Special Report on Diseases of Cattle Part 47

In the simplest form the eyelashes bend inwardly, touching the eyeball, causing irritation and simple conjunctivitis. It may be also a.s.sociated with entropion.

_Treatment._--The offending eyelashes should be cut off or pulled out. In case the natural growth of the eyelashes is directed inward, an operation similar to that for entropion becomes necessary.

ENTROPION (INVERSION OF THE EYELID).

In inversion of the eyelid the eyelashes soon irritate the anterior face of the cornea and produce more or less inflammation and opacity. The inversion may be due to the growth of a tumor within or without the lid, to abscess, laceration, or injury, causing the lid to lose its natural conformity to the eyeball, ulcerations, etc. Surgical interference in either case becomes necessary to restore the lid to its natural direction.

ECTROPION (EVERSION OF THE EYELID).

This serves to injure the eye by permitting dust or other foreign substances to enter the eye and interferes with the natural removal of them.

_Treatment._--A delicate surgical operation--the removal of an elliptic section of the palpaebral conjunctiva--may remedy the defect.

TUMORS OF THE EYELIDS.

Occasionally tumors form upon or within the substance of the eyelid. They may be of a fibroid nature and arise from the follicles of the hair as sebaceous tumors or may be in the form of an abscess. In debilitating diseases the lids sometimes become swollen and puffy, a condition which may possibly be taken for the growth of a tumor. This generally disappears with the improvement of the health of the animal. Warts not uncommonly appear on or about the eyelids of cattle.

_Treatment._--The removal of a tumor in the vicinity of so delicate an organ as the eye should not be attempted by anyone not qualified to perform the operation.

LACERATION OF THE EYELID.

This accident is not uncommon where cattle are fenced in by barbed wire; an animal may be caught under the eyelid by the horn of another, or the laceration may occur in the stable by means of a projecting nail or splinter of wood.

_Treatment._--The edges of the wound should be brought together closely and correctly, by means of pins pushed through very nearly the whole thickness of the lid, extending through each lip of the torn part; then a waxed silk or linen thread must be wound over each end of the pin, crossing the torn line in the form of the figure 8 (Pl. XXVII, fig. 9); the pins should be placed about three-eighths of an inch apart. The projecting ends of the pins should be cut off close to the ligature, and the parts kept anointed with vaseline, to which 2 per cent of compound cresol has been added. In place of a pin suture, silver wire, catgut, or strong linen thread may be used in the way of an ordinary suture.

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EYE.

Splinters of wood, hedge thorns, pieces of cornstalk or leaves, stems of hay or straw, twigs of trees, or weeds may penetrate into the eye, break off, and remain, causing inflammation, blindness, abscess, etc. These substances may penetrate the eyeball, but more frequently they glide off and enter between the eye and the ocular sheath.

_Treatment._--Their removal becomes often a very difficult task, from the fact that the organ is so extremely sensitive, and the retracting power so strong as to necessitate casting the animal, or even the administration of sufficient chloroform to render it completely insensible. The removal, however, is of paramount importance, and the after treatment depends upon the extent and location of the injury--cold water compress over the injured eye, the application of mild astringent and cooling washes, such as acetate or sulphate of zinc, 5 grains to the ounce of water. When there is extreme suffering from pain a solution of atropia or morphia, 5 grains to the ounce of water, may be dropped into the eye, alternating with the cooling wash several times a day. When abscesses form within the orbit a free opening must be maintained for the discharge of pus. In deep penetrating wounds of the eye there is a great tendency to the formation of a fungous growth, which often necessitates the enucleation of the whole eyeball.

ORBITAL AND PERIORBITAL ABSCESS.

Orbital abscess may form outside the globe and within the orbital sheath, as the result of a previous wound of the parts or from fracture of the bony orbit, etc. Periorbital abscess commences outside the ocular sheath, beneath the periosteal membrane covering the bone, and is usually the result of a disease or fractured bone which enters into the formation of the orbital cavity.

_Symptoms._--Orbital abscess is manifested by a pus.h.i.+ng forward of the eyeball (exophthalmos), a swelling of the conjunctiva and eyelids. The bulging out of the eye is in proportion to the size of the abscess; the movement of the eye is fixed, due to the painfulness of any voluntary movement of the eyeball. Periorbital abscess generally pushes the eye to one side; otherwise the symptoms are similar to the foregoing. The pain generally is very great; paralysis of the nerve of sight may occur, and death may be caused by the abscess extending to the brain.

_Treatment._--The treatment for either orbital or periorbital abscess is the same as that for abscess occurring in any other part of the body--a free opening for the escape of imprisoned pus. This should be made as soon as the true nature of the disease is recognized. Afterwards antiseptic injections may be needed to stimulate healthy granulation and to prevent septic infection of the ocular membranes. For this purpose a saturated solution of boric acid or listerine 1 part to 10 of water may be used. When the fever runs high, Glauber's salt (sulphate of soda) may be given in 4-ounce doses once a day. The animal should be kept in a darkened stable, on soft or green feed.

FRACTURE OF THE ORBIT.

This accident occasionally occurs among belligerent animals, or as the result of blows delivered by brutal attendants. The orbital process above the eye may be entirely crushed in, pressing down upon the eyeball. In such an event the depressed bone should be elevated into its proper place, and if it fails to unite it may have to be removed with saw or chisel. The margin of the orbit may be crushed at any point and cause periorbital abscess, or necrosis may result from the presence of a splinter of bone or the excessive destruction of bone. In all cases of fracture the animal should be kept by itself until the injured part heals.

NECROSIS OF THE BONY ORBIT.

As the result of fracture of the margin of the orbit a part of the injured bone may become necrosed (dead), and periost.i.tis and periorbital abscess will follow as a consequence. The discovery of this disease will at first resemble abscess, but on making an examination with a probe after the abscess is open we find the bone rough and brittle at the point of disease.

The discharge has a peculiar fetid odor, and is often mixed with blood.

_Treatment._--The affected bone must be laid bare and all diseased portions removed by sc.r.a.ping or, if necessary, with saw or chisel, disregarding the extent of the injury or the size of the wound necessary to be inflicted. A large portion of the bony orbit may be removed without serious danger to the eye, provided the eyeball itself has not been previously affected by the disease or involved in the original injury.

TUMORS OF THE ORBIT.

A fungous tumor of the eyeball or orbit occasionally appears, which is designated fungus haematodes. This may arise without any appreciable cause, or as the result of a wound. It frequently commences within the eyeball as a small, red ma.s.s, eventually bursts through, and pushes its way outside the orbit as a large, dark-red ma.s.s, bleeding at the slightest touch. It has a peculiar, fetid odor, and early in its appearance destroys sight, involving all the contents of the orbit, not infrequently the bony wall itself.

Unless the tumor is totally removed in its early stage of growth, together with the eyeball, the disease will eventually cause emaciation and death of the animal. The enucleation of the eyeball should not be undertaken by anyone unacquainted with the anatomical structures involved in such an operation. When the operation is performed early enough the result is generally satisfactory.

Bony tumors of the orbit, the result of bruises, fractures, etc., are occasionally present in cattle. They may encroach upon the contents of the orbit, causing paralysis of the optic nerve--the condition known as amaurosis--or by pressure upon the posterior surface of the eyeball force it forward, or produce atrophy (shrinking). They may displace the eye in any direction, with or without disturbing vision.

Fibrous tumors growing within the orbit will produce symptoms similar to those of bony tumors.

_Treatment._--When the outlines of the tumor, whether fungoid, bony, or fibrous, can be detected, an operation for its removal should be undertaken as soon as the sight of the eye is in any manner disturbed.

DISLOCATION OF THE EYEBALL.

The eyeball may be torn out of its socket by the horns of another animal, or it may be crowded out with the blunt end of a club, cane, or probe in the hands of a brutal attendant.

_Treatment._--When the optic nerve is not lacerated and the retractor muscles at the back of the eye are intact, an attempt at reduction is advisable. This, however, must follow very soon after the injury--before swelling takes place. Divide the outer corner of the eyelid to enlarge the orifice, then by pressure with the fingers of both hands placed upon the sides of the eye the ball may be put into its place. Apply a firm compress over the injured eye and keep it constantly wet with cold water containing 1 dram of sugar of lead to each quart.

If the attempt at reduction proves unsuccessful the artery at the back of the eye should be ligated, and then the whole ma.s.s cut off as deep within the orbit as possible. The orbital cavity, after was.h.i.+ng it out with a 3 per cent solution of carbolic acid or compound cresol, should be packed daily with fresh absorbent cotton.

INFLAMMATION AND ENLARGEMENT OF THE HAW.

The haw, or membrana nict.i.tans, is subject to inflammation and swelling from the extension of conjunctivitis, or direct injury by foreign substances. It presents a red, swollen appearance, accompanied with considerable pain and a profuse flow of tears. A slight scarification with a sharp knife and the application of a cooling lotion, such as is recommended for conjunctivitis, will soon reduce the swelling and restore it to its normal function.

There is, however, a tendency for an inflammation of this membrane to take on a chronic character, which may eventually result in a permanent enlargement, resembling a tumor. When it attains sufficient size to protrude itself permanently over the eye, or project between the lids so as to obstruct the sight, its removal may become necessary. A threaded needle is pa.s.sed through the body of the enlarged ma.s.s, by which the membrane is drawn out as far as possible, then with a blunt pair of scissors it may be dissected away from its attachments. The eye is afterwards treated with simple cooling lotions.

DISEASES OF THE EAR.

By M. R. TRUMBOWER, D. V. S.

[Revised by Leonard Pearson, B. S., V. M. D.]

Diseases of the ears of cattle are not very common, for the reasons probably that they are not subjected to the brutality of drivers so much as horses and that the horns to a great extent protect them against external violence.