of some consequence in reaching a conclusion in respect to disease of the
heart; but it must be remembered that the impulse may be very much
increased by diseases other than those of the heart, as, for example,
inflammation of various organs, severe pains, etc. The impulse may be
increased also (when disease does not exist) by work, exercise, fright, or
any cause of excitement, or, in general, by anything that causes
acceleration of the pulse.
The impulse of the heart may be felt and the sounds may be heard fairly
well in lean cattle, but in fat ones it is difficult and often impossible
to detect either impulse or sound with any degree of satisfaction.
PALPITATION.
When the impulse of the heart is excessive--that is, when it beats more or
less tumultuously--the familiar expression "palpitation of the heart" is
applied; by many it is called "thumps." The hand or ear placed against the
chest easily detects the unnatural beating. In some cases it is so violent
that the motion may be seen at a distance. Palpitation is but a symptom,
and in many instances not connected with disease of the structure of the
heart or its membranes. A badly frightened animal may have palpitation.
When it comes on suddenly and soon passes away, it depends on some cause
other than diseases of the heart; when it is gradually manifested, however,
and becomes constant, although more pronounced at one time than another,
heart disease may be suspected, especially if other symptoms of heart
disease are present.
INJURY TO THE HEART BY FOREIGN BODIES.
Cattle are addicted to the habit of chewing and swallowing many objects not
intended as articles of food. Every veterinarian of experience has met with
instances to remind him of this, and it is well known to butchers. Among
the great variety of things that have thus found their way into the
stomachs of cattle the following have been noticed: Finger rings, knitting
needles, old shoes, table knives, wood, pieces of leather, pieces of wire,
buttons, hairpins, brushes, nails, coins, etc. The more sharply pointed
objects sometimes penetrate the wall of the stomach, in some cases causing
gastric irritation enough to produce indigestion, gradually work their way
through the diaphragm toward the heart, pierce the pericardium (bag
inclosing the heart), wound the heart, and thus prove fatal to the animal.
Cases are recorded in which the foreign body has actually worked its way
into one of the cavities of the heart. Instances are known, however, in
which the object took a different course, and finally worked its way toward
the surface and was extracted from the wall of the chest. While it is
possible that the foreign body may pierce the wall at different parts of
the alimentary canal, as it frequently does that of the rumen (paunch), it
is thought that in most cases it passes through the wall of the reticulum
(smaller honeycombed compartment, or second stomach) and is drawn toward
the heart by the suctionlike action of the chest. Post-mortem examinations
have demonstrated the course it pursued, as adhesions and other results of
the inflammation it caused were plainly to be seen. All manner of symptoms
may precede those showing involvement of the heart, depending upon the
location of the foreign body and the extent of inflammation caused by it.
Severe indigestion may occur; stiffness and difficulty in moving about
owing to the prods of the sharp body following muscular contraction; pain
on pressure over the front, lower, or right side of the abdomen; coughing
and difficult, quick breathing. In most cases the foreign body does not
penetrate to the heart, nor even to the pericardium.
_Symptoms._--The symptoms are as follows: The animal is disinclined to move
actively, the step is restricted and cautious, sudden motion causes
grunting, the attitude is constrained, the feet are drawn somewhat
together, the back is arched, the face has an anxious expression. If the
disease is of several days' standing, there is likely to be soft swelling
(edema) beneath the neck, in the dewlap, and under the chest, between the
fore legs. Breathing is short and difficult; it may clearly be painful. The
pulse is rapid, 80 to 120 per minute. The muscles quiver as though the
animal were cold. Rumination and appetite are depressed or checked. The
dung is hard, and to void it appears to cause pain. These symptoms usually
develop gradually, and, of course, they vary considerably in different
animals, depending upon the size and location of the foreign body and the
irritation it causes.
As a matter of course, in such cases treatment is useless, but when it is
possible to diagnose correctly the animal could be turned over to the
butcher before the flesh becomes unfit for use; that is, before there is
more than a little suppuration and before there is fever. Knowing that
cattle are prone to swallow such objects, ordinary care may be taken in
keeping their surroundings as free of them as possible.
PERICARDITIS.
