Inflammation of the lungs : pneumonia, or pneumonitis / [Anon].

  • Clark, Bracy, 1771-1860
Date:
[1838]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Inflammation of the lungs : pneumonia, or pneumonitis / [Anon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. Pneumonia, or Pneumonitis. THIS complaint being one of the most frequent and prevailing among horses, has induced me to add some account of it to those I have already treated of, for although this essay may present nothing particularly new, yet neither is it a vain repetition of others’ writings on the subject, but is forming as we believe a more comprehensive and reasonable view of this disease and its treatment, than has yet been seen, and we may add also, that it has been blessed with a singularly fortunate issue of those cases, which have come under our notice and ti’eatment, having in very many years scarcely lost a single case of it. First, as to the usual sources of this complaint, which are almost ever chills of one kind or other, from improper exposure, from showers of rain sometimes, and especially drafts of air falling upon an animal primed, perhaps, to the last degree of plethora by high feed, and stimu- lating diet, and brought into a state therefore, of the greatest susceptibility for the commence- ment of an attack, of an inflammatory disorder, and which attack and progress of the disease, will also be greatly aggravated by such a state of things. The horse often is exposed in the course of his work, to showers of rain, after perhaps being brought into a sweating condition, by the exercise and labour, and the blood suddenly driven from the skin, and exterior of the body, is, by the sudden contraction of its vessels, forced upon the interior, and the lungs generally, or the intestines, one or both, take on inflammatory action, and thus the mischief commences; and we may remark, that much more frequently would this unfortunate result occur, than it actually does, but from the circum- stance that the animal, after a certain time of waiting, resumes his task again, and in returning home, resumes his heat, and drives back that blood, which had been forced upon the interior, back again to the skin, and to the exterior; and so, unconsciously perhaps to his driver, is averted a still more frequent occurrence of this disorder. But by far the most frequent cause or source of these attacks, is, that the animal on being driven home, is left standing without, in the open air, tied to the stable door, or exposed per- haps, under some shed, to heavy drafts of air, and there is obliged to undergo a washing of his legs in cold water, and a slopping and slushing over him of the same, perhaps, as high up as the abdomen and chest, and not satisfied with this, he is perhaps led afterwards into a stable having drafts of air in all directions, through half closed doors, loft doors, and racks, so done in order as they say, to air the stable well; the word well, so fatally ready for use for good purposes, as well as bad, and on all occasions here, is we believe used most mischievously; we indeed can also admire a well aired stable, but then we understand by this, quite a different thing, viz., a stable of a certain degree of loftiness in the ceiling, and well ceiled, and having