396 Veterinary Medicine. 



and swelling of the lower part of the abdomen, with liquid 

 effusion and fluctuation, and tenderness of the right flank. The 

 further symptoms are largely nervous, approximating somewhat 

 to those of parturition fever. Temperature may rise to 104° or 

 106°, blindness, stupor, incoordination of muscular movement, 

 staggering gait, if down she may lie on the side or sternum 

 unable to rise, has frequent afterpains, t3'mpany, sour eructations, 

 and grinding of the teeth. The case may culminate in loss of 

 vision, in stupor and coma, or improvement may set in and go on 

 to a rapid recover3^ This is a more common affection in ewes 

 than in cows and is very destructive, the infection being carried 

 by the hands of the shepherd. The most fatal cases are those in 

 which the infection becomes generalized, and cedematous swellings 

 appear round the vulva, between the thighs and beneath the 

 abdomen. 



In traumatic cases the external wounds can usually be found 

 with active inflammation and surrounding tumefaction. 



Lesions. The peritoneum, as in solipeds, shows the symptoms 

 of congestion, exudation of a fine fibrinous network or shreds, of 

 thicker and more extended false membranes in patches, of 

 effusions more or less sanguineous, of formation of pus, usually 

 foetid, or the presence of decompo.sing ingesta which has escaped 

 through a lesion of stomach or bowels. The peritoneal and sub- 

 serous tissue are infiltrated with liquid, and the other gastric and 

 intestinal organs are more or less tympanitic, and the mucosa of 

 the latter is thickened, ecchymosed, or eroded, with black, foetid 

 bloodstained contents. In parturient cases, the uterine mucosa is 

 congested, reddened and softened, the cotyledons swollen, per- 

 haps gangrenous, and the membranes, if still present, float in a 

 dark, putrid offensive liquid. 



Treatment. As in the horse, morphia has been used to relieve 

 pain and check peristalsis. The addition of saline laxatives, and 

 diuretics, will assist in elimination and depletion, and in the re- 

 moval of intestinal bacteria which become a source of danger. A 

 laxative dose should be followed by frequent drinks of pure water 

 or mucilaginous liquids, and sulphate of soda may also be given 

 freely in enema. As diuretics, saltpeter or digitalis ma}' be re- 

 sorted to. Antiferments (salicylate of .soda, bisulphite of soda) 

 should not be forgotten nor cold applications to the abdomen. 



