56 SWINE DISEASES 



Treatment. Because of the nature of hepatic 

 rupture, treatment is of no avail. In cases that will 

 probably have a fatal termination the animal may be 

 bled to death and the carcass thus saved for meat. 



Icterus 



Icterus or jaundice is a condition resulting from the 

 deposition of bile or bile pigments in the various tissues. 

 This condition is relatively common and is significant as 

 a diagnostic factor. 



Etiology. Icterus may be the result of obstructed 

 outflow of bile. It may result from excessive destruction 

 of red blood cells, of failure of elimination of bile from 

 the blood. Obstructed outflow of bile may be due to 

 calculi, parasites, or foreign bodies in the bile ducts, 

 closure of the duct by cicatrices, muscular spasms, 

 tumors, abscess, aneurysms, fecal matter, parasitic 

 cysts, or inflammatory disturbances of the mucous 

 membrane of the duodenum or the various bile ducts. 

 Excessive production of bile in the blood occurs as a 

 result of hemolysis due to chemic substances in such 

 diseases as hog cholera, swine plague, septicemia, pyemia, 

 generalized anthrax, phosphorous poisoning, and also 

 as a result of the injection of the venom of some 

 poisonous snakes. Failure of elimination of bile occurs 

 not only when the outlets are obstructed but also when 

 considerable numbers of liver cells have been destroyed 

 or their functional capacity diminished. 



Lesions. Bile staining is most evident in the con- 

 junctiva and ocular sclera of the living animal, where 

 it produces a lemon-yellow or greenish-yellow discolora- 

 tion. If the reabsorption of bile is very extensive it 

 may appear in the urine. In carcasses biliary pig- 

 mentation is most evident in the adipose tissue, especially 

 the subcutaneous fat, although it is usually well marked 

 in the subserous fat and may be detected in the lymph 

 nodes, spleen, kidney, and muscular tissues. On micro- 

 scopic examination the bile pigments may be found in 



