SPECIAL REPORT ON DISEASES OF CATTLE TEXT

_Symptoms._--Dullness; drooping of the ears; dryness of the muzzle; dry skin; staring coat; loins morbidly sensitive to pressure; fullness of the left flank, which is caused by the distention of the fourth stomach by gas. The pulse is small, the gait is feeble and staggering; each step taken is accompanied with a grunt, and this symptom is especially marked if the animal walks in a downward direction. There is loss of appetite, and rumination is suspended. The passages at first are few in number, hard, and are sometimes coated with mucus or with blood. Later a severe diarrhea sets in, when the passages contain mucus and blood and have an offensive odor. There is evidence of colicky pain, and the abdomen is sensitive to pressure. Pain may be continuous. There is fever and acceleration of pulse rate and respirations. Mental depression and even insensibility occur before death. The disease is always severe and often fatal. _Post-mortem appearances._--The mucous membrane of the fourth stomach has a well-marked red color and sometimes presents ulcerations. The wall is thickened and softened, and similar conditions are found in the walls of the intestines. The red discoloration extends in spots or large areas quite through the wall, showing on the outside. _Treatment._--Very small quantities of carefully selected feed must be given and the appetite must not be forced. Protect the animal well from cold and dampness. Internally, give linseed tea, boiled milk, boiled oatmeal gruel, or rice water. These protectives may carry the medicine. Tannopin in doses of 30 to 60 grains is good. Subnitrate of bismuth in doses of 1 to 2 drams may be given. Pulverized opium may be used, if the diarrhea is severe, in 1 to 2 dram doses. If the bowel movements are not free, one may give from a pint to a quart of castor or raw linseed oil. TRAUMATIC INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. This disease results from the presence of a foreign body. This condition is not rare in cattle, because these animals have the habit of swallowing their feed without careful chewing, and so nails, screws, hairpins, ends of wire, and other metal objects may be swallowed unconsciously. Such objects gravitate to the second stomach, where they may be caught in the folds of the lining mucous membrane, and in some instances the wall of this organ is perforated. From this accident, chronic indigestion results. The symptoms, more or less characteristic, are pain when getting up or lying down; grunting and pain upon sudden motion, especially downhill; coughing; pain on pressure over the second stomach, which lies immediately above the cartilaginous prolongation of the sternum. If the presence of such a foreign body is recognized, it may be removed by a difficult surgical operation, or, as is usually most economical, the animal may be killed for beef, if there is no fever. DISEASES OF THE BOWELS. DIARRHEA AND DYSENTERY. [See also Gastrointestinal catarrh, p. 32.] The word "dysentery," as it is commonly used in relation to the diseases of animals, signifies a severe form of diarrhea. _Causes._--Diarrhea is a symptom of irritation of the intestines, resulting in increased secretion or increased muscular contractions, or both. The irritation is sometimes the result of chilling from exposure, improper feeding, irritant feeds, indigestion, organic diseases of the intestines, or parasites. _Symptoms._--Passages from the bowels are frequent, at first consisting of thin dung, but as the disease continues they become watery and offensive smelling, and may be even streaked with blood. At first the animal shows no constitutional disturbance, but later it becomes weak and may exhibit evidence of abdominal pain by looking around to the side, drawing the feet together, lying down, or moving restlessly. Sometimes this malady is accompanied with fever, great depression, loss of strength, rapid loss of flesh, and it may terminate in death. _Treatment._--When the disease depends on irritating properties of the feed which has been supplied to the animal, it is advisable to give a mild purgative, such as a pint of castor or linseed oil. When the secretions of the bowels are irritating, an ounce of carbonate of magnesia and half an ounce of tincture of opium should be shaken up in a quart of linseed tea and given to the animal three times a day until the passages present a natural appearance. When there is debility, want of appetite, no fever, but a continuance of the watery discharges from the bowels, then an astringent may be given. For such cases the following is serviceable: Tannic acid, 1 ounce; powdered gentian, 2 ounces; mix and divide into 12 powders, one powder to be given three times a day until the passages present a natural appearance. Each powder may be mixed with a pint and a half of water. Tannopin is a new remedy that is most useful in such cases. The dose is from 30 grains to 2 drams. Useful household remedies