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
Between the lower jaws there are several clusters of lymphatic glands.
These glands are so small and so soft that it is difficult to find them
by feeling through the skin, but when a suppurative disease exists in
the upper part of the respiratory tract these glands become swollen and
easy to feel. They may become soft and break down and discharge as
abscesses; this is seen constantly in strangles. On the other hand, they
may become indurated and hard from the proliferation of connective
tissue and attach themselves to the jawbone, to the tongue, or to the
skin. This is seen in chronic glanders. If the glands are swollen and
tender to pressure, it indicates that the disease causing the
enlargement is acute; if they are hard and insensitive, the disease
causing the enlargement is chronic.
The manner in which the horse coughs is of importance in diagnosis. The
cough is a forced expiration, following immediately upon a forcible
separation of the vocal cords. The purpose of the cough is to remove
some irritant substance from the respiratory passages, and it occurs
when irritant gases, such as smoke, ammonia, sulphur vapor, or dust,
have been inhaled. It occurs from inhalation of cold air if the
respiratory passages are sensitive from disease. In laryngitis,
bronchitis, and pneumonia, cough is very easily excited and occurs
merely from accumulation of mucus and inflammatory product upon the
irritated respiratory mucous membrane. If one wishes to determine the
character of the cough, it can easily be excited by pressing upon the
larynx with the thumb and finger. The larynx should be pressed from side
to side and the pressure removed the moment the horse commences to
cough. A painful cough occurs in pleurisy, also in laryngitis,
bronchitis, and bronchial pneumonia. Pain is shown by the effort the
animal exerts to repress the cough. The cough is not painful, as a rule,
in the chronic diseases of the respiratory tract. The force of the cough
is considerable when it is not especially painful and when the lungs are
not seriously involved. When the lungs are so diseased that they can not
be filled with a large volume of air, and in heaves, the cough is weak,
as it is also in weak, debilitated animals. If mucus or pus is coughed
out, or if the cough is accompanied by a gurgling sound, it is said to
be moist; it is dry when these characteristics are not present--that is,
when the air in passing out passes over surface not loaded with
secretion.
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