312 ANTHRAX IN THE PIG. 



if a vein is opened, and ecchymoses occur over the whole body. 

 The discoloration of the skin and mucus membranes, which 

 has suggested so many names for the disorder, commences 

 some time before death, and occurs especially on the belly, 

 on the inner surface of the hind extremities, on the back, 

 ears, &c. The redness or purplish colour disappears wher- 

 ever the skin is pressed, except in parts where any extrava- 

 sation of blood has occurred. An eruption is apt to appear, 

 and the cuticle desquamates. There are no signs of ery- 

 sipelas. Schmidt says that on many animals the red colour 

 is wanting, and does not occur even after death. In the 

 rapid cases the mucous membranes are of a bluish red colour, 

 and in the chronic cases of a dirty yellow. The temperature 

 of the body is at first increased, but afterwards lowered. 

 Schmidt has seen blood oozing through the skin in two 

 cases. In both it appeared as a critical sign, and the ani- 

 mals recovered after it. 



Death occurs in from three to six hours from the com- 

 mencement of this disease. Animals that recover, unless 

 well treated, continue to suffer from paraplegia or from rheu- 

 matic inflammation of the joints. 



Post-mortem Appearances. The skin is black and blue, 

 as if the animal had been knocked about during life, and 

 ham and bacon dealers pass such blotches off for bruises. 

 The capillaries and moderately sized veins of the skin and 

 subcutaneous tissue are dark coloured, and gorged with 

 blood. A yellow serum is apt to accumulate wherever there 

 is this ramified redness. The serous and mucous membranes 

 are studded with ecchymoses, which are most developed as 

 a rule in the thoracic organs. Irnpaction of solid material 

 in the intestine is frequently observed. The liver and spleen 

 are congested, of a dark colour, and the parenchyma of the 

 liver more particularly is soft. The lungs may be much 



