THE ETHMOID BONES.
There is some difficulty in describing the ethmoid bones; but we shall
not, however, deviate far from the truth if we give the following
account:
A great number of small hollow pedicles proceed from and form around the
cribriform plate; as they move downwards, they project into distinct
vesicles or cavities, smaller and more numerous behind, fewer in number
and larger in front; and each of them not a simple cavity, but more or
less convoluted, while the long walls of those cells are of gossamer
thinness, and as porous as gauze. They even communicate, and are lined,
and externally wrapped together, by the same membrane; the whole
assuming a pear-like form, attached by its base or greater extremity,
and decreasing in size as it proceeds downwards; the cells becoming
fewer, and terminating at length in a kind of apex, which passes under
the superior turbinated bone, and forms a valve between the nasal cavity
and the maxillary sinuses. If to this is added, that the olfactory or
first pair of nerves abut on these cribriform plates, and pass through
their minute openings, and spread themselves over every one of these
cells, we have a tolerably correct picture of this portion of the
ethmoid bones. This nerve has different degrees of development in
different animals, in proportion to their acuteness of smell. There is
comparatively but little necessity for acuteness in the horse. The ox
has occasion for somewhat more, especially in the early part of the
spring, when the plants are young, and have not acquired their peculiar
scent. In the sheep it is larger, and fills the superior portion of the
nasal cavity; but in the dog it seems to occupy that cavity almost to
the exclusion of the turbinated bones. It is also much more fragile in
the dog than in the ox, and the plates have a considerably thinner
structure.
The ethmoid bone of the horse or the ox may be removed from its
situation with little injury; but that of the dog can scarcely be
meddled with without fracture. Below it are the two turbinated bones;
but they are reduced to insignificance by the bulk of the ethmoid bone.
The inferior turbinated bone in the dog is very small, but it is
curiously complicated.
The 'meatus' contains three distinct channels; and the air, loitering,
as it were, in it, and being longer in contact with the sensitive
membrane by which it is lined, contributes to the acuter sense of smell.
The larger cavity is along the floor of the nasal duct. It is the proper
air-passage; and because it has this important function to discharge, it
is out of the way of violence or injury.
The 'lachrymal duct' is the channel through which the superfluous tears
are conveyed to the lower parts of the nostril. A long canal here
commences, and runs down and along the maxillary bone. It is very small,
and terminates in the cuticle, in order that the highly sensitive
membrane of the nose may not be excoriated by the tears occasionally
rendered acrimonious in inflammation of the eye. The oval termination of
this duct is easily brought into view by lifting the nostril.
From some occasional acrimony of the tears, the lining of this duct may
be inflamed and thickened, or some foreign body, or some unctuous matter
from the ciliary glands, may insinuate itself into the duct, and the
fluid accumulates in the sac and distends it, and it bursts; or the
ulcer eats through the integument, and there is a small fistulous
opening beneath the inner canthus of the eye, or there is a constant
discharge from it. It is this constant discharge that prevents the wound
from healing. In some cases the lachrymal bone is involved in the
ulcerative process and becomes carious. In the dog, and particularly in
the smaller spaniel, the watery eye, 'fistula lachrymalis', is of no
unusual occurrence. The fistula will be recognised by a constant,
although perhaps slight, discharge of pus.
The structure and office of the 'velum palati', or veil of the palate,
is in the horse a perfect interposed section between the cavity of the
mouth and the nose, and cutting off all communication between them. In
the dog, who breathes almost entirely through the mouth, the velum
palati is smaller; the tensor muscle, so beautifully described by Mr.
Percivall, is weak, but the circumflex one is stronger and more
developed. When 'coryza' in the dog runs on to catarrh, and the membrane
of the pharynx partakes of the inflammation, the velum palati becomes
inflamed and thickened, but will not act as a perfect communication
between the mouth and the nose. When there is a defluxion from the nose,
tinged by the colour of the food, and particles of food mingle with it,
we have one of the worst symptoms that can present itself, because it
proves the extent and violence of the inflammation.
In inflammatory affections of the membrane of the nose in the dog, we
often observe him snorting in a very peculiar way, with his head
protruding, and the inspiration as forcible as the expiration. An emetic
will usually afford relief, or grain doses of the sulphate of copper.
THE NASAL BONES.
The nasal bones of the dog (see fig. 2, in the head of the dog, page
181) are very small, as they are in all carnivorous animals. Instead of
constituting the roof, and part of the outer wall of the cavity, as in
other animals, the nasal bones form only a portion, and a small one, of
the roof.
The 'superior maxillaries' here swell into importance, and constitute
the whole of the outer wall, and, sometimes, a part of the roof. The
jaws are the weapons of offence and defence; and as much space as
possible is devoted to the insertion of those muscles that will enable
the animal to seize and to hold his prey. One of the most powerful of
them, the 'masseter', rises from the superior maxillary bone, and
spreads over its whole extent: therefore, that bone is developed, while
the nasal bone is compressed into a very small space. The substitution
of a portion of cartilage, instead of bone, at the posterior part of the
orbital ring, in order to give more play for the coracoid process of the
posterior maxillary, round which the temporal bone is wrapped, is a
contrivance of the same nature.
The scent of the dog is not sacrificed or impaired by the apparent
diminution of the nasals; for the cavity enlarges considerably upward,
and is occupied chiefly by the 'ethmoid bone', which, having the greater
portion of nervous pulp spread on it, seems to have most to do with the
sense of smell.
