THE VITAMINES IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



93 



diet of white rice, appear in from 20 to 30 days. At first there is 

 paralysis of the extensors of the legs; the bird sits on a flexed tarso 

 raetatarsal joint. Paralysis soon extends to the wings, nape of the 

 neck and the entire musculature. The animal then lies motionless 

 on its side ; a deep prostration appears frequently on the second or 

 third day after the onset of paralysis at the latest, in one week 

 and is followed by death in all cases; the whole course of the disease 

 is run in a very short time. From the characteristic symptoms of 

 experimental beriberi, the following should be noted particularly: 



The crest becomes bluish red very soon, and this appearance may 

 be considered as one of the initial symptoms. 



FIG. 9. AVIAN BERIBERI 

 First day symptoms (Fraser-Stanton) 



Paralysis of the wing musculature belongs to the later symptoms 

 the wings then hang loose down to the ground. 



Spasticity seldom appears in the initial stages of the disease, but 

 more often in the later stages. We notice here the retraction of the 

 head to the back; sometimes there is seen the spastic walk on tip- 

 toes with stiff knees. Dysphagia belongs to the early symptoms; 

 water given to the bird flows out again from the beak; on attempting 

 to feed forcibly, the pigeon chokes. According to Vedder and Clark, 

 the loss of weight is constant at about 20 per cent of the initial weight. 



Progress of the disease. The above named investigators describe 

 the progress of the disease in the following manner: In acute cases, 

 with prostration and great loss of weight, all the symptoms are 



