.\])STR.\CTS.

7. In two of the cases the reaction was peculiar. In one of these the mallein excited both a local and a general reaction and an elevation of temperature of nearly z degrees. Auto-inoculation, and inoculation of the discharge to pigs had a negative result. After the use of the mallein a nasal discharge, which the horse had, promptly disappeared. In the other case the temperature after injection with mallein rose l'f and a local swelling but not any general reaction was produced. The inocu­lation of the discharge to a dog had a negative result. A discharge had also been present in that case, but it promptly disappeared after the use of mallein and the animal re-acquired all the symptoms of health. M. Laquerriere believes that these last two animals were the subjects not of glanders but of strangles, and he is inclined to think that mallein is an agent which may be used to reveal the existence of strangles as well as of glanders. He thinks, further, that mallein is perhaps to some extent curative in cases of strangles.

For glanders he thinks that mallein is the veritable touch-stone, and that its use should be rendered obligatory as it now is in Switzer­land.--ReClteil de lIfCdecine Vetcrinaire.

TERPINE AND TERPINOL IN THE TREATMENT OF BRONCHITIS.

TERPINE (CH. zHO.), or hydrate of the essence of crystalised terebenthine. presents itself under the form of smdll white transparent prismatic crystals, soluble in zoo parts of cold water and seven parts of alcohol. It is prepared by passing a strong current of air into a mixture of three part~ of alcohol, four parts of essence of terebenthine, and one part of ordinary nitric acid. The whole is exposed for some days to sunlight, and the supernatant fluid is decanted and diluted with water: the crystaline deposit which is formed is dried and purified with alcohol.

Terpinol is an oily colourless product with a penetrating odour recalling that of jasmine. It is obtained by treating terpine either with sulphuric or hydro­chloric acid. It is insoluble in water but soluble in alcohol and ether. Its therapeutic properties are almost the same as those of terpine and may be studied along with these. It acts on the lung and also to some extent on the bladder and kidneys.

The therapeutic properties of terpine are thus given by M. Bissauge. In medium doses it is a powerful stimulant. Immediately after its absorption it provokes a transient stimulation of the principal organic functions, the respira­tion is accelerated, the pulse becomes more rapid and stronger, the mucous membranes become slightly congested, the heat of the skin augmented, and the urine more abundant. In some cases it produces slight irritation of the digestive tract, but that is much less frequent and much less severe than that excited by the administration of the essence of terebenthine. Some hours after the administration of terpine the respiration and the circulation become slower, the pulse also is reduced in frequency and the temperature is lowered; any nervous excitement that may have been present is allayed. One of its most important properties is that it is almost entirely eliminated by the lung. It increases considerably the bronchial secretion, and renders that more fluid, clearer, and consequently more easy of expectoration. It has been used very successfully in the treatment of chronic affections of the respiratory passages in man, and M. Bissauge has thus been led to introduce it into veterinary practice. He recommends its employment in affections of the kidneys and bladder. The medium dose for the dog is from 5-10 centi-

ABSTRACTS.

grammes Up to I~ grammes daily, according to the affection and the weigJft of the animal. To the horse one may give from 2-7 grammes daily in electuary or in the water. The doses of terpinol are almost the same, and in some cases that may be employed advantageously in the form of a hypo· dermic injection dissolved in liquid vaseline. During the last four years M. Bissauge has treated twenty-one cases of acute or chronic bronchitIs in the horse with terpine. In fifteen of these cases he obtained a complete cure, in four a partial cure, and in two the treatment was unsuccessful. During the same period he has treated twenty-eight cases in the dog. Of these nineteen recovered completely, three made a partial recovery, and six were not benefited.---Recueil de MMecine VCterinaire.

IDIOPATHIC HYPERTROPHY OF THE HEART.

MAURI, of the Toulouse Veterinary College, in an article in the Rez'ue Vderinaire, March 1894, states that idiopathic hypertrophy of the heart is a very common affection in Southern breeds of horses. They ·are endowed with a nervous temperament, and are frequently submitted to violent and sustained exercise, and as a result of this excitement the movements of the heart become violent, the arterial tension becomes -lowered, and the tension in the veins becomes increased. This condition is manifested by, over­distension of the superficial veins and congestion of the mucous membranes. The phenomena may be transitory and pass off in the course of a few hours, but, when they are often repeated, asystole becomes permanent, the cavities of the heart are over-distended with blood, and the capillaries yield to the abnormal pressure. Muscular contraction also contributes to produce this result by compressing the arteries and interfering with the flow of blood through them. The heart has then to contract more violently, and in conse­quence of that the myocardium becomes hypertrophied. One of the first consequences of this st::tte of things is an interference with the relation which subsists between the arterial and yenous tension. In the normal state the tension is much more considerable in the arteries than in the veins, but when the action of the heart is exaggerated this difference diminishes. This is the phenomenon to which the grave an::ttomical and function~ derangements in such cases are attributable. .

In illustration of these statements Mauri narrates the following case :-A nine-year-old horse was brought to him because for about a month

previously he had been dull and had had a very capricious appetite. When made to walk he was sometimes seized with violent trembling and threatened to fall down. These symptoms were the more striking in view of the fact that the horse had previously been very fast and spirited. When Mauri paid his first visit to the animal, he was especially struck with the excessive pallor of the visible mucous membranes, by the distension of the superficial veins, and by the tumultuom action of the heart. Jugular pulse was present at intervals. The beats of the heart, which numbered 16-20 in a minute, were very irregular. The pulse was small, irregular, and scarcely perceptible. Percussion showed that the heart was greatly enlarged, and by auscultation it was ascertained that the heart-sounds were not accompanied by any murmur pointing to the existence of valvular lesions. Exercise produced alarming aggravations of these symptoms, respiration becoming very hurried, and the action of the heart violent and irregular. The horse was admitted into hospital, and seven days afterwards, while it was standing quietly in the stall, it had a seizure worse than any it had exhibited before. During the attack it trembled violently, and the wall of the chest was visibly raised by the cardiac