blood into them; this distends their elastic walls and sends
along them a wave which gradually becomes less perceptible as it nears the
very small arteries. This wave constitutes the pulse, and is lost before
the capillaries are reached. The sensation or impression given to the
finger when placed upon the artery shows the force exerted by the heart and
some important facts concerning the condition of the circulation. In adult
cattle the average number of pulsations in a minute is from 50 to 60. The
pulse is faster than normal after exercise, excitement, on hot days, from
pain, and as a result of fullness of the stomach. In old animals it is
slower than in the young and in males slightly slower than in females. In
fevers and inflammations and in local diseases of the heart the pulse rate
is increased. If the rate is greater than 100 or 110 to the minute the
outlook for recovery is not good.

Other variations of the pulse are known as infrequent pulse, which means
that the number of pulsations in a given time is less than normal. The
irregular or the intermittent pulse is when the pulsations do not follow in
regular order. The large pulse and the small pulse refer to the volume of
the pulse, which may be larger or smaller than usual. The strong pulse and
the feeble pulse refer to the strength or weakness of the pulsation. The
pulse is said to be hard when the vessel feels hard and incompressible, the
soft pulse being the opposite. By dicrotic pulse is meant that kind of
pulsation which makes each beat seem double, and therefore it is generally
called the double pulse.

The venous or "jugular pulse" is the pulsation so frequently observed in
the jugular vein of cattle and is particularly noticeable while they are
ruminating--"chewing the cud." It is not always associated with disease,
but may be a symptom of some disease of the heart; in such cases the
jugular pulse is continuous.

The place selected for feeling the pulse in cattle is where the
submaxillary artery winds around the lower jawbones, just at the lower edge
of the flat muscle on the side of the cheek; or, if the cow is lying down,
the metacarpal artery on the back part of the fore fetlock is very
convenient for the purpose.

THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART.

Corresponding to the beats of the heart two sounds are emitted which are of
a definite type in healthy animals. The first is produced by the
contraction of the heart and the flow of blood out of it; the