946 



Rachitis. 



The teeth then seem shortened and sometimes barelj' stand 

 ont from the g-ums ; they are loose and may fall out ; the enamel 

 is perforated in places. The bones of the skull may he thick- 

 ened in parts, or they may be thin and even membranous; 

 the fontanelles, especially between the frontal and parietal 

 bones, often remain open (Schiitz). 



Tlie form of rachitis iu pif^s in which tlie facial hones bulge out strongly, lias 

 always been designated as snuffles (French: " reniflement "). With it were classed 

 other diseases characterized by a sniffling respiration, especially the infectious nasal 

 infianiniatiou of pigs (Vol. 11). Since, however, the sniffling respiration is only 

 a symptom of quite heterogeneous diseases, and has all too often given rise to 

 misunderstanding, the name snuffles should be abandoned altogether. The same is 

 true for the so-called bran disease of horses, which also repre^^ents only a form' of 

 rachitis or osteomalacia, causeil l)y the exclusive fee<ling of bran. 



Course and Prognosis. After the apijearance of clinical 

 symptoms rachitis runs a chronic course lasting for months. 



Fig. 164. Ravliilir hiilging of the maxiUary hones niid /n-olriisi<iii itf Ihc hard 

 jxildle info llir tnoitlh. in a ])ig with rachitic changes iu the other bones. 



except in those cases in which, as already mentioned, the onset 

 is associated M'ith severe nervous disturbances, or in which 

 dealli is hastened by complications. If the conditions are un- 

 favorable and if the disease is not treated, it gradually 

 jjrogresses accompanied by increasing emaciation of the ani- 

 mals whose development is noticeably retarded. Spontaneous 

 recoveries are not infrequent in large herds, but are observed 

 only in animals, which are less severely affected, or in nearly 

 mature animals in which, of course, growth is less rapid. By 

 proper regulation of the diet and by prompt treatment many, 

 even severely affected, animals are cured, or the bone deformi- 

 ties, which are not yet considerable, are made to disappear. 

 But deformities which have become very decided persist, the 

 narrowing of the pelvis and the thorax being of particular im- 

 portance. Under unfavoralile conditions, or if the disease is 