The nasal bones of the dog are essentially different from those of the
horse, cattle, and sheep. They commence, indeed, as high up in the face
as those of the horse, their superior extremities being opposite to the
lachrymal gland; but that commencement is an apex or point varying
materially in different breeds. They form, altogether, one sharp
projection, and are received within breeds these processes extend nearly
one-third of the length of the nasals.
The superior maxillary (3.3.) takes the situation of the nasal (2.),
pushes the lachrymal bone (4.) out of its place, and almost annihilates
it, reaches the frontal bone (7.) and expands upon it, and forms with it
the same denticulated suture which is to be seen in the nasal. The
action of the muscle between these bones, and for the development of
which all this sacrifice is made, is exceedingly powerful. The strength
of this muscle in a large dog is almost incredible: the sutures between
these bones must possess corresponding strength; and so strong is the
union between them, that, in many old dogs, the suture between the
superior maxillary and frontal bones is nearly obliterated, and that
between the nasal and frontal maxillary quite effaced.
As the nasal bones proceed downward they become somewhat wider. They
unite with a long process of the anterior maxillary for the purpose of
strength, and then terminate in a singular way. They have their apexes
or points on the outer edge of the bone; and these apexes or points are
so contrived, that, lying upon, and seemingly losing themselves, on the
processes of the anterior maxillary, they complete, superiorly and
posteriorly, that elliptical bony opening into the nose which was
commenced by the maxillary anteriorly and inferiorly. The nasal cavity
of the dog, therefore, and of all carnivorous animals, terminates by a
somewhat circular opening, more or less in the form of an ellipse. This
bony aperture varies in size in different dogs, and, as we should expect
from what we have seen of the adaptation of structure to the situation
and wants of the animal, it is largest in those on whom we are most
dependent for speed and stoutness.
The 'olfactory', or first pair of nerves, have a double origin, namely,
from the 'corpus striatum' and the base of the 'corpus callosum'. They
are prolongations of the medullary substance of the central portion of
the brain. They are the largest of the cerebral nerves. Their course is
exceedingly short; and they have not a single anastomosis, in order that
the impression made on them may be conveyed undisturbed and perfect to
the brain.
The olfactory nerve is a prolongation of the substance of the brain, and
it abuts upon the cribriform bone, of which mention has been made. I
will not speak of the singular cavities which it contains, nor of their
function; this belongs to the sensorial system: but its pulpy matter has
already been traced to the base of the ethmoid bone, and the under part
of the septum, and the superior turbinated bone. Although we soon lose
it in the mucous membrane of the nose, there is little doubt that in a
more filmy form it is spread over the whole of the cavity, and probably
over all the sinuses of the face and head. It is, however, so mingled
with the mucous membrane, that no power of the lens has enabled us to
follow it so far. It is like the 'portio mollis of the seventh pair,
eluding the eye, but existing in sufficient substances for the
performance of its important functions.
We have frequent cases of 'Ozæna' in old dogs, and sometimes in those
that are younger. The discharge from the nostril is abundant and
constant, and sometimes fetid. The Schneiderian membrane, of more than
usual sensibility in this animal, is exposed to many causes of
irritation, and debilitated and worn out before its time. Pugs are
particularly subject to Ozæna. I scarcely ever knew a very old pug that
had it not to a greater or less degree. The peculiar depression between
the nasal and frontal bones in this breed of dogs, while it almost
totally obliterates the frontal sinuses, may narrow the air-passage at
that spot, and cause greater irritation there from the unusual rush of
the air, and especially if the membrane becomes inflamed or any foreign
body insinuates itself.
Little can be done in these cases, except to encourage cleanliness about
the face and nostrils. It is, in the majority of these cases, a disease
of old age, and must take its course.
A terrier uttered a continual loud stertorous sound in breathing, which
could be plainly heard in our parlour when the dog was in the hospital.
The animal was evidently much oppressed and in considerable pain. He
made continual, and generally ineffectual, efforts to sneeze. When he
did succeed, a very small quantity of pus-like fluid was discharged; the
dog was then considerably relieved, but a quarter of an hour afterwards
he was as bad as ever. I ordered a slight emetic every third day. There
was some relief for seven or eight hours, and then he was as bad as
ever. I could neither feel nor see any cause of obstruction. The owner
became tired, and the dog was taken away; but we could not learn what
became of it.
Another terrier was occasionally brought for consultation. The dog
breathed with considerable difficulty, and occasionally snorted with the
greatest violence, and bloody purulent matter was discharged; after
which he was somewhat relieved; but, in the course of a few days, the
obstruction was as great as ever. I am not aware of a single instances
of this affection of the pug being completely removed. The discharge
from the nostrils of the bull-dog is often considerable, and, once being
thoroughly established, is almost as obstinate as in the pug.
OZÆNA.
Ozæna, or fetid discharge from the nose, is, perhaps, the most
troublesome and frequent affection that this organ is subject to; it is
attended, at first, with slight fever, swelling of the parts, and a
fetid discharge from the nostrils, which, if not corrected in the early
stage of the disease, subsides into a chronic purulent secretion, that
not only weakens the dog, but renders him peculiarly offensive. Caries
and destruction of the bones of the nose will ultimately take place.
'Causes'.--Inflammation of the lining membrane of the nose, either
idiopathic, or arising from distemper, or other morbid disturbance of
the system. It may also be a symptom, or the produce, of polypi in this
organ.
'Treatment'.--In commencing the treatment of this disease, it will be
necessary first to prescribe some alterative medicines, as balls of
aloes and rhubarb, and protect the animal from all severe atmospherical
vicissitudes. This precaution, in connexion with mild astringent
injections into the seat of the disorder, will generally effect a cure.
