2078 Xew-Forinatioii. Animal Parasites. 



The muscular tissue atrophies in the immediate vicinity of the swell- 

 ings, but the defect in muscular force is replaced by the uninjured parts, 

 which later on become atrophied. A hypertrophy is more apt to develop 

 as the swellings which bulge out into the cavities or against the openings 

 of the heart, impede the free circulation of the blood. The size and loca- 

 tion of the swellings is of influence upon the degree of compensation and 

 therefore only unimportant disturbances or none at all are observed in 

 some eases, while in others a severe clinical picture develops. 



The morl)id symptoms are very uncertain in character. In most 

 cases sudden death was observed, or the swellings were found on autopsy 

 of such animals which had not presented any symptoms of cardiac 

 disease during life. Only rarely disturbances of the heart function were 

 noticed ; in horses dyspnea was often diagnosed, the basis of which had, 

 however, remained obscure during the life of the animal. It is probably 

 only in exceptional cases possible to refer disturbances in the cardiac 

 function to the presence of a swelling in the heart wall with any degree 

 of certainty, especially when the occurrence of a primary new-formation 

 in the organs that are susceptible to immediate investigation permit the 

 assumption of a metastatic swelling in the heart. 



10. Animal Parasites in the Heart. 



Of animal parasites cysticerci and echinococci occur most fre- 

 quently in the heart muscle or under the epicardium (Neumann, Rev. 

 Vet., 1905, 729, with literature). The cysticerci do not: appear to pro- 

 duce any noticeable disturbances in the heart function, and echinococci 

 are found, not at all rarely, in the heart muscle of apparently healthy 

 cattle, as is proved by the findings in abattoirs. (In exceptional cases 

 the echinococci occur also in horses, especially in the heart muscle or in 

 the wall of the aorta.) If the echinococcus bladder is comparatively 

 large, or if several of them are present at the same time (]\Iorot found 

 20 in one case) they naturally interfere with the heart action, but the 

 cause of the disturbance cannot be determined even approximately. In 

 a number of cases death occurs suddenly from paralysis or rupture of 

 the heart, or from rupture of the echinococcus bladder into the heart 

 cavity and the transportation of its contents into the pulmonary artery 

 (Eggeling). The predisposing cause for the occurrence of sudden death 

 may also lie in the presence of an infectious disease