From some occasional acrimony of the tears, the lining of this duct may
be inflamed and thickened, or some foreign body, or some unctuous matter
from the ciliary glands, may insinuate itself into the duct, and the
fluid accumulates in the sac and distends it, and it bursts; or the
ulcer eats through the integument, and there is a small fistulous
opening beneath the inner canthus of the eye, or there is a constant
discharge from it. It is this constant discharge that prevents the wound
from healing. In some cases the lachrymal bone is involved in the
ulcerative process and becomes carious. In the dog, and particularly in
the smaller spaniel, the watery eye, 'fistula lachrymalis', is of no
unusual occurrence. The fistula will be recognised by a constant,
although perhaps slight, discharge of pus.
The structure and office of the 'velum palati', or veil of the palate,
is in the horse a perfect interposed section between the cavity of the
mouth and the nose, and cutting off all communication between them. In
the dog, who breathes almost entirely through the mouth, the velum
palati is smaller; the tensor muscle, so beautifully described by Mr.
Percivall, is weak, but the circumflex one is stronger and more
developed. When 'coryza' in the dog runs on to catarrh, and the membrane
of the pharynx partakes of the inflammation, the velum palati becomes
inflamed and thickened, but will not act as a perfect communication
between the mouth and the nose. When there is a defluxion from the nose,
tinged by the colour of the food, and particles of food mingle with it,
we have one of the worst symptoms that can present itself, because it
proves the extent and violence of the inflammation.
In inflammatory affections of the membrane of the nose in the dog, we
often observe him snorting in a very peculiar way, with his head
protruding, and the inspiration as forcible as the expiration. An emetic
will usually afford relief, or grain doses of the sulphate of copper.
THE NASAL BONES.
The nasal bones of the dog (see fig. 2, in the head of the dog, page
181) are very small, as they are in all carnivorous animals. Instead of
constituting the roof, and part of the outer wall of the cavity, as in
other animals, the nasal bones form only a portion, and a small one, of
the roof.
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