'Injections for Ozæna'.
No. 1.
[Symbol: Rx] Sulphate of Zinc.........................grs. v to x.
Water..............................[Symbol: ounce] i.
Mix.
No. 2.
[Symbol: Rx] Alum.............................[Symbol: scruple] ii.
Water..............................[Symbol: ounce] i.
Mix
No. 3.
[Symbol: Rx] Chloride of Soda........................grs. v. to x.
Water..............................[Symbol: ounce] i.
Mix.
No. 4.
[Symbol: Rx] Teneriffe, Madeira or Sherry wine..[Symbol: ounce] i.
Extract of Tannin.............................grs. iv.
Mix.
[Any of the above injections will answer a good purpose. No. 3 is
particularly useful to correct the fetidness of the discharge. When the
disease is an old chronic affection, it should not be arrested too
suddenly by astringent injections; in such cases it will be better to
insert a seton in the poll, and thus keep up a drain from the system
after the suppression of the other.--L.]
THE SENSE OF SMELL.
In the dog we trace the triumph of 'olfactory power'. How indistinct
must be that scent which is communicated to, and lingers on, the ground
by the momentary contact of the foot of the hare, the fox, or the deer;
yet the hound, of various breeds, recognises it for hours, and some
sportsmen have said for more than a day. He also can not only
distinguish the scent of one species of animal from another, but that of
different animals of the same species. The fox-hound, well broken-in,
will rarely challenge at the scent of the hare, nor will he be imposed
upon when the crafty animal that he pursues has taken refuge in the
earth, and thrusts out a new victim before the pack.
The sense of smelling is, to a certain degree, acute in all dogs. It is
a provision wisely and kindly made, in order to guide them to their
proper food, or to fit them for our service. It may possibly be the
medium through which much evil is communicated. Certain particles of a
deleterious nature may be, and doubtless are, arrested by the mucous
membrane of the nose, and there absorbed, and the constitution, to a
considerable degree, becomes affected. Hence appears the necessity for
attention to ventilation, and especially to prevent the membrane of the
nose from being habitually stimulated and debilitated by the effluvia
generated in a close and hot kennel.
M. Majendie instituted some curious experiments on the sense of
smelling, and he was led to believe that it depended more on the fifth
pair of nerves than on the olfactory nerve. He divided the fifth pair,
and from that moment no odour, no puncture, produced the slightest
apparent impression on the membrane of the nose. In another dog he
destroyed the two olfactory nerves, and placed some strong odours
beneath the nostrils of the animal. The dog conducted himself as he
would have done in his ordinary state. Hence he concluded it probable
that the olfactory nerve was not that of smelling.
The simple fact, however, is, that there are two species of nerves here
concerned--those of common and of peculiar sensation. The olfactory
nerve is the nerve of smelling, the fifth pair is that of common
sensation. They are to a certain degree necessary to each other.
'Scent'.--This leads us to the consideration of the term "scent." It
expresses the odour or effluvium which is constantly issuing from every
animal, and especially when that animal is in more than usual exercise.
In a state of heat or excitement, the pores of the skin appear relaxed,
and a fluid or aqueous vapour is secreted, which escapes in small or
large quantities, adheres to the persona or substances on which it
falls, and is, particularly, received on the olfactory organs. The
hound, at almost the earliest period, begins to comprehend the work
which he has to perform. The peculiar scent which his nostrils imbibe
urges him eagerly to pursue but the moment he ceases to be conscious of
the presence of the effluvium, he is at a perfect loss.
Mr. Daniel, in his work on the Chase, very properly observes, that "the
scent most favourable to the hound is when the effluvium, constantly
perspired from the game as it runs, is kept by the gravity of the air at
the height of his breast. It is then neither above his reach nor does he
need to stoop for it. This is what is meant when the scent is said to be
breast-high."
When the leaves begin to fall, the scent does not lie well in the cover.
It frequently alters materially in the same day. This depends
principally on the condition of the ground and the temperature of the
air, which should be moist but not wet. When the ground is hard and the
air dry, there will seldom be much scent. The scent rarely lies with a
north or east wind. A southerly wind without rain is the best. Sudden
storms are sure to destroy the scent. A fine sunshiny day is not good;
but a warm day without sun is always a good one. If, as the morning
advances, the drops begin to hang on the bushes, the scent will not lie.
During a white frost the scent lies high, and also when the frost is
quite gone; but at the time of its going off the scent never lies. In a
hard rain, if the air is mild, the scent will sometimes be very good. A
wet night often produces the best chases. In heathy countries, where the
game brushes the grass or the boughs as it goes along, the scent seldom
fails. It lies best on the richest soils; but the countries that are
favourable to horses are not always so to hounds. The morning usually
affords the best scent, and the game is then least able to escape. The
want of rest, added perhaps to a full belly, gives the hounds a decided
superiority over an early-found fox; and the condition of the ground and
the temperature of the air are circumstances of much importance.
Such are the results of the best observations on scent; but, after all,
we have much to learn concerning it. Many a day that predicated to be a
good one for scent has turned out a very bad one, and 'vice versa'. An
old or experienced sportsman, knowing this, will never presume to make
sure of his scent.
We shall be forgiven if we pursue this subject a little at length.
There is not only a constant appropriation of new matter to repair the
losses that animals are continually sustaining, but there is a constant
elaboration of gaseous or fluid matter maintaining the balance of the
different systems, and essential to the continuance of life. This
effluvium, as the animal moves from place to place, is attracted and
detained for a while by the substances with which it comes into contact,
or it remains floating in the atmosphere.