are raw eggs, strong coffee, parched rye flour, or decoction of oak bark. In all cases the food must be given sparingly, and it should be carefully selected to insure good quality. Complete rest in a box stall is desirable. When diarrhea is a symptom of a malady characterized by the presence of a blood poison, the treatment appropriate to such disease must be applied. SIMPLE ENTERITIS. [See Gastroenteritis, p. 33.] CROUPOUS ENTERITIS. Under certain conditions, severe irritation of the digestive canal may, in cattle, cause a form of inflammation of the intestines (enteritis) that is characterized by the formation of a false membrane upon the surface of the lining membrane of the intestines, particularly the large ones. _Symptoms._--There is fever, depression, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and in the fecal masses shreds of leathery false membrane may be found. These shreds are sometimes mistaken for parasites or for portions of the wall of the intestine. _Treatment._--Give a pound of Glauber's salt, followed by bicarbonate of soda in doses of 2 ounces four times daily. ENTERITIS (OBSTRUCTION RESULTING FROM INVAGINATION, OR INTUSSUSCEPTION, TWISTING, AND KNOTTING OF THE BOWELS). Inflammation may arise from a knot forming on some part of the small intestine from the portion of the bowel becoming twisted on itself, or from one part of the bowel slipping into another, which is termed invagination. This form of enteritis occurs occasionally in animals of the bovine species. _Causes._--The small intestine, which in the ox rests on the right side of the rumen, is, from the position which it occupies, predisposed to this accident. It has been ascertained that animals which have shown symptoms of this malady have trotted, galloped, or made other violent exertions in coming from drinking, or that they have been chased by dogs or by animals of their own species while at pasture. The accident is most likely to occur among cattle on very hilly pastures. The danger of jumping or running is greatest when the rumen is distended with food. _Symptoms._--This form of enteritis or obstruction is manifested by severe colicky pains; the ox scrapes and strikes the ground with his front and hind feet alternately; keeps lying down and getting up again; he keeps his tail constantly raised and turns his nose frequently to his right flank; he is frequently bloated, or tympanitic, on that side. He refuses feed and does not ruminate, and for some hours suffers severe pains. At first he frequently passes thin dung, and also urinates frequently, but passes only a little urine at a time. On the second day the pains have become less acute; the animal remains lying down; moans occasionally; his pulse is small and quick; he still refuses feed and does not ruminate. At this stage he does not pass any dung, though sometimes a small quantity of bloody mucus may be passed. The animal passes very little urine. This condition may continue for a considerable time, as cattle so affected may live for 15 or even 20 days. _Post-mortem appearance._--At death the bowels are found to be misplaced or obstructed, as mentioned above, and inflamed, the inflammation always originating at the point where the intestine has been invaginated, twisted, or knotted. Sometimes the part is gangrenous, the compression of the blood vessels preventing circulation, and thus causing the death of the tissues. _Treatment._--Purgatives, anodynes, and other remedies are of no service in such cases, and bleeding also fails to produce any benefit. Indeed, it is usually true that in such cases treatment is useless. Some cases are recorded in which an incision has been made in the flank, so as to enable the operator to restore the intestine to its normal position or to remove the kink. CONSTIPATION. Constipation is to be regarded rather as a symptom of disease or of faults in feeding than as a disease in itself. It occurs in almost all general fevers unless the bowels are involved in local disease, in obstructions of all kinds, from feeding on dry, bulky feed, etc. In order to remove the constipation the treatment must be applied to remove the causes which give rise to it. Calves sometimes suffer from constipation immediately after birth when the meconium that accumulates in the bowels before birth is not passed. In such cases, give a rectal injection of warm water and an ounce of castor oil shaken up with an ounce of new milk. The mother's milk is the best food to prevent constipation in the new-born calf, as it contains a large amount of fatty matter which renders it laxative in its effects. It is usually better to treat habitual constipation by a change of diet than by medicine. Flaxseed is a good feed laxative. If the constipation has lasted long, repeated small doses of purgatives are better than a single large dose. INTESTINAL WORMS. [See chapter on "The animal parasites of cattle," p. 502.] RUPTURES (VENTRAL HERNIA). Ventral hernia, or rupture, is an escape of some one of the abdominal organs through a rupture in the abdominal muscles, the skin remaining intact. The rumen, the small intestine, or part of the large intestine, and the fourth stomach are the parts which usually form a ventral hernia in bovine animals. _Causes._--Hernia is frequently produced by blows of the horns, kicks, and falls. In old cows hernia may sometimes occur without any direct injury. HERNIA OF THE RUMEN.