TUMOURS OF THE UDDER. 585 



radical methods, such as scarifications, incisions, antiseptic injections, 

 etc., eight died. The only justifiable treatment, therefore, is ablation. 



CYSTS OF THE UDDER. 



Cysts of the udder may assume one of two forms, milk or galactoce- 

 lous cysts and serous cysts; possibly the latter are only hydatid cysts. 



Both varieties are of the nature of retention cysts, and result from 

 accidental obliteration of a milk conduit, which has been obstructed 

 by coagulated casein, or from atresia due to contraction of inflamed 

 connective tissue. The acini are isolated and become dilated, the milk 

 undergoes changes in composition, the secretory epithelium degenerates, 

 and the cyst is produced. 



The serous or milk cysts may vary considerably in size, and always 

 show a rapid tendency to suppuration. 



The diagnosis is based on the detection of uniform fluctuation 

 without excessive sensibility, and can be confirmed by an exploratory 

 capillary puncture. 



The prognosis is grave, for recovery can only occur after the lining 

 membrane of the cyst has been destroyed. 



Treatment. Puncture followed by irrigation is insufficient, whatever 

 the nature of the cyst. 



Free incision, or simple puncture with a bistoury, produces sup- 

 puration within the cystic cavity, which continues until the lining 

 membrane is completely destroyed ; but this takes a very long time. 



Eemoval of the entire cyst, either with the bistoury or by tearing 

 through the surrounding connective tissue, is the best method of treat- 

 ment. The wound thus produced heals regularly and rapidly under an 

 antiseptic surgical dressing. 



TUMOURS OF THE UDDER. 



Tumours of the udder have been little studied in the larger 

 domestic animals, the reason being that immediately animals cease to 

 yield milk they are fattened and despatched to the butcher. Clinically, 

 therefore, these tumours are not of great practical importance. 



Without entering into general considerations of a pathological 

 anatomical character, by which different varieties of these tumours are 

 differentiated, we may say that they assume one of three different 

 forms. The first is sharply circumscribed, of clearly defined shape, and 

 easily separated from neighbouring tissues, to which it adheres but 

 slightly. Such tumours are benign, and have no tendency to return 

 after removal. 



The second is ill-defined, very adherent, and appears to infiltrate 



