THE URO-OENITAL SYSTEM 105 



frequently terminated fatally in from two to four days 

 after the onset, the few cases that recovered requiring 

 from one to six weeks. 



Treatment. The treatment of nephritis in swine is 

 a difficult problem. Resort should be had to the usual 

 hygienic practices. Diaphoresis is not practical in swine, 

 and purgation should not be resorted to as a means of 

 elimination, for such procedure would probably aggravate 

 the condition existing in the kidney. General treatment 

 of symptoms as they arise is probably all that can be 

 accomplished therapeutically until further knowledge is 

 obtained. 



Acute Interstitial Nephritis 



An occasional kidney is found in which there is a 

 leukocytic invasion and other evidence of a reaction in 

 the interstitial or supporting tissue, the parenchymatous 

 tissue being unaffected. But this condition is not com- 

 mon, and thus far has not been observed clinically in 

 swine. 



Purulent Nephritis 



Purulent nephritis is inflammation of the kidney 

 characterized by the formation of pus, a condition of 

 frequent occurrence in swine. In the study of swine 

 kidneys from abattoirs one-half of one per cent have 

 been found affected. 



Etiology. Pyogenic cocci and the colon bacteria are 

 the most common causative agents. Purulent inflam- 

 mation elsewhere in the body predisposes to renal meta- 

 stasis, although purulent inflammation may occur pri- 

 marily in the kidney Constipation is probably a pre- 

 disposing factor of colon-bacillus invasion of the kidney. 



Lesions. Suppuration may be circumscribed, thus 

 forming an abscess or multiple abscesses, or it may be 

 diffuse. Metastatic purulent nephritis usually involves 

 both kidneys, and small suppurative centers occur as 

 gray or yellow areas which are surrounded by a hyperemic 

 zone. The larger foci may be quite definitely circum- 

 scribed and frequently have small bands of fibrous 