--Hernia of the rumen is generally situated on the left side of the abdomen, on account of the situation of the rumen. In exceptional cases it may take place on the right side, and in such cases it also generally happens that some folds of the intestine pass into the hernial sac. Hernias have been classified into simple or complicated, recent or old, traumatic (from mechanical injury) or spontaneous. In recent traumatic hernia there is swelling on the left side of the lower part of the abdomen. The swelling is greatest in the cases of hernia which are situated on the lower part of the abdomen. Unless an examination is made immediately after the injury has been inflicted it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to ascertain the exact extent of the rupture, owing to the swelling which subsequently takes place. Frequently there is no loss of appetite, fever, or other general symptoms attending the injury. From the twelfth to the fifteenth day the swelling has generally subsided to such an extent that it is possible by an examination to determine the extent of the rupture. In old cows what is termed spontaneous hernia may sometimes take place without any direct injury. The occurrence of this form of hernia is explained by the increase in the size of the abdomen, which takes place in an advanced stage of pregnancy, causing a thinning and stretching of the muscular fibers, which at last may rupture, or give way. Such hernias frequently occur about the end of the period of gestation, and in some instances have contained the right sac of the rumen, the omentum, the small and large intestines, a portion of the liver, and the pregnant uterus. In old hernias the swelling is soft and elastic, and if they have not contracted adhesions to the sides of the laceration, they can be made to disappear by pressure carefully applied. Sometimes this accident is complicated by a rupture of the rumen, constituting a complicated hernia. If a portion of the contents of the rumen escape into the abdomen, the case will be aggravated by the occurrence of peritonitis. HERNIA OF THE BOWEL.--When the intestines (Pl. III, fig. 6) form the contents of the hernia, it will be situated at the right side of the abdomen. In an intestinal hernia the swelling is usually not painful, of a doughy consistence or elastic, according as the intestine does or does not contain alimentary matter. This swelling can generally be made to disappear by pressure, and when it has been reduced one can easily recognize the direction and extent of the hernial opening. Hernias of the bowel which are situated at the upper and right side of the abdomen are usually formed by the small intestine. They are less easily reduced than a hernia in a lower situation, but when reduction has been effected they are less readily reproduced than those occurring lower. In hernias of the small intestine, adhesion of the protruding parts to the walls of the opening, or strangulation, are complications which sometimes take place. If adhesion has taken place the hernia can not be reduced by pressure, and when strangulation has occurred the animal shows symptoms of pain--is restless, turns its nose to the painful part, and shows those symptoms which are usually collectively designated under the term colic. If relief is not afforded, the animal will die. HERNIA OF THE RENNET, OR FOURTH STOMACH.--This disease occasionally occurs in calves and is usually caused by a blow from a cow's horn on the right flank of the calf. After such an accident a swelling forms on the right flank near the last rib. This swelling may be neither hot nor painful, even at first, and is soft to the touch. It can be made to disappear by careful pressure, when the sides of the aperture through which it has passed can be felt. The application of pressure so as to cause the disappearance of the hernia is best made immediately after the occurrence of the accident, or when the edema which accompanies the swelling has disappeared. _Treatment._--When a hernia is reducible--that is, can be pushed back into the abdomen--then, if it is of recent occurrence, it is advisable to maintain the natural position of the parts by bandaging and to allow the walls of the laceration to grow together. The bowels should be kept reasonably empty by avoiding the use of bulky feed, and the animal must be kept quiet. The following method of bandaging is recommended by Bouley: First prepare a bandage (must be of strong material), about 10 yards long and between 3 and 4 inches broad, and a flexible and solid piece of