There is a peculiar smell or scent belonging to each individual, either
generally or under peculiar circumstances.
The sportsman takes advantage of this; and, as most species of dogs
possess great acuteness of olfactory power, they can distinguish, or
are readily taught to distinguish, not only the scent of the hare from
that of the fox, but that of the hare or fox which they are pursuing
from that of half a dozen others that may be started during the chase.
The dogs that are selected for this purpose are those the conformation
of whose face and head gives ample room for the development of the
olfactory apparatus, and these are the different species of hounds; but
a systematic education, and too often a great deal of unnecessary
cruelty, is resorted to, in order to make them perfect in their work.
The distinction between the scent of the fox and that of the hare is
soon learned by the respective packs; and, when it is considered that
the hunted hare is perspiring at every pore, and her strength being
almost exhausted, she is straining every limb to escape from her
pursuers, the increasing quantity of vapour which exudes from her will
prevent every other newly started animal from being mistaken for her.
It has been well observed that when the atmosphere is loaded with
moisture, and rain is at hand, the gas is speedily dissolved and mingles
with the surrounding air. A storm dissipates it at once, while the
cessation of the rain is preceded by the return and increased power of
scent. A cold, dry easterly wind condenses and absorbs it, and this is
even more speedily and irretrievably done by superabundant moisture. On
fallows and beaten roads the scent rarely lies well, for there is
nothing to detain it, and it is swept away in a moment; while over a
luxuriant pasture, or by the hedge-row, or on the coppice, it lingers,
clinging to the grass or the bushes. In a sunshiny day the scent is
seldom strong; for too much of it is evaporated by the heat. The most
favourable period is a soft southerly wind without rain, the scent being
of the same temperature and gravity with the atmosphere. Although it
spreads over the level, it rises not far above the ground, and, being
'breast high', enables the hound, keeping his muzzle in the midst of it,
to run at his greatest speed. The different manners or attitudes in
which the dog runs afford pleasing and satisfactory illustrations of the
nature of the scent. Sometimes they will be seen galloping with their
noses in the air, as if their game had flown away, and, an hour or two
afterwards, every one of them will have his muzzle on the ground. The
specific gravity of the atmosphere has changed, and the scent has risen
of fallen in proportion.
A westerly wind stands next to a southerly one, for a hunting morning.
This is all simple enough, and needs not the mystification with which it
has been surrounded. A valuable account of this may be found in
Johnson's Shooting Companion, a work that is justly and highly approved.
Mr. Delmé Radcliffe has also, in his splendid work on "the noble
science," some interesting remarks on the scent of hounds. He says that
there is an idiosyncracy, a peculiarity, in their several dispositions.
Some young hounds seem to enter on their work instinctively. From their
first to their last appearance in the field they do no wrong. Others,
equally good, will take no notice of anything; they will not stoop to
any scent during the first season, and are still slack at entering even
at the second; but are ultimately distinguished at the head of the pack;
and such usually last some seasons longer than the more precocious of
the same litter.
THE TONGUE.
The manner of drinking is different in the different animals. The horse,
the ox, and the sheep do not plunge their muzzles into the water, but
bring their lips into contact with it and sip it gradually. The dog,
whose tongue is longer, plunges it a little way into the fluid, and,
curving its tip and its edges, laps, in the language of Johnson, with a
"quick reciprocation of the tongue." The horse sucks the water that is
placed before him, the dog laps it; and both of them are subject to
inflammation of the tongue, to enlargement of that organ, and to a
considerable or constant flow of saliva over it.
Extending from the base to the tip of the tongue there is on either side
a succession of tendons, which help to retain the tongue in the mouth,
and to curve the edge of it, so as to convey the food or the water to
the posterior part of the mouth. These all spring from one central cord,
and ramify over the membrane of the tongue. On opening the mouth, and
keeping it open by means of two pieces of tape, one behind the upper
canine teeth, and the other behind the lower ones, and drawing the
tongue from the mouth and exposing its under surface, a cuticular fold
or ridge will present itself, occupying a middle line from the base of
the tongue to its very point. If this is opened with a lancet, a minute
fibrous cord will be exposed through its whole extent. It is the cord
which governs the motions of the tongue.
This cord is, sometimes, foolishly and uselessly detached from its
adhesions, so far as we can effect it, and drawn forward with a
tenaculum and divided. There is one abominable course pursued in
effecting this. The violence used in stripping down the tendon is so
great, and the lacerated fibrous substance is put so much on the stress,
and its natural elasticity is so considerable, that it recoils and
assumes the appearance of a dying worm, and the dog is said to have been
wormed. For the sake of humanity, as well as to avoid the charge of
ignorance, it is to be hoped that this practice will speedily cease.
THE BLAIN.
The blain is a vesicular enlargement on the lateral and under part of
the tongue in horses, oxen, and dogs, which, although not of unfrequent
occurrence, or peculiarly fatal result, has not been sufficiently
noticed by veterinary authors. In the horse and the dog it is often
unaccompanied by any previous indisposition, or by other disease; but
suddenly there is a copious discharge of saliva, at first limpid and
without smell, but soon becoming purulent, bloody, and exceedingly
fetid. On examination, the tongue is found apparently enlarged. It is
elevated from its base between the maxillary bones, and on the side and
towards the base of it are seen large vesicles, pellucid, red, livid, or
purple; and, if the discharge is fetid, having near their bases ulcers,
irregular, unhealthy, and gangrenous.
In the horse and the dog the progress of the disease is slow, and seldom
extends beyond the sides of the tongue. The vesicles are not of such
magnitude as to interfere with respiration, and the ulcers are neither
many nor foul.
