314 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



involved. It is first catarrhal in character, but soon a false or diph- 

 theritic membrane is formed, with the production of shallow ulcers. 

 There is dribbling of saliva from the mouth and discharge from the 

 nose, which is at first watery, becoming thicker and mixed with blood 

 and small masses of cast-off croupous membrane, causing a very fetid 

 odor. These croupous areas when they form in the throat, larynx, 

 or windpipe may lead to narrowing of these passages, with conse- 

 quent difficult breathing and even suffocation. Various respiratory 

 murmurs may also be heard, caused by the to-and-fro movement of 

 mucus and inflammatory deposits along the air passages. There is 

 also inflammation of the horn core with consequent loosening of the 

 horn shell, and the horns are thus readily knocked off by the uneasy, 

 blind sufferer. The animal may refuse all food from the time of 

 the initial rise of temperature, or in less severe cases, and especially 

 when the lesions of the digestive tract are not so marked, the appetite 

 may remain until the disease is well advanced. Constipation is quite 

 common at the commencement of the attack, followed by diarrhea 

 and severe straining, the evacuations becoming very soft, fetid, and 

 streaked with blood. Cases have been reported of the evacuation of 

 desquamated patches of diphtheritic membrane from the intestinal 

 mucosa 6 to 9 feet in length. The kidneys and bladder are usually 

 inflamed, the urine being voided with difficulty and the animal evinc- 

 ing signs of pain. ' Inflammatory elements, as albumen, casts, etc., 

 may be seen on examination of the urine. In cows the mucous mem- 

 brane of the vestibule is congested, swollen, and may contain ulcers 

 and an excessive quantity of mucus. Abortion is not infrequent, fol- 

 lowing a severe attack during advanced pregnancy. In connection 

 with these various symptoms there may be much uneasiness on the 

 part of the animal, leading in some cases to madness and furious de- 

 lirium, in others to spasms and convulsions or paralysis. A vesicular 

 eruption of the skin may occur, seen principally between the toes 

 and on the inside of the flank and in the armpits, with subsequent 

 loss of hair and epidermis. 



Like other infectious diseases, malignant catarrh pursues a 

 longer or shorter course in accordance with the severity of the attack. 

 In acute cases death is said to take place three to seven days after the 

 appearance of symptoms. Recovery, if it occurs, may take three or 

 four weeks. According to statistics, from 50 to 90 per cent of the 

 affected animals die. 



If animals which have died of this disease be examined, there 

 will be occasionally found, in addition to the changes of the mucous 

 membrane of mouth and nasal cavities referred to above, shallow 

 ulcers in these situations. These necrotic processes may pass beneath 

 the mucous membrane and even involve the underlying bony struc- 

 ture. In severe cases membranous (croupous) deposits are found in 

 the throat. Similar deposits have been found upon the mucous mem- 

 brane of the fourth stomach and intestine, which is always inflamed. 

 There is more or less inflammation of the membranes of the brain, 

 kidneys, liver, and some fatty degeneration of the voluntary muscles. 

 In countries where rinderpest occasionally appears it may be difficult 



