Text book of veterinary medicine, Volume 3 (of 5)Law, James
Science
Text book of veterinary medicine, Volume 3 (of 5)
Law, James
Veterinary medicine
Subjective cerebral impressions projected as real. Rabies. Toxins.
Poisons. Essential oils. Chloroform.
Hallucinations are subjective impressions which the animal supposes to
be real. The disorders in his brain are projected outward and become to
him real objects and occurrences.
They may arise from the presence and proliferation of microbes in the
brain as in rabies in animals. They may proceed from poisoning of the
brain by toxins as in anthrax.
They may be developed, in dogs especially, by the action of certain
essential oils on the cerebral cortex. The first two classes will be
considered with those special diseases. The mental disorders from drugs
have been studied experimentally by Cadeac and Mennier, and may be
noticed in this place.
Lavender, fennel and angelica produce in the dog a condition of extreme
terror, and overcome all disposition to exercise self-defense.
Mints and origanum induce hallucinations of odor. The dog seeks around
with head and nose elevated, sniffs the air, moves cautiously, fixes his
eye on some phantom object, and starts to hunt imaginary game. The love
of catmint seems to amount to a mania in the feline animal.
Kidney vetch evidently causes a sensation of itching or formication; the
dog bites the hair of the tail, the hind limbs or the flank as if to
destroy fleas or other vermin.
Dogs under chloroform have sought to hunt, and stallions under ether
have shown generative excitement with erection of the penis and
movements of coition.
TIMIDITY. PANIC. STAMPEDE.
Timidity. Panic. Timid driver. Impaired vision. Nervous. Irritability.
Gadding. Gregarious habit. Absence of natural weapons. Treatment.
Habit. Substitution. Absolute constraint. Kindness. Boldness. Work.
Moderate diet.
An animal is naturally nervous, and by habit has become timid until it
is virtually impossible to utilize it. In a body of animals, fear is
quickly transferred from one to the other until all join in a wild panic
or stampede. This is common in range cattle or horses, but is found in
army horses as well, and a whole regiment will sometimes refuse to
longer face the enemy and flee in spite of every effort of the rider. On
a smaller scale, two timid horses in a team, scared by some unusual
sight, add each to the sense of fear of the other, as they try to
escape, until they gallop blindly into any danger. This sense of terror
is often fostered by the timid rider or driver, every feeling of
apprehension conveyed through the trembling or uncertain hand, or the
voice which has lost the element of confidence, tending to undermine the
last vestige of trust on the part of the horse. Imperfect sight is one
cause of panic, as the perception of common objects in distorted form or
unwonted situations strikes terror to the timid animal, causing shying
or bolting. Better absolute blindness than such imperfect vision.
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