In cattle it is sadly different. The vesicles attain an enormous size.
They quickly break and form deep ulcerations, which are immediately
succeeded by other vesicles still larger. The whole membrane of the
mouth becomes affected; the inflammation and swelling extend to the
cellular substance of the neighbouring parts, and the head and neck are
considerably, and sometimes enormously, enlarged; the respiratory
passages are obstructed; the animal breathes with the greatest
difficulty, and is, in some cases, literally suffocated.
The primary seat of blain, is the cellular substance beneath the
integument of the part. As the sublingual glands stretch along the under
part of the tongue, and their ducts open on the side of the frænum, it
is possible that this disease may proceed from, or be connected with,
obstruction or inflammation of these ducts. Dissection, however, has not
proved this; and the seat of the disease, when the swellings are first
discovered, is chiefly the cellular tissue between the integument and
the lateral parts of the tongue, and also that between the membrane of
the mouth and the sublingual glands.
'Post-mortem' examination shows intense disease: the small intestines
are highly inflamed with red and black patches, which are also found in
the c¾cum, colon, and rectum.
The blain is more frequent in spring and summer than at other seasons of
the year. These are the times when the animal is debilitated by the
process of moulting, and is then more than usually disposed to
inflammatory complaints. It is usually an epidemic disease. Many cases
of it occur about the same time in certain districts, and over a great
extent of country. When it appears in towns, the country is rarely
exempt from it. I am not prepared lo say that it is contagious either in
the horse or the dog. I have not seen any instance of it. At all events,
it is not so virulent in these animals as it is in cattle.
The vesicles should be freely lanced from end to end. There will not,
perhaps, be much immediate discharge; for the vesicle will be distended
by a substance imperfectly organised, or of such a glassy or inspissated
nature as not readily to escape. It will, however, soon disappear; and
in four-and-twenty hours, in the majority of cases, the only vestige of
the disease will be an incision, not, perhaps, looking very healthy, but
that will soon become so and heal. If there have been any previous
ulcerations, or the slightest fetor, the mouth should he frequently
washed with a diluted solution of the chloride of lime; one part of the
saturated solution, and eleven of water. This will act as a powerful and
useful stimulus to the foul and indolent ulcer. When all unpleasant
smell is removed, the mouth should be bathed with a lotion composed of
equal parts of tincture of myrrh and water, or half an ounce of alum
dissolved in a quart of water, and two ounces of the tincture of catechu
added to the solution. I do not recollect a case in the horse or dog, in
which these medicines were not employed with advantage. In cattle,
before there has been fetor attending the discharge, or the constitution
has been materially affected, these simple means will perfectly succeed.
If the practitioner is consulted somewhat too late, when the
constitution has become affected, and typhoid fever has ensued, he
should still lance the tumours, and apply the chloride of lime and the
tincture of myrrh, and give a gentle aperient. He should endeavour to
rouse and support the system by tonic medicines, as gentian and colomba
with ginger, adding to two drachms of the first two, and one drachm of
the last, half an ounce of nitre; but he should place most dependence on
nourishing food. Until the mouth is tolerably sound, it is probable that
the animal will not be induced to eat; but it will occasionally sip a
little fluid, and, therefore, gruel should be always within its reach.
More should occasionally be given, as thick as it will flow, with a
spoon or small horn.
[INFLAMMATION OF THE TONGUE.
Glossitis or inflammation of the tongue is not an unfrequent disease,
but is occasionally met with in its simple form or in connexion with
inflammatory affections of the throat. Under all and any circumstances
this affection must be considered a dangerous malady, as it not
unfrequently proves fatal in the course of a few hours from suffocation,
occasioned by the swelling of the organ itself and other portions of the
throat. The disease comes on suddenly with fever, heat, swelling and
redness of the tongue. The tongue protrudes from the mouth and exhibits
a dry, hot, inflammatory appearance, the respiration is hurried, and the
animal expresses great uneasiness, and constant desire to lap water,
which he can with difficulty accomplish. If not arrested, the
inflammation may terminate in suppuration, by which process the swelling
is relieved, and a cure often effected.
'Causes'.--Independent of the natural agents before referred to in the
production of inflammatory affections, there are some few causes to
which we can especially attribute this disease. Direct injuries done to
the member itself, either by wounds or stings of insects, the taking of
poisonous or irritating substances into the mouth, want of water while
hunting in hot weather, &c.
Several years ago we witnessed the death of a very valuable pointer,
suffering from this disease produced by poison maliciously administered.
He was affected so suddenly and violently with inflammation of the
throat and tongue that his owner, Mr. F--, was lead to believe that a
bone had lodged in the throat, which was the occasion of all the
trouble. After proper examination and considerable delay, he was forced
to abandon this erroneous idea, but not in time to save the poor animal,
who soon died from strangulation or congestion of the lungs. This
valuable dog might have been saved if promptly and energetically treated.
The stings of wasps or bees may also produce this affection.
'Treatment'.--Nothing can be done with this malady without the use of
the lancet, by which six or eight ounces of blood should be drawn at the
commencement of the disease. If the tongue is much swollen and very
tender, longitudinal incisions should be made in it, extending as far
back as possible, and their bleeding assisted by sponging the mouth out
with tepid water. Astringent applications may then be used as washes,
such as alum water, strong vinegar, infusions of oak bark or solutions
of nitrate of silver, four or six grains to the ounce, to be applied
once or twice a day. A large blister may also be placed under the
throat, and when the inflammation is sufficiently reduced to allow the
introduction of articles into the stomach, a powerful purge of aloes
should be given. Nothing, however, can be done without copious
bleeding.--L.]
