Causes, smoke, hot air or gas, irritant inhalations, concomitant of
infectious diseases. Lesions, intense congestion covered by fibrinous
exudates. Symptoms, slowly or suddenly developed, fever, loud,
wheezing, stertorous, panting breathing, dyspnœa, dry râles and
blowing. Course. Treatment, moist jacket, soothing, expectorant,
stimulant inhalations, expectorants, derivatives.
This affection has been found in cattle and sheep from exposure to
smoke, hot air or gas, and other irritants, and even from exposure to
cold, and without any suspicion of a contagious element. Again it has
been seen as a complication in Rinderpest, lung plague and malignant
catarrh. The lesions are those of tumefaction and extreme arborescent
redness of the mucosa, and the formation of patches of a dense fibrinous
exudate of a yellowish color, in some cases completely obstructing some
of the smaller tubes.
_Symptoms._ The attack may come on slowly as in ordinary bronchitis,
while in other cases it is sudden. The respiration being loud, wheezing,
stertorous and panting and general dyspnœa supervening. Auscultation
furnishes loud, blowing sounds, dry râles and rouchi, while percussion
may show no abnormal change. A strong tremor is felt by the hand on the
trachea, and after a paroxysm of coughing false membranes may be
expelled. If there is no improvement by the second or third day death is
liable to supervene by asphyxia.
Treatment is usually unsatisfactory. The hot, moist jacket, inhalations
of vapors of warm water, of carbonate of ammonia, and of ether may be
tried, counterirritants to the chest, and internally liquor ammonia
acetatis and iodide of sodium would be indicated. When the membranes are
somewhat loosened pilocarpin, or in weaker subjects apomorphine may
assist their expulsion.