George Fleming and James Macqueen

“ Every advance made in human medicine affects the progress of veterinary science, and the invaluable investigations of Davaine, Pasteur, Chauveau, Lister and Koch have created as great a revolution in veterinary practice as in the medicine of man. ”

“ The subjects taught in the schools have been increased in numbers conformably with the requirements of ever extending science, and the teaching is more thorough and practical. During the four years' curriculum, besides the preliminary technical training essential to every scientist, the student must study the anatomy and physiology of the domesticated animals, the pathology and bacteriology of the diseases to which these animals are exposed, medicine, surgery, hygiene, dietetics and meat inspection, and learn to know the results of disease as seen post mortem or in the slaughter-house. ”

“ Even in slight and favourable cases of illness recovery is often retarded by too zealous and injudicious medication; the object to be always kept in view in the treatment of animal patients is to place them in those conditions which allow nature to operate most freely in restoring health. ”

“ The damage done by tuberculosis contagious disease of cattle, transmissible to other animals and to man by means of the milk and flesh of diseased beasts—cannot be even guessed at; but it must be enormous considering how widely this malady is diffused. But that terrible pest of all ages, cattle plague, has been promptly suppressed in England with comparatively trifling loss. Foot-and-mouth disease, which frequently proved a heavy infliction to agriculture, has been completely extirpated. Rabies may now be included, with rinderpest, lung plague and sheep-pox, in the category of extinct diseases ”

“ The idea was to initiate students of medicine into a knowledge of diseases by observing those of animals. The suffering animal always appears exactly as it is and feels, without the intervention of mind obscuring the symptomatology, the symptoms being really and truly the rigorous expression of its diseased condition. From this point of view, the dumb animal, when it is ill, offers the same difficulties in diagnosis as does the ailing infant or the comatose adult. ”

“ At other times acute inflammation of the eyes supervenes, or even paralysis.
In this disease good nursing is the chief factor in the treatment. Comfortable, clean and airy stables or loose-boxes should be provided, and the warmth of the body and limbs maintained. Cold and damp, foul air and uncleanliness, are as inimical to health and as antagonistic to recovery as in the case of mankind. In influenza it has been generally found that the less medicine the sick animal receives the more likely it is to recover. ”

“ Glanders, however, is always due to contagion, and in natural infection it may be contracted by inhalation of the bacilli, by ingestion of the virus with food or water, or by inoculation of a wound of the skin or a mucous membrane. Carnivorous animals—lions, tigers, dogs and cats—have become infected through eating the flesh of glandered horses; and men attending diseased horses are liable to be infected, especially if they have sores on the exposed parts of their bodies. ”

“ In descriptions of the equine disease sometimes a distinction is made between glanders with nasal ulcers and other symptoms of respiratory disease, and glanders of the skin, or farcy, but there is no essential difference between them. Glanders and farcy are due to the same causal organism, and both may be acute or chronic. Acute glanders is always rapidly fatal, and chronic glanders may become acute or it may terminate by apparent recovery. ”

“ The substantial advances in veterinary pathology, bacteriology, hygiene, surgery and preventive medicine point to a still greater rate of progress. The schools in every way are better equipped, the education and training—general and technical—of students of veterinary medicine are more comprehensive and thorough, and the appliances for observation and investigation of disease have been greatly improved. ”

“ Bourgelat, towards the middle of the 18th century, in speaking of the veterinary schools he had been instrumental in forming, urged that "leurs portes soient saus cesse ouvertes à ceux qui, chargés par l'état de la conservation des hommes, auront acquis par le nom qu'ils se seront fait le droit d'interroger la nature, chercher des analogies, et vérifier des idées dont la conformation ne peut être qu'utile a l'espèce humaine." ”

