Pyczmia and Septicemia. 7 



by foetid diarrhoea. The breath has a peculiar sweetish or mawk- 

 ish odor. Blood passed with the faeces may indicate intestinal 

 abscess, and albumen or pus in the acid urine, bespeaks suppura- 

 ting foci in the kidney. The cloudy mucus from the pelvis of 

 the kidney in the horse must not be mistaken for this. Cough or 

 dyspnoea will indicate abscess of the lungs, and intercostal tender- 

 ness, pleurisy. 



The buccal mucosa may be dry and cracked, and the tongue 

 coated. From the first the animal is dull, and prostrate, and the 

 visible mucosae become dusky brown or even yellowish from the 

 liberated hsematin. Blood abstracted, will show the microorgan- 

 ism, an excess of leucocytes and diminution of the red globules. 

 The poison determines haemolysis. A cardiac murmur, usually 

 with the first sound, betrays endocarditis. This is especially 

 characteristic of chronic pyaemia. Again multiple suppurating 

 arthritis may appear. Stupor, coma or paralysis will indicate 

 cerebral or meningeal lesions. 



In pyaemia following trauma there is drying up of the pus 

 which becomes serous or bloody, a puffy condition of the granu- 

 lations, and the evidence of a thrombus in one or more veins lead- 

 ing out from the wound. 



In other cases the occurrence of pyaemic symptoms, consequent 

 on parturition, metritis, omphalitis, bone-abscess or osteomyelitis, 

 on suppurating internal inflammations, ulcerative endocarditis, or 

 infective fevers like strangles, influenza, contagious pneumonia, 

 cattle plague, distemper, rouget, hog cholera, etc., serves to 

 identify the disease. 



The prognosis of pyaemia is always grave, and death may be 

 expected in six to fourteen days in acute cases. Chronic forms 

 last much longer. 



Prevention is the great object in regard to surgical cases, and 

 this means the prevention of suppuration in the wound. As far 

 as possible, however, this is to be sought by asepsis, or the use 

 of weak non-caustic antiseptics only, as cauterized tissues form 

 favorable culture media, when the action of the antiseptic is spent, 

 there being no longer any living and resistant leucocytes present. 

 The early excision of veins, the seat of thrombosis, has proven 

 successful. 