THE LIPS
of the dog discharge, with somewhat less efficiency, the same office as
in the horse, cattle, and sheep; and are usefully employed in gathering
together the food, and conveying it to the mouth. The lips also secrete
the saliva, a fluid that is indispensably necessary for the proper
comminution of the food.
Swellings on the inside of the cheek or upper lip, and extending nearly
to the angle of the lip, are of frequent occurrence. A superficial sore
spreads over it, slightly covered by a yellowish, mattery pellicle; and
on the teeth, and extending down the gums, there is a deposition of
hardened tartarous matter, which is scaled off with a greater or less
degree of difficulty. It must be removed, or the sore will rapidly
spread over the cheek. A lotion of equal parts of tincture of myrrh and
water, with a few drops of the tincture of cantharides, will be usually
sufficient to cause the swelling to subside, and the pellicle to be
detached. The lip, however, will generally remain slightly thickened. A
little soreness will sometimes return, but be easily reduced.
THE TEETH
next claim attention.
According to the dentition of the dog by M. Girard and Linnæus, the
following is the acknowledged formula:
Incisors, 5/6; Canines, (1-1)/(1-1); Molars, (6-6)/(7-7),=42.
The following cuts exhibit the front teeth of the dog in various
stages of growth and decay:
[Seven illustrations, shown in full in the html version of this text.]
The full-grown dog has usually 20 teeth in the upper, and 22 in the
lower jaw, with two small supernumerary molars. All of them, with the
exception of the tushes, are provided with a bony neck covered by the
gums, and separating the body of the tooth from the root. The projecting
portion of the teeth is more or less pointed, and disposed so as to tear
and crush the food on which the dog lives. They are of a moderate size
when compared with those of other animals, and are subject to little
loss of substance compared with the teeth of the horse. In most of them,
however, there is some alteration of form and substance, both in the
incisors and the tushes; but this depends so much on the kind of food on
which the animal lives, and the consequent use of the teeth, that the
indication of the age, by the altered appearance of the mouth, is not to
be depended upon after the animal is four or five years old. The incisor
teeth are six in number in each jaw, and are placed opposite to each
other. In the lower jaw, the pincers, or central teeth, are the largest
and the strongest; the middle teeth are somewhat less; and the corner
teeth the smallest and the weakest. In the upper jaw, however, the
corner teeth are much larger than the middle ones; they are farther
apart from their neighbours, and they terminate in a conical point
curved somewhat inwards and backwards.
As long as the teeth of the full-grown dog are whole, and not injured by
use, they have a healthy appearance, and their colour is beautifully
white. The surface of the incisors presents, as in the ruminants, an
interior and cutting edge, and a hollow or depression within. This edge
or border is divided into three lobes, the largest and most projecting
forming the summit or point of the tooth. The two lateral lobes have the
appearance of notches cut on either side of the principal lobe; and the
union of the three resembles the 'fleur de lis', which, however, is in
the process of time effaced by the wearing out of the teeth. (Figs. 3
and 4.)
While the incisor teeth are young, they are flattened on their sides,
and bent somewhat backwards, and there is a decided cavity, in which a
pulpy substance is enclosed. This, however, is gradually contracted as
the age of the dog increases.
M. F. Cuvier speaks of certain supernumerary teeth occasionally
developed in each of the jaws. There is much irregularity accompanying
them; and they have even been supposed to have extended to seven or
eight in number.
THE INDICATIONS OF AGE.
The dog displays natural indications of age. The hair turns gray to a
certain extent as in the human being. This commences about the eyes, and
extends over the face, and weakens the sight; and, at ten years old, or
earlier, in the majority of dogs, this can scarcely be mistaken. At
fifteen or sixteen years the animal is becoming a nuisance, yet he has
been known to linger on until he has reached his two-and-twentieth year.
Among the diseases from which the dog suffers, there are few of more
frequent occurrence than decayed teeth, especially in towns, or in the
habitations of the higher classes of society: the carious teeth, in
almost every case, becoming insufferably fetid, or so loose as to
prevent mastication; or an immense accumulation of tartar growing round
them.
The course which the veterinary surgeon pursues is an exceedingly simple
one. If any of the teeth are considerably loose, they must be removed.
If there is any deposit of tartaric acid, it must be got rid of by means
of the proper instruments, not very different from those which the human
surgeon employs. The teeth must be perfectly cleaned, and every loose
one taken away. Without this the dog will be an almost insufferable
nuisance. The decayed and loose teeth being removed, chlorinated lime
diluted with 15 or 20 times its bulk of water should be applied to the
gums. By the use of this the ulcers will quickly heal; the fetor will be
removed, and the deposition of the tartar prevented. Mr. Blaine first
introduced the chlorinated lime for the accomplishment of these
purposes.
Two little histories out of a great number will sufficiently illustrate
these cases. A terrier had scarcely eaten during more than a week. He
dropped his meat after attempting to chew it, and the breath was very
offensive. Several of the teeth were loose, and the rest were thickly
encrusted with tartar. The gums had receded from the teeth, and were
red, sore, and ulcerated.
I removed all the loose teeth; for experience had taught me that they
rarely or never became again fixed. I next, with the forceps and knife,
cleaned the others, and ordered the diluted chlorinated lime to be
alternated with tincture of myrrh and water. The extraction of the loose
teeth, and the removal of the tartar from those that were sound,
occupied a full hour; for the dog resisted with all his might. He,
however, soon began to eat; the lotions were continued; and five months
afterwards, the mouth of the dog was not in the slightest degree
offensive.
