DOG. PLEURISY.
Causes, exposure to cold, etc. Chill, reaction, disturbed breathing, catching inspiration, rapid, hard pulse, hyperthermia, tender chest, friction sound, later dullness at lower part of the chest in any position. Treatment, as in pneumonia, with antirheumatics and diuretics freely. Thoracentesis.
This is occasionally seen in the dog as the result of exposure, and like other diseases of the chest is easily recognized. It owns the same causes with pneumonia.
Symptoms. There is first dulness, shivering and some excitement of respiration. To this follow the more acute symptoms, the hard pulse, the rapid, catching breathing, the animal standing or sitting on his haunches, the open mouth, pendent tongue, the injected mucous membrane, the costiveness, but above all the tenderness of the intercostal spaces, the early friction sound on auscultation, the pain and normal resonance on percussion, the muscular twitchings and the short, suppressed, painful cough. When effusion has occurred its amount may easily be estimated by turning the animal alternately on its feet, back and haunches, and observing how high the dullness extends in these various positions.
The same treatment may be adopted as in pneumonia, with this difference that salicin may be given freely, and when effusion has taken place active diuretics are specially indicated, and hence tincture of squills (a teaspoonful) may be made to replace the nitre. In advanced and obstinate cases, or where danger exists from rapid effusion, the liquid may be drawn off with a cannula and trochar as in other animals.
PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. BRONCHO-PNEUMONIA. BRONCHO-PLEURO-PNEUMONIA.
Though we often meet with typical forms of bronchitis, pneumonia and pleurisy, it is much more common to find them combined more or less with each other. Thus combined inflammation of the bronchial tubes and pulmonary substance is frequent; inflammation affecting both the lung and its investing pleural membrane is no less common; and cases are seen in which all three structures are involved. These conditions are to be recognized by the presence of the symptoms of both the coexisting maladies but particularly by the indications furnished by touch, auscultation and percussion. The predominance of one disease over another will decide the nature of the treatment which must be adapted to the peculiar character of each case whether mainly bronchitic, pneumonic, or pleuritic. It is these mixed cases that test the ability and judgment of the practitioner as he must carefully individualize each case, ascertain the different parts affected, the grade of the inflammatory action, the nature of the attendant fever, the presence or absence of epizootic influence, etc., and having all these conditions in view must apply remedial measures accordingly.
It must be evident that particular directions cannot be supplied for all of these cases. General principles only can be inculcated and their adaptation to the varied phases of different cases left to the judgment of the student.
HYDROTHORAX.
All animals liable. Causes, pleurisy, obstruction to pulmonary or intercostal veins, heart disease, Bright’s disease, anæmia, parasitic or otherwise. Effusion reddish gray or clear straw color, inflammatory and dropsical. Symptoms, troubles of respiration, as a secondary disease complicated by dropsies elsewhere, signs of hydrothorax without fever, shedding of hair. Treatment, diuretic, tonic, derivative, thoracentesis, trochar and cannula or aspiration, point of election for puncture, method, asepsis, drainage by aspirator, or into an antiseptic solution, eligible cases, dangers attending thoracentesis, shock, rupture of false membranes and lung, infection of pleura, injection of antiseptics.