Bases for the use of marginal distance in the clinical diagnosis of the horse
Steck, W.
Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde 113(5): 227-236
1971
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-7281 PMID: 5089131 Document Number: 37913
In healty adult horses the 'marginal distance' (m.d.), i.e. the distance between the percussion sound limit of the thoracic wall and that of the lungs, was 65 mm or less. A rise in intra-abdominal pressure due to coughing, micturition or defaecation was accompanied by a transient increase in m.d. Application to the skin of dimethylsulphoxide of substances containing ethereal oils induced an increase in m.d. lasting 2-3 days. Bacterial infections failed to affect the m.d. but preliminary observations indicated that viral infections were characterized by an increased m.d., as were pathological conditions involving severe tissue damage or resorption of large extravasations.