Inflammation of the pericardium (heart bag) is often associated with
pneumonia and pleurisy, rheumatism, and other constitutional diseases, or
with an injury. It also occurs as an independent affection, owing to causes
similar to those of other chest affections, as exposure to cold or dampness
and changes of the weather.
_Symptoms._--It may be ushered in with a chill, followed by fever, of more
or less severity; the animal stands still and dull, with head hanging low,
and anxiety expressed in its countenance. The pulse may be large, perhaps
hard; there is also a venous pulse. The hand against the chest will feel
the beating of the heart, which is often irregular, sometimes violent, and
in other instances weak, depending in part upon the quantity of fluid that
has transuded into the pericardial sac. The legs are cold, the breathing
quickened and usually abdominal; if the left side of the chest is pressed
on or struck, the animal evinces pain. There may be spasms of the muscles
in the region of the breast, neck, or hind legs. After a variable time
swelling may also appear in the legs and under the chest and brisket.
In those animals in which the heart sounds may be heard somewhat
distinctly, the ear applied against the chest will detect a to-and-fro
friction sound, corresponding to the beats of the heart. This sound is
produced by the rubbing of the internal surface of the heart bag against
the external surface of the heart. During the first stages of the
inflammation these surfaces are dry, and the rubbing of one against the
other during the contraction and relaxation of the heart produces this
sound. The dry stage is followed by the exudation of fluid into the heart
sac, and the friction is not heard until the fluid is absorbed sufficiently
to allow the surfaces to come in contact again. But during the time the
friction sound is lost a sound which has been called a "churning noise" may
take its place.
The friction sound of pericarditis can not be mistaken for the friction
sound of pleurisy if the examination is a careful one, because in the heart
affection the sound is made in connection with the heart beats, while in
the pleuritic affection the sound is synchronous with each respiration or
breath of air taken in and expelled from the lungs.
_Treatment._--When pericarditis is complicated with rheumatism or other
diseases the latter must be treated as directed in the description of them.
The animal must be kept in a quiet, comfortable place, where it will be
free from excitement. Warm clothing should be applied to the body, and the
legs should be hand-rubbed until the circulation in them is reestablished,
and then they should be snugly bandaged. The food should be nutritive and
in moderate quantity. Bleeding should not be performed unless the case is
in the hands of an expert.
At the beginning give as a purgative Epsom salt--1 pound to an
average-sized cow--dissolved in about a quart of warm water and
administered as a drench. When there is much pain 2 ounces of laudanum,
diluted with a pint of water, may be given every three hours until the
animal is better. Do not give the laudanum unless demanded by the severity
of the pain, as it tends to constipate. Give one-half ounce of nitrate of
potassium (saltpeter), dissolved in drinking water, four or five times a
day. After the attack has abated mustard mixed with water may be rubbed
well over the left side of the chest to stimulate the absorption of the
fluid within the pericardium. The other medicines may be discontinued and
the following administered: Sulphate of iron, 2 ounces; powdered gentian,
6 ounces; mix and make 8 powders. Give one powder every day at noon, mixed
with feed, if the animal will eat it, or shaken up with water in a bottle
as a drench. Also the following: Iodid of potassium, 2 ounces; nitrate of
potassium, 8 ounces; mix and make 16 powders. Give one in drinking water
or in drench every morning and evening. The last two prescriptions may be
continued for several weeks if necessary.
In extreme cases tapping the pericardium with a trocar and cannula to draw
off the fluid is resorted to, but the operation requires exact anatomical
knowledge.
After death from pericarditis there is always more or less fluid found in
the pericardium; the surfaces are rough and covered with a yellow-colored
exudate. There are also in many cases adhesions to a greater or less extent
between the heart and pericardium.
MYOCARDITIS.
Inflammation of the muscular structure of the heart occurs in limited,
circumscribed areas, as evidenced by post-mortem examination, and it is
probably always somewhat involved in connection with pericarditis and
endocarditis. It may readily be inferred that if the whole organ were
inflamed death would ensue immediately. Usually myocarditis results from
the preexistence of blood poisoning or of some infectious febrile disease.
_Symptoms._--The chief symptoms are those of heart weakness. The heart beat
is fast, weak, and often irregular. Respiration is difficult and rapid.