An old dog should not be quite abandoned. A pug had only four teeth
remaining beside the canines. They were all thickly covered with tartar,
and two of them were very loose. The gums and lips were in a dreadfully
cankerous state, and the dog was unable to eat. All that he could do was
to lap a little milk or broth.
I extracted the two loose teeth, cleaned the others, and ordered a
lotion of equal parts of tincture of myrrh and water to be applied.
'13th August', 1842.--A very considerable discharge of pus was observed,
with blood from the mouth, apparently proceeding from the cavity whence
one of the teeth had been extracted. The dog is exceedingly thirsty, and
walks round and round the water-dish, but is afraid to lap. He has not
eaten for two days. Use the lotion as before, and force him with strong
soup.
'15th.' The dog has not voluntarily eaten, but is still forced with
soup. He is very costive. Give two grains of calomel and an equal
quantity of antimonial powder.
'18th.' He has eaten a very little, but gets thinner and weaker.
Continue the lotion.
'27th.' The ulcers are nearly healed, and the discharge of pus has
ceased.
'31st.' The mouth is clean, the gums are healed, and there is no longer
anything offensive about the dog.
THE LARYNX
is placed at the top of the windpipe, the exit from the lungs, and is
also connected with the Schneiderian membrane. At its upper part is the
epiglottis, the main guard against the passage of the food into the
respiratory tubes, and, at the same time, of the instrument of the
voice. It consists of five cartilages united together by a ligamentous
substance, and, by distinct and perfect articulations, adapting itself
to every change of the respiratory process and the production of the
voice.
At the base is the 'cricoid cartilage,' the support and bond of union of
the rest. Above are the 'arytenoid cartilages,' resting on the 'chorda
vocales' and influencing their action. The 'epiglottis' is placed at the
extremity of the opening into the windpipe, with its back opposed to the
pharynx, so that when a pellet of food passes from the pharynx in its
way to the oesophagus, the epiglottis is applied over the glottis, and by
this means closes the aperture of the larynx, and prevents any portion
of the food from passing into it. The food having passed over the
epiglottis, that cartilage, from its elastic power, again rises and
resumes its former situation.
The 'thyroid cartilage' envelopes and protects all the rest, and
particularly the lining membrane of the larynx, which vibrates from the
impulse of the air that passes. The vibrations spread in every direction
until they reach the delicate membrane of the tympanum of the ear. That
membrane responds to the motion without, and the vibration is carried on
to the pulp of the auditory nerve, deep in the recesses of the ear. The
loudness of the tone--its acuteness or graveness--depends on the force
of the expired air and the shortening or lengthening of the chord. Hence
it is, that the tone of the bark of the dog, or the neighing of the
horse, depends so much on the age or size of the animal. Thus we compare
the shrill bark of the puppy with the hoarse one of the adult dog; the
high-toned but sweet music of the beagle with the fuller and lower cry
of the fox-hound, and the deep but melodious baying of the mastiff. I
may, perhaps, be permitted to add to these, the whinnying of the colt
and the neighing of the horse.
Each animal has his peculiar and intelligible language. He who has long
lived among them will recognise the tone of delight at meeting, rising
into and terminating in a sharper sound; the strong and elevated tone
when they are calling to or challenging each other at a distance; the
short expression of anger--the longer, deeper, hoarser tone of fear; the
murmur almost as deep, but softer, of habitual attachment, and the
elevated yet melodious token of sudden recognition. I could carry on a
conversation with a dog that I once possessed for several minutes, and
one perfectly intelligible to both.
Inflammation of the larynx is a frequent and dangerous complaint. It
usually commences with, and can scarcely be distinguished from, catarrh,
except that it is attended by cough more violent and painful, and the
dog expectorates considerably. Acute laryngitis is not so frequent an
occurrence; but there is much danger attending it. Blood must be
abstracted to as great an extent as the pulse will bear, or until it
becomes evidently affected. To this must follow digitalis, nitre, tartar
emetic, and aloes, and to these must be added a powerful blister. A
considerable quantity is effused and organized, the membrane is
thickened, perhaps permanently so, and the whole of the submucous
cellular tissue becomes oedematous.
The dog is subject to sudden attacks of 'angina'. It has been imagined,
from the appearances that are manifested, that some strange body is
arrested in the windpipe or the throat. There is no dread of water or of
the usual fluids; the dog will lap once or twice from that fluid which
is placed before him, and turns slowly away from it; and this
circumstance gives rise to what is called dumb madness. The dog barks in
a particular manner, or rather howls like a rabid dog: he is out of
spirits, has a strange, anxious, altered countenance, and is alternately
cold and hot. Frequently added to this is redness of the buccal and
nasal membranes. He refuses all solid food, and either will not drink or
finds it difficult to swallow anything. His mouth is generally open, and
contains a spumy matter exhaling an offensive smell. His tongue, charged
with a great quantity of saliva, protrudes from his mouth, and the
submaxillary glands are enlarged. To these appearances are added a
yellow tint of the eyes, constipation, and a small quantity of urine,
surcharged with a deep yellow colour. At this period the disease has
generally reached a considerable degree of virulence. Often the
inflammation extends to the back part of the mouth and larynx; and in
this last case the respiration is attended by a hoarse, hissing kind of
sound.
The progress of the disease is rapid, and, in a few days, it reaches its
highest degree of intensity. It is always fatal when it is intense; and,
when its influence is widely spread, it is a very dangerous complaint.
