Cattle 1853 - Lewis Family Farm

372 CATTLE.
ticularly in the change that takes place in that blood when drawn
from the vein.
The fluid discharged from the kidneys participates
yellow-brown—brown.
in the general
The change
change ; it becomes yellow—
is most evident here, because so great a quantity of blood, in pro-
portion to the size of the organ, circulates through the kidneys ;
more particularly it is evident here, because it is the office or duty
of the kidneys to separate from the blood, and to expel from the
circulation, that which is foreign to the blood, or would be injurious
to the animal.
The bile, however, possesses an acrid principle to a considerable
degree. While it is an excrementitious substance' that must be got
rid of, it stimulates the intestinal canal as it passes along in order to
be discharged ; it particularly does so when it is secreted in undue
quantities, or when its quality is altered. There is abundant proof of
this in the bilious irritation and diarrhoea which cattle so frequently
exhibit. The kidney,' at length, is evidently irritated by the continued
presence of this diseased fluid : it becomes inflamed, its minute
vessels are ruptured, and a red hue begins to mingle with the
brown. There is found discoloration and increased size of the kidney,
and pain in the region of that organ ; this, however, is rarefy
carried to any considerable extent, and the seat and principal ravages
of disease are to be clearly traced to a different part, namely, the liver.
and
It is evident, then, that acute and chronic red-water, as the author
of this treatise has termed them, (for he did not, in the present state
of our knowledge of cattle medicine, dare to deviate too far from the
usual arrangement and designation .of disease,) are essentially differ-
ent maladies : Ihey belong to different organs—they are characterized
by different symptoms—they require different treatment. The
first is inflammation of the kidney ; it is characterized by the evident
pain and fever, and by the red and bloody urine which accompanies
it in an early stage ; it requires the most active treatment, and it
speedily runs its course. The second is inflammation of, or altered
secretion from, the liver ; not often accompanied in its early stage
by pain or fever ; characterized by the dark brown color of vitiated
bile, and more slowly, but as fatally, undermining the strength of
the constitution.
As to the first step in the treatment of chronic red-water, the
propriety of bleeding depends on the condition of the beast, and the
degree of fever. An animal in high or in fair condition can never
be huct by one bleeding ; while, on the contrary, lurking, decep-
tive, fatal febrile action may be subdued. If 'there be the slightest
degree pf actual fever, nothing can excuse the neglect of bleeding.
The quantity taken, or the repetition of the abstraction of blood,
must be left to the judgment of the practitioner.