Microbic Diseases Individually Considered. 277 



volved the death of the subject in from seven to ten 

 days. 



Etiology and pathogeny. — The actinomjces infects 

 only the herbivora and omnivora ; hence, the dis- 

 ease has been attributed to the foras^e. Johne found 

 an identical fungus on the surface of husks of barley 

 arrested in the tonsils of a healthy pig. Plana dis- 

 covered, in a tumor of the tongue, vegetable debris 

 along with the actinomyces. Most writers agree in 

 incriminating more especially straw and barley husks. 



The parasites, distributed on the ground by diseased 

 animals readily bring about the transmission of the 

 disease to healthy animals; Stienon records an in- 

 stance of enzootic actinomycosis in which nearly all 

 the cattle of the farm were affected. 



Inoculation has also been successfully performed by 

 Johne. This author injected under the skin and 

 within the abdomen of two calves, and into the ud- 

 der of a cow, the juice of a tumor of the maxilla and 

 by this means produced the characteristic neoplasms. 

 Similar results have been obtained by Ponfick and 

 Israel in the calf and in the rabbit. This last author 

 made his inoculations with the actinomycosis of man ; 

 the effects obtained were the same as with the tumors 

 of cattle. Finally, accidental contamination has 

 been established in persons who have attended to 

 animals affected with the disease. 



The- lesions being most frequently confined to some 

 portion of the digestive canal, it is logical to infer 

 that the natural infection occurs through accidental 

 solutions of continuity of the mucosa of these pas- 

 sages, principally in the anterior passages (wounds of 

 the gums, carious teeth, crypts of the tonsils, etc.) 



