Report on Diseases and Abnormalities in Fishes. 9 



structure may not have been well made out. A small bundle 

 measuring 4-5 mm. long, and about 4 mm. wide, is shown enlarged 

 in fig. 73. It was amber-coloured, and covered with a thick fibrous 

 wall, through which the columns projected. The muscle fibres 

 were loosely attached to the outside of the ball. The projecting end 

 of the column is covered with a skin of connective-tissue fibres (fig. 

 75). Air-bubbles have been noticed between the end of the column 

 and its glove-like covering. 



When a column is broken across nothing exudes from it. There 

 is an outer homogeneous translucent rind and an inner granular 

 core composed of small corpuscles. The rind seems to be tougher 

 than the core. The striae on the outside of the column tend to run 

 longitudinally. Connective tissue seems to be bound up in the 

 bundle of columns. 



What appears to be the beginning of a column was observed 

 between two muscle fibres (fig. 69). It measured -57 by "22 mm. 

 The tuberculated bundle shown in fig. 56 measured 11 by 55 mm. 

 A number of vesicles or oil-drops were visible throughout it. 



The columns are not the agents. They are the effect of the disease 

 or injury, whatever it may be. 



In one fish the columnar bodies, 2-5 mm. long and a little less in 

 breadth, were dark red to the naked eye. When teazed out, the 

 parts were of a pale amber colour. 



Diseased Liver.* 



The cod was of a fair size; it was thin, but otherwise quite normal. 



The anterior part of the liver, measuring 5 inches (12 cm.) by 2| 

 inches (7 cm.), was hard. One lobe at least had the light yellow 

 colour of the normal liver. A section across the anterior portion is 

 shown in fig. 78. The major portion of the section is occupied by 

 two large cheesy masses, one of which (b.) is dark brown, the other 

 (dr.) dark red, almost black in colour. The rest of the liver tissue 

 (t.) is filled with amber-coloured tubers of various sizes and shapes. 

 The tubers are attached to vessels. Nematodes were found amonrr 

 the tubers. The normally-coloured lobe of the liver is indicated at 

 lb. The liver had a smell resembling that of seaweed. 



The two cheesy masses are huge blood clots. When a part of the 

 brown clot was put into water it gave off a milky fluid. On treating, 

 first with ether and then with water, disorganised cells were made 

 out. These I believe to be blood corpuscles. The dark red clot 

 is stiffer in consistency. No white precipitate was given off in 

 water, but the latter became greenish in colour. Blood corpuscles 

 were made out. The brown clot is the older. 



When the yellow lobe was cut a green fluid issued. This fluid is 

 filled with oil globules, and contains little green bodies. The green 

 bodies vary in size : they are very numerous : some are very minute 

 (figs. 79, 80, 83, 88). One larger element (fig. 79) consisted of 

 four ova surrounded by a greenish tissue, indicated in the 

 figure by the dotted surface. It is shown surrounded by the oil 

 globules (o;/.) of the liver fluid. The ovum (pv.) measured "32 mm. 

 in diameter. Among the smaller corpuscles in the fluid distinctive 

 shades of green were observed. Thus the minute cell (fig. 83) was 



* Presented by Mr. J. D. Sinclair, nsh curer, Aberdeen. 