pasteboard adapted in size to the surface of the hernia. The protruding organ must then be replaced in the abdomen and maintained in that position during the application of the bandage. This being done, a layer of melted pitch and turpentine is quickly spread on the skin covering the seat of the hernia, so as to extend somewhat beyond that space. This adhesive layer is then covered with a layer of fine tow, then a new layer of pitch and turpentine is spread on the tow, and the piece of pasteboard is applied on the layer of pitch, its outer surface being covered with the same preparation. Lastly, the bandage, adhering to the piece of pasteboard, to the skin, and to the different turns which it makes around the body, is carefully applied so as to form an immovable, rigid, and solid bandage, which will retain the hernia long enough for the wound in the abdominal walls to heal permanently. If the hernia is old and small it may be treated by injecting a strong solution of common salt about the edges of the tear. This causes swelling and inflammation, which, respectively, forces the protruded organ back and closes the opening. There is some risk attached to this method of treatment. In small, old, ventral hernias the method of compressing and sloughing off the skin has been used successfully. If the hernia is large a radical operation will be necessary, and this is also true when the symptoms indicate that a hernia is strangulated. This operation is performed by cutting down on the hernia, restoring the organ to the abdominal cavity, and then closing the wound with two sets of stitches; the inner stitches, in the muscular wall, should be made with catgut and the outer stitches, in the skin, may be made with silk or silver wire. The strictest surgical cleanliness must be observed. Bleeding vessels should be tied. Then a compress composed of ten or twelve folds of cloth must be placed smoothly over the seat of injury and a bandage applied around the body, the two ends being fastened at the back. In the smaller kinds of hernia, nitric acid may sometimes be applied with success. This treatment should not be applied until the swelling and inflammation attending the appearance of the hernia have subsided; then, the contents of the hernia having been returned, the surface of skin corresponding to it is sponged over with a solution composed of 1 part of nitric acid to 2 of water. This treatment acts by exciting considerable inflammation, which has the effect of causing swelling, and thus frequently closing the hernial opening and preventing the contents of the sac from returning. A second application should not be made until the inflammation excited by the first has subsided. In what is termed spontaneous hernia it is useless to apply any kind of treatment. UMBILICAL HERNIA.--The umbilicus, or navel, is the aperture through which the blood vessels pass from the mother to the fetus, and naturally the sides of this aperture ought to adhere or unite after birth. In very young animals, and sometimes in newborn calves, this aperture in the abdominal muscles remains open and a part of the bowel or a portion of the mesentery may slip through the opening, constituting what is called umbilical hernia. The wall of the sac is formed by the skin, which is covered on the inner surface by a layer of cellular tissue, and within this there is sometimes, but not always, a layer of peritoneum. The contents of the hernia may be formed by a part of the bowel, by a portion of the peritoneum, or may contain portions of both peritoneum and bowel. When the sac contains only the peritoneum it has a doughy feel, but when it is formed by a portion of the bowel it is more elastic on pressure. _Causes._--In the new-born animal the opening of the navel is generally large, and may sometimes give way to the pressure of the bowel on account of the weak and relaxed condition of the abdominal muscles. This defective and abnormal condition of the umbilicus is frequently hereditary. It may be occasioned by roughly pulling away the umbilical cord; through kicks or blows on the belly; through any severe straining by which the sides of the navel are stretched apart. We may mention in this connection that it is best in new-born calves to tie the umbilical cord tightly about 2 inches from the navel, and then to leave it alone, when in most cases it will drop off in a few days, leaving the navel closed. _Treatment._--It is well to bear in mind that many, and especially the smaller, umbilical hernias heal spontaneously; that is, nature effects a cure. As the animal gets older the abdominal muscles get stronger and possess more power of resistance to pressure, the bowels become larger and do not pass so readily through a small opening, so that from a combination of causes there is a gradual growing together or adhesion of the sides of the navel. In cases of umbilical hernia in which there are no indications that a spontaneous cure will take place, the calf should be laid on its