again is prone to be f
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