228 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



Aside from the causative organism, or, in other words, the active 

 cause, there are many secondary causes. The most important of 

 these in pyemia is a break in continuity of the protective covering, 

 as a wound, which affords an entrance into the tissues for the or- 

 ganisms. Among the different varieties of wounds may be men- 

 tioned cuts, bruises, punctures, burns, chemical or frozen wounds, 

 and compound fractures of bones. Injuries received during par- 

 turition, stoppage of the milk ducts, and infection of the umbilicus 

 in the newly born are also frequent causes of pyemia. Septicemia 

 usually follows surgical wounds, local suppuration, enteritis, bron- 

 chitis in fact, wherever there is a local lesion of any kind permit- 

 ting germs to enter the blood. Septicemia was formerly applied to 

 designate the condition in which the organisms were localized, but 

 in which their toxins were diffused in the blood. Pyemia was made 

 to represent that condition where the organisms were localized, but 

 in which the pus was transported by the blood. These terms now 

 are applied to conditions in which both the organisms and their 

 toxins, or the pus, are present in the blood. The term septicemia is 

 indicated where intoxication is the more pronounced symptom and 

 pyemia where pus formation and metastatic or secondary abscess 

 formation are observed. 



Symptoms. The symptoms of both diseases include primarily 

 a high fever (104 to 107 F.). Coupled with this there is dis- 

 inclination to move, the animal is depressed and not cognizant of its 

 surroundings. The pulse is rapid, small, and feeble, respiration 

 increased, mucous membrane injected, swollen, and of a yellowish 

 tinge. Appetite is lost and death follows in the case of septicemia in 

 from two to four days. In pyemia the symptoms come on more 

 slowly and are not so intense as in septicemia, while the course of 

 the disease is longer, lasting from six days to four weeks. The 

 mortality is not so great as in septicemia, but the period of con- 

 valescence is always long. 



Lesions. Septicemia is characterized by the destructive changes 

 in the blood, which is chocolate color, noncoagulable, and swarms 

 with bacteria. The lining membranes of the heart are studded with 

 red spots, often running together to form a large hemorrhagic area. 

 The lungs, liver, and kidneys may also show these hemorrhages. 

 The spleen is enlarged and full of black blood. The cadaver de- 

 composes very rapidly and in some cases forms great quantities 

 of fetid gas. In pyemia, in addition to these lesions, there are 

 abscesses formed in the various organs throughout the body. If 

 the disease develops slowly a postmortem shows these abscesses to 

 be the chief alterations. The pus content is usually greenish, stained 

 with blood, and contains strings of fibrous tissue and necrosed 

 matter. 



Treatment. Treatment is almost futile in advanced cases of 

 either disease. Septicemia is usually fatal and pyemia frequently 

 so. Prevention, and the immediate treatment of local infections, 

 are the surest means of combating these diseases. For local treat- 

 ment of wounds the usual antiseptics are indicated, such as 5 per 