There is great general weakness and depression. Death comes suddenly.
_Treatment._--Treatment consists in supporting the animal by the use of
stimulants, such as ammonia, coffee, digitalis, camphor, etc. Complete
quiet must be provided, and the general care should be as in pericarditis.
ENDOCARDITIS.
When the membrane which lines the cavities of the heart--the endocardium--
suffers inflammation, the disease is called endocarditis. The cause is
another disease, during which substances that irritate the lining of the
heart are produced and admitted into the circulation. These substances are
usually living organisms, or it is possible that in some cases they are
chemical irritants. Endocarditis occurs as a complication of or sequel to
pneumonia, blood poisoning, inflammation of the womb, rheumatism, or severe
wounds or abscesses. The symptoms are much the same as those of
pericarditis, and it is difficult to discriminate between the two
affections. There is a jugular pulse, the legs may become dropsical, and
there is a tendency to faint if the head is elevated suddenly. The
bellowslike sound is more distinct than it is in pericarditis. It is the
most fatal of heart diseases, because of the liability of the formation of
clots, which may adhere to the valves, change in the structure of the
valves, and often a complication with an abnormal condition of the blood.
Clots may be formed in the heart, and, being carried to other parts, prove
fatal by interrupting the circulation in some vital organ.
Treatment similar to that advised for myocarditis may be followed in this
disease.
VALVES OF THE HEART.
The valves are subject to abnormal growths and structural changes in
chronic endocarditis or as a result of acute endocarditis. Sometimes valves
are torn by sudden, extreme muscular effort or a congenital abnormality.
Cases are also reported in which they have been found ruptured.
_Symptoms._--The general symptoms are those of heart weakness, accompanied
with edema and congestion of the lungs.
_Treatment._--Relief is sometimes afforded, but usually only temporarily,
by the use of stimulants, especially digitalis.
RUPTURE OF THE HEART.
Sudden effort, blows, or disease may lead to rupture of the heart of the
ox. The first cause does not operate so often in cattle as in horses.
Tuberculosis or ulceration from other causes, such as a foreign body, is
the most common source of this accident. Rupture is shown by sudden
fainting, followed very shortly by death.
HYPERTROPHY AND DILATATION OF THE HEART.
This is an enlargement of the heart, and may consist of the thickening of
the walls alone, or at the same time the cavities may be either enlarged or
diminished. Dilatation of the cavities has been noticed as existing
independently of thickened walls. In hypertrophy the sounds of the heart
are loud and pronounced, may be heard on both sides of the chest
distinctly, and palpitation occurs to a greater or less extent. Fortunately
both conditions are very rare in cattle.
ATROPHY.
Atrophy is the technical term for wasting of the muscular tissue. Atrophy
of the heart is very rare among cattle, and is usually a result of other
diseases.
FATTY DEGENERATION OF THE HEART.
This condition of the heart is met with in some very fat cattle, but it
must be understood that the accumulation of fat around the heart is not
referred to by this designation. In fatty degeneration the elements of the
muscular tissue are replaced by fatty or oily granules. The muscle becomes
weak, the heart contractions are insufficient, and heart weakness is shown
by general weakness, shortness of breath, and weak, rapid pulse.
CYANOSIS.
Owing to the most prominent symptoms, cyanosis is also called "blue
disease," and is seen occasionally in new-born calves. It is recognized by
the blue color of the mucous membrane (easily seen by looking within the
mouth and nostrils), the coldness of the surface of the body, and rapid,
labored breathing. It is caused by non-closure of the foramen ovale,
connecting the right with the left side of the heart, and the consequent
mixing of the venous with the arterial blood. Calves so affected live but a
short time.
MISPLACEMENT OF THE HEART.
Cases are recorded in which the heart has been found out of its natural
position, sometimes even outside the chest. This is a congenital condition
for which there is no remedy. A heifer calf with the heart entirely outside
the thoracic cavity and beneath the skin in the lower part of the neck was
kept for two years at the veterinary hospital of the University of
Pennsylvania, during which time it grew to be a well-developed cow.
WOUNDS OF ARTERIES AND VEINS.