“ Infection can be transmitted by mediate or immediate contagion. The eruption usually appears on the limbs, but it may occur on the body or on the head and neck. The symptoms closely resemble those of cutaneous glanders or farcy, from which this disease may readily be distinguished by microscopic examination of the pus discharged from the sores, or by testing the horse with mallein. Glanders and epizootic lymphangitis may coexist in the same animal. It is a scheduled disease, and treatment should not be attempted. ”

“ In twenty-four hours the ova are hatched and the embryo, crawling on the skin, causes itching, which induces the horse to nibble or lick the part, and in this way the embryo is carried by the tongue to the mouth and swallowed. ”

“ Diseased animals should be sheltered, and fed on nourishing food, especially gruels of oatmeal flour or linseed; acidulated water may be allowed. If there is sloughing of the skin or extensive sores, oxide of zinc ointment should be applied. But treatment should not be adopted unless there is general infection over a wide extent of country. All diseased animals should be destroyed, as well as those which have been in contact with them, and thorough disinfection resorted to.
Foot-rot is a disease of the claws of sheep. ”

“ In some cases the swelling is so great or occurs so close to the larynx that the breathing is interfered with, and even rendered so difficult that suffocation is threatened. In other cases the disease assumes an irregular form, and the swelling, instead of softening in the centre, remains hard for an indefinite time, or it may subside and abscesses form in various parts of the body, sometimes in vital organs, as the brain, lungs, liver, kidneys, &c., or in the bronchial or mesenteric glands, where they generally produce serious consequences. ”

“ Veterinary science can offer much assistance in the study and prevention of the diseases to which mankind are liable. Some grave maladies of the human species are certainly derived from animals, and others may yet be added to the list. ”

“ Infection appears to be transmitted by cohabitation, litter, manure and infected pastures. The disease begins at the sole or between the claws and gradually extends, causing changes in the bones and tendons, with suppuration, degeneration of horn and sloughing. The symptoms are lameness, foot or feet hot, tender and swollen at the coronet; the horn soft and rotten. Affected sheep when feeding may rest on the knees, or, if fore and hind feet are involved, they lie down constantly. ”

“ Abortion, or the expulsion of the foetus before viability, is a contagious disease in cows. In a herd a case of abortion or Abortion. premature birth from accident or injury sometimes occurs, but when a number of pregnant females abort the cause is due to specific infection of the womb. The microbe of abortion induces catarrh of the uterus and the discharge contains the infective agent. The virus may be transmitted by the bull, by litter, attendants, utensils, or anything which has been contaminated by the discharge from an infected cow. ”

“ In the course of time the surface of the organ becomes ulcerated, and yellowish masses or nodules may be seen on the surface. Sometimes the entire face is involved, the lips and nostrils becoming swollen, hard and immovable, often rendering respiration difficult. Around the throat there are rounded dense swellings, implicating the glands. When the disease is well-defined and of slight extent, the parts involved may be removed by the knife, wholly or partially. If the latter only, then the remaining affected tissues should be dressed with tincture of iodine or iodized carbolic acid. ”

“ In some horses suspicion of glanders may be excited by lameness and sudden swelling of a joint, by profuse staling, sluggishness, loss of condition and general unthriftiness, or by refusal of food, rise of temperature, swollen fetlocks, with dry hacking cough, nasal catarrh and other symptoms of a common cold. With rest in the stable the horse improves, but a one-sided nasal discharge continues, the submaxillary gland enlarges, and, after an interval, ulcers appear in the nose or “farcy buds” form on a swollen leg. ”

“ One attack confers immunity from another. The symptoms are rigors, sneezing, dullness, loss of appetite, desire for warmth, and increased temperature, respiration and pulse. The eyes are red, and the nose, at first dry and harsh, becomes smeared with the discharge which soons begins to flow from the nostrils. Suppuration also begins at the eyes; vision is more or less impaired by the mucus and pus, and often the cornea becomes ulcerated, and even perforated. There is a cough, which in some cases is so violent as to induce vomiting. Debility rapidly ensues, and emaciation is soon apparent ”

“ Linseed tea is made by boiling 1 ℔ of linseed in a couple of gallons of water until the grains are quite soft. It may be economically made by using less water to cook the linseed, and afterwards making up the quantity of water to about a gallon and a half. Hay tea may be prepared by filling a bucket, after scalding it, with good sweet hay, pouring in as much boiling water as the bucket will hold, covering it over, and allowing it to stand until cold, when the fluid may be strained off and given to the horse. ”

“ In the stomach the embryo attaches itself to the mucous membrane, moults three times, increases in size and changes from a blood-red to a yellowish-brown colour. The bot remains in the stomach till the following spring, when it detaches itself, passes into the food and is discharged with the faeces. When very numerous, bots may cause symptoms of indigestion, though frequently their presence in the stomach is not indicated by any sign of ill-health. They are difficult to dislodge or kill. Green food, iodine, naphthalin, hydrochloric acid and vegetable bitters have been recommended ”

“ When the lungs are extensively involved there are signs of constitutional disturbance, irregular appetite, fever, difficult breathing, dry cough, diarrhoea, wasting and debility, with enlarged throat glands, and, in milch cows, variation in the quantity of milk. Auscultation of the chest discovers dullness or absence of respiratory sounds over the affected parts of the lungs. If the animal is not killed it becomes more and more emaciated from anaemia, respiratory difficulty, defective nutrition and profuse diarrhoea. ”

“ Whenever abortion occurs in a shed the cow should be at once isolated from the others, if they are pregnant, and cleansing and disinfection immediately resorted to, or preferably the pregnant cows should be quickly removed out of the shed and every care should be taken to keep them away from the affected cow and its discharges; the litter and the aborted foetus being burned or otherwise completely destroyed, and the cowshed thoroughly disinfected with quicklime. To prevent further infection, the hinder parts of the in-calf cows should be washed and disinfected from time to time. ”

“ As little grooming as possible should be allowed when a horse is very weak; it should be limited to sponging the mouth, nostrils, eyes and forehead with clean water, to which a little eucalyptus or sanitas may be added. Rub the legs and ears with the hand, take off the clothing, and shake or change it once a day, and if agreeable rub over the body with a soft cloth. Exercise is of course not required during sickness or injury, and the period at which it is allowed will depend upon circumstances. ”

“ Though in man infection through wounds is the readiest way of receiving the disease, the bacillus may also obtain access through the digestive organs, the lungs and mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and lips. ”

“ To be beneficial they should be large and always kept moist. For applying poultices to the feet, a piece of sacking, or better a poultice-boot, supplied by saddlers, may be used with advantage. Poultices are usually made with bran, though this has the disadvantage of drying quickly, to prevent which it may be mixed with linseed meal or a little linseed oil. Antiseptic poultices containing lysol, izal, carbolic acid or creolin, are very useful in the early treatment of foul and punctured wounds. A charcoal poultice is sometimes employed when there is an offensive smell to be got rid of. ”

“ In horses swelling of the sheath may be the only symptom for a long time, even for a year. Then there may follow dark patches of extravasated blood on or swellings of the penis; the testicles may become tumefied; a dropsical engorgement extends forward beneath the abdomen and chest; the lymphatic glands in different parts of the body may be enlarged; pustules and ulcers appear on the skin; there is a discharge from the eyes and nose; emaciation becomes extreme; a weak and vacillating movement of the posterior limbs gradually increases, as in the mare, to paralysis ”

“ The chief symptoms are sudden loss of appetite, accelerated pulse and respiration, high temperature, debility, lameness or stiffness, followed by the formation of a small, painful swelling which rapidly increases in extent, becomes emphysematous, and in the centre cold and painless. Incision of the tumour gives escape to a red, frothy, sour-smelling fluid. This disease runs its course very rapidly and nearly always terminates fatally, even when medical treatment is promptly applied. ”