Somewhat rarely the subjects of it recover. After death we find great
redness and injection in all the affected nervous surfaces, and
indications of abscesses in which suppuration was not fully established.
FOREIGN ARTICLES IN THE THROAT
When a substance, such as a bone, has become impacted in the throat, the
better plan is to attempt to push it downwards into the stomach, as
there is but little hope of extracting it.
[A portion of sponge may be securely tied on the end of a piece of
ratan, whalebone, or other flexible material, and inserted in the mouth,
may be carried over the tongue down the throat against the foreign
article, which may then be gently pushed before it. If this should not
succeed, and the substance appears firmly imbedded in the throat, an
incision may be made in the oesophagus and the bone extracted.--L.]
BRONCHOCELE OR GOITRE
in the dog is almost daily forced upon our notice. If a spaniel or
pug-puppy is mangy, pot-bellied, rickety, or deformed, he seldom fails
to have some enlargement of the thyroid gland. The spaniel and the pug
are most subject to this disease. The jugular vein passes over the
thyroid gland; and, as that substance increases, the vein is sometimes
brought into sight, and appears between the gland and the integuement,
fearfully enlarged, varicose, and almost appearing as if it were
bursting. The trachea is pressed upon on either side, and the oesophagus
by the left gland, and there is difficulty of swallowing. The poor
animal pants distressingly after the least exertion, and I have known
absolute suffocation ensue. In a few cases ulceration has followed, and
the sloughing has been dreadful, yet the gland has still preserved its
characteristic structure. Although numerous abscesses have been formed
in the lower part of it, and there has been considerable discharge,
viscid or purulent, the upper part has remained as hard and almost as
scirrhous as before.
'Cause of Goitre'.--In many cases, this enlargement of the thyroid
glands is plainly connected with a debilitated state of the constitution
generally, and more particularly with a disposition to rickets. I have
rarely seen a puppy that had had mange badly, and especially if mange
was closely followed by distemper, that did not soon exhibit goitre.
Puppies half-starved, and especially if dirtily kept, are thus affected;
and it is generally found connected with a loose skin, flabby muscles,
enlarged belly, and great stupidity. On the other hand, I have seen
hundreds of dogs, to all appearance otherwise healthy, in whom the
glands of the neck have suddenly and frightfully enlarged. I have never
been able to trace this disease to any particular food, whether solid or
liquid; although it is certainly the frequent result of want of
nutriment.
Some friends, of whom I particularly inquired, assured me, that it is
not to any great extent prevalent in those parts of Derbyshire where
goitre is oftenest seen in the human being.
It is periodical in the dog. I have seen it under medical treatment, and
without medical treatment, perfectly disappear for a while, and soon
afterwards, without any assignable cause, return. There is a breed of
the Blenheim spaniel, in which this periodical goitre is very
remarkable; the slightest cold is accompanied by enlargement of the
thyroid gland, but the swelling altogether disappears in the course of a
fortnight. I am quite assured that it is hereditary; no one that is
accustomed to dogs can doubt this for a moment.
'Treatment'.--I am almost ashamed to confess how many inefficient and
cruel methods of treatment I many years ago adopted. I used mercurial
friction, external stimulants, and blisters; I have been absurd enough
to pass setons through the tumours, and even to extirpate them with the
knife. The mercury salivated without any advantage, the stimulants and
the blisters aggravated the evil; the setons did so in a tenfold degree,
so that many dogs were lost in the irritative fever tint was produced;
and, although the gland, when directed out, could not be reproduced, yet
I have been puzzled with the complication of vessels around it, and in
one case lost my patient by hemorrhage, which I could not arrest.
When the power of iodine in the dispersion of glandular tumours was
first spoken of, I eagerly tried it for this disease, and was soon
satisfied that it was almost a specific. I scarcely recollect a case in
which the glands have not very materially diminished; and, in the
decided majority of cases, they have been gradually reduced to their
natural size. I first tried an ointment composed of the iodine of
potassium and lard, with some, but not a satisfactory result. Next I
used the tincture of iodine, in doses of from five to ten drops, and
with or without any external local application; but I found, at length,
that the simple iodine, made into pills with powdered gum and syrup,
effected almost all that I could wish. It is best to commence with the
eighth of a grain for a small dog, and rapidly increase it to half a
grain, morning and night. A larger dog may take from a quarter of a
grain to a grain. In a few instances, loss of appetite and slight
emaciation have been produced; but then, the medicine being suspended
for a few days, no permanent ill effect has ever followed the exhibition
of iodine.
PHLEGMONOUS TUMOUR.
A phlegmonous tumour under the throat, and accompanied by constitutional
disturbance, with the exception of there being little or no cough, often
appears in the dog. Comparing the size of the animals, these tumours are
much larger than in either the horse or ox; but they are situated higher
up the face, and do not press so much upon the windpipe, nor is there
any apparent danger of suffocation from them. The whole head, however,
is sometimes enlarged to a frightful degree, and the eyes are completely
closed. More than a pint of fluid has sometimes escaped from a
middle-sized dog at the first puncture of the tumour.
The mode of treatment is, to stimulate the part, in order to expedite
the suppuration of the tumour, and to lance it freely and deeply, as
soon as matter is evidently formed. The wound should be dressed with
tincture of aloes, and a thick bandage placed round the neck, to prevent
the dog from scratching the part, which often causes dreadful
laceration.
These tumours in the throat of the dog are not always of a phlegmonous
character. They are cysts, sometimes rapidly formed, and of considerable
size, and filled with a serous or gelatinous fluid.
* * * * *