Special Report on Diseases of the HorseUnited States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Science
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse
United States. Bureau of Animal Industry
Horses -- Diseases
The expired air is of about the temperature of the body. It contains
considerable moisture, and it should come with equal force from each
nostril and should not have an unpleasant odor. If the stream of air
from one nostril is stronger than from the other, there is an indication
of an obstruction in a nasal chamber. If the air possesses a bad odor,
it is usually an indication of putrefaction of a tissue or secretion in
some part of the respiratory tract. A bad odor is found where there is
necrosis of the bone in the nasal passages or in chronic catarrh. An
ulcerating tumor of the nose or throat may cause the breath to have an
offensive odor. The most offensive breath occurs where there is
necrosis, or gangrene, of the lungs.
In some diseases there is a discharge from the nose. In order to
determine the significance of the discharge it should be examined
closely. One should ascertain whether it comes from one or both
nostrils. If but from one nostril, it probably originates in the head.
The color should be noted. A thin, watery discharge may be composed of
serum, and it occurs in the earlier stages of coryza, or nasal catarrh.
An opalescent, slightly tinted discharge is composed of mucus and
indicates a little more severe irritation. If the discharge is sticky
and puslike, a deeper difficulty or more advanced irritation is
indicated. If the discharge contains flakes and clumps of more or less
dried, agglutinated particles, it is probable that it originates within
a cavity of the head, as the sinuses or guttural pouches. The discharge
of glanders is of a peculiar sticky nature and adheres tenaciously to
the wings of the nostrils. The discharge of pneumonia is of a somewhat
red or reddish brown color and, on this account has been described as a
prune-juice discharge. The discharge may contain blood. If the blood
appears as clots or as streaks in the discharge, it probably originates
at some point in the upper part of the respiratory tract. If the blood
is in the form of a fine froth, it comes from the lungs.
In examining the interior of the nasal passage one should remember that
the normal color of the mucous membrane is a rosy pink and that its
surface is smooth. If ulcers, nodules, swellings, or tumors are found,
these indicate disease. The ulcer that is characteristic of glanders is
described fully in connection with the discussion of that disease.
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