When a blood vessel is opened a glance will tell whether it is an artery or
a vein by simply remembering that bright-red blood comes from arteries and
dark-red from veins. When a vein or a very small artery is severed the
blood flows from the vessel in a continuous and even stream, but when one
of the larger arteries is severed the blood comes in intermitting jets or
spurts corresponding to the beats of the heart. It is well to call
attention to the fact that the dark-red blood which flows or oozes from a
wound soon becomes bright red, because it gives up its carbonic-acid gas to
the air, and absorbs oxygen gas from the air, which is exactly the change
it undergoes in the capillaries of the lungs.
The general treatment of wounds will be found in another section; here it
is necessary only to refer briefly to some of the most practical methods
used to arrest hemorrhages, as instances occur in which an animal may lose
much strength from the loss of blood, or even bleed to death unless action
is prompt.
BLEEDING (HEMORRHAGE).
The severity of a hemorrhage depends upon the size of the vessel from which
the blood escapes, though it may be stated that it is more serious when
arteries are severed. If the wound in an artery is in the direction of its
length, the blood escapes more freely than if the vessel is completely
severed, because in the latter instance the severed ends retract, curl in,
and may aid very much in arresting the flow. When the blood merely oozes
from the wound, and even when it flows in a small stream, the forming of
the clot arrests the hemorrhage in a comparatively short time.
Slight hemorrhages may be checked by the continuous application of cold
water, ice, or snow, to the wound, as cold causes contraction of the small
vessels. Water from a hose may be thrown on a wound, or dashed on it from
the hand or a cup, or folds of cotton cloths may be held on it and kept
wet. Ice or snow may be held against the wound, or they may be put into a
bag and conveniently secured in position.
Hot water of an average temperature of 115∞ to 120∞ F. injected into the
vagina or womb is often efficient in arresting hemorrhages from those
organs. Tow, raw cotton, lint, or sponges may be forced into a wound and
held or bound there with bandages. This is an excellent method of checking
the flow of blood until the arrival of an expert. If the flow persists,
these articles may be saturated with tincture of iron, but it is not
advisable to use it unless necessary, as it is a caustic and retards
healing by causing a slough. In cases of necessity, the articles may be
saturated with vinegar, or tannic acid or alum dissolved in water may be
used instead. Whatever article is used should be left in the wound
sufficiently long to make sure that its removal will not be followed by a
renewal of the hemorrhage. Sometimes it must remain there one or two days.
An iron heated white and then pressed on the bleeding vessel for three or
four seconds is occasionally used. It should not be applied longer, or else
the charred tissue will come away with the iron and thus defeat the purpose
of its application.
Compression may be applied in different ways, but only the most convenient
will be mentioned. To many wounds bandages may easily be applied. The
bandages may be made of linen, muslin, etc., sufficiently wide and long,
according to the nature of the wound and the region to be bandaged. Bed
sheets torn in strips the full length make excellent bandages for this
purpose. Cotton batting, tow, or a piece of sponge may be placed on the
wound and firmly bound there with the bandages.
Many cases require ligating, which is almost entirely confined to arteries.
A ligature is a piece of thread or string tied around the vessel. Veins are
not ligated unless very large (and even then only when other means are not
available) on account of the danger of causing phlebitis, or inflammation
of a vein. The ligature is tied around the end of the artery, but in some
instances this is difficult and it is necessary to include some of the
adjacent tissue, although care should be taken not to include a nerve. To
apply a ligature, it is necessary to have artery forceps (tweezers or small
pincers may suffice) by which to draw out the artery in order to tie the
string around it. To grasp the vessel it may be necessary to sponge the
blood from the wound so that the end will be exposed. In case the end of
the bleeding artery has retracted, a sharp-pointed hook, called a
tenaculum, is used to draw it out far enough to tie. The ligature should be
drawn tightly, so that the middle and internal coats will be cut through.
Another method of checking hemorrhage is called torsion. It consists in
catching the end of the bleeding vessel, drawing it out a little, and then
twisting it around a few times with the forceps, which lacerates the
internal coats so that a check is effected. This is very effectual in small
vessels, and is to be preferred to ligatures, because it leaves no foreign
body in the wound. A needle or pin may be stuck through the edges of the
wound and a string passed around between the free ends and the skin (Pl.
XXVII, fig. 10), or it may be passed around in the form of a figure 8, as
is often done in the operation of bleeding from the jugular vein.
ANEURISM.
A circumscribed dilatation of an artery, constituting a tumor which
pulsates synchronously with the beats of the heart, is called aneurism. It
is caused by disease and rupture of one or two of the arterial coats. The
true aneurism communicates with the interior of the artery and contains
coagulated blood. It is so deeply seated in cattle that treatment is out of
the question. Such abnormalities are ascribable to severe exertion, to old
age, to fatty or calcareous degeneration, or to parasites in the blood
vessels. Death is sudden when caused by the rupture of an aneurism of a
large artery, owing to internal hemorrhage. Sometimes spontaneous recovery
occurs. As a rule no symptoms are caused in cattle by the presence of
deep-seated aneurisms, and their presence is not known until after death.
A false aneurism results from blood escaping from a wounded artery into the
adjacent tissue, where it clots, and the wound, remaining open in the
artery, causes pulsation in the tumor.
THROMBOSIS (OBSTRUCTION) OF THE ARTERIES.
Arteries become obstructed as a result of wounds and other injuries to
them, as those caused by the formation of an abscess or the extension of
inflammation from surrounding structures to the coats of an artery.
Arteries are also obstructed by the breaking off of particles of a plug or
clot, partly obstructing the aorta or other large artery. These small
pieces (emboli) are floated to an artery that is too small to permit them
to pass and are there securely held, producing obstruction. These
obstructions are shown by loss of power in the muscles supplied by the
obstructed artery and by excitation of the heart and by respiration after
exercise. The loss of power may not come into evidence until after
exercise.
_Symptoms._--While standing still or when walking slowly the animal may
appear to be normal, but after more active exercise a group of muscles, a
leg, or both hind legs, may be handled with difficulty, causing lameness,
and later there is practically a local paralysis. These symptoms disappear
with rest. In some cases the collateral circulation develops in time, so
that the parts receive sufficient blood and the symptoms disappear.
INFLAMMATION OF VEINS (PHLEBITIS).
When bleeding is performed without proper care or with an unclean lancet,
inflammation of the vein may result, or it may be caused by the animal
rubbing the wound against some object. When inflammation follows the
operation, the coats of the vein become so much enlarged that the vessel
may be felt hard and knotted beneath the skin, and pressure produces pain.
A thin, watery discharge, tinged with blood, issues from the wound. The
blood becomes coagulated in the vessel. In inflammation of the jugular the
coagulation extends from the wound upward to the first large branch.
Abscesses may form along the course of the vein. The inflammation is
followed by obliteration of that part in which coagulation exists. This is
of small import, as cattle have an accessory jugular vein which gradually
enlarges and accommodates itself to the increased quantity of blood it must
carry.
_Treatment._--The treatment for inflammation of the vein is to clip the
hair from along the course of the affected vessel and apply a blister, the
cerate of cantharides. Abscesses should be opened as soon as they form,
because there is a possibility of the pus getting into the circulation.
In the operation of bleeding the instruments should be clean and free from
rust. If the skin is not sufficiently opened, or when closing the wound the
skin is drawn out too much, blood may accumulate in the tissue, and if it
does it should be removed by pressing absorbent cotton or a sponge on the
part. Care should also be used in opening the vein, so that the instrument
may not pass entirely through both sides of the vein and open the artery
beneath it.
* * * * *
DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS.
DESCRIPTION OF PLATE.
PLATE VII:
Diagram illustrating the circulation of the blood. The arrows indicate the
direction in which the blood flows. The valves of the heart, situated
between the right auricle and ventricle, and left auricle and ventricle,
and between the ventricles and large arteries, are represented by curved
lines. These valves are intended to prevent the flow of blood in a
direction contrary to that indicated by the arrows.
[Illustration: PLATE VII. DIAGRAM OF THE CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD.]
* * * * *
NONCONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF THE ORGANS
OF RESPIRATION.
By WILLIAM HERBERT LOWE, D. V. S.
DIAGNOSIS.