A Clinical Approach to Diarrhoea*

Abstract— —An attempt will be made to examine the symptom of diarrhoea in the context of broad clinical syndromes. Overlapping and omission are inevitable in this approach. The object will be to consider some of the commoner conditions in which the character and content of the stool is abnormal, laying rather more emphasis on conditions which present problems in diagnosis. Résumé— —Un essai sera effectué d'examiner les symptômes de la diarrhée dans le contexte de larges syndromes cliniques. Des répétitions et des omissions sont inévitables dans cette approache. L'objet sera la considération des conditions les plus communes sous lesquelles les caracteristiques et le contenu des selles est anormal, soulignant particulièrement les conditions que presentent des problèmes de diagnose. Zusammenfassung— —Es wird ein Versucht gemacht werden, die Symptome von Diarrhöe im Rahmen grober, klinischer Syndrome zu untersuchen. Bei diesem Vorgehen ist ein etwaiges Übergreifen und Übersehen unvermeidlich. Der Zweck des Versuches ist, einige der häufigeren Zustände, bei welchen die Beschaffenheit und der Inhalt des Stuhls abnormal ist, zu berücksichtigen, wobei etwas mehr Gewicht auf jene Umstände gelegt werden wird, welche Probleme bei der Diagnose hervorrufen.     

鸡霍乱流行病学研究

禽霍乱病原菌肌肉注射人工感染成年鸡后,禽霍乱病原菌首先局限于注射部位生长繁殖,其他部位不能检出菌,静脉注射禽霍乱病原菌入血后,血中含菌数很快就迅速下降,出现一个低谷期,然后才不断上升。各组织、器官在任一时刻的含菌数各不相同,肝、脾含菌量最高。在血中可测到禽霍乱病原菌数量增加时,所感染的鸡均出现临床症状,并在几小时后死亡。分析认为,在各好嗜性组织器官中禽霍乱菌的大量繁殖是导致病鸡死亡的关键因素。     

Investigations into the role of the thyrohyoid muscles in the pathogenesis of dorsal displacement of the soft palate in horses

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Contributes to the understanding of the pathogenesis of dorsal displacement of the soft palate during exercise so that management of this condition could be enhanced. HYPOTHESIS: That the thyrohyoid muscles play an important role in the stability of the laryngo-palatal relationship and that dysfunction of these muscles leads to dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) during exercise. METHODS: Ten horses were exercised on a high-speed treadmill under 4 different treatment conditions: control conditions (n = 10), after resection of thyrohyoid muscles (TH, n = 10), after sham-treatment (n = 5), or after restoration of function of the thyrohyoid muscles with surgical sutures (prosthesis-treatment, n = 6). During trials, the following determinations were made: videoendoscopy of the upper airway, gait frequency and pharyngeal and tracheal static pressures. RESULTS: None of the 10 horses developed DDSP during 2 separate treadmill-exercise trials under the control conditions. Seven of the 10 horses developed DDSP after resection of the TH muscles, 4 of 5 of these horses still experienced DDSP after sham-treatment, but 5 of 6 horses no longer experienced DDSP at exercise after the prosthesis-treatment. There were significant anomalies in airway pressures, respiratory frequency, and occurrence of DDSP in both the TH resection and sham-treatment conditions compared to control conditions. In contrast, no statistical differences were noted in any of the parameters measured between the prosthesis-treatment and control conditions. CONCLUSIONS: That the function of the TH muscles is important to the stability of the laryngo-palatal relationship and plays a role in the pathophysiology of exercise-induced DDSP. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Management of horses with DDSP could be enhanced by restoring the function of the TH muscles.     

Spectral analysis of respiratory noise in horses with upper airway disorders

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: It has long been recognised that the production of abnormal respiratory sounds by horses during exercise is frequently associated with upper airway obstructions. Respiratory acoustic measurements have shown promise in investigation of upper airway disorders in man and, more recently, in horses with experimentally-induced obstructions. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate sounds from exercising horses with naturally occurring dynamic obstructions of the upper respiratory tract and to compare these with those from normal horses in order to determine whether different obstructions produce characteristic spectral patterns. METHODS: The audio signal, airflow and videoendoscopic images were recorded simultaneously during an incremental exercise test on a high-speed treadmill. RESULTS: Spectral analysis of the audio signal showed marked differences between control and clinically afflicted horses. Dorsal displacement of the soft palate was characterised by a narrow low frequency (20-80 Hz) peak during expiration. Horses with dynamic laryngeal collapse produced inspiratory sounds characterised by a broad band high frequency spectral component in the range 1.1-2.7 kHz. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Spectral analysis of respiratory sounds in horses has potential as a diagnostic technique for field use especially when facilities for high-speed treadmill assessment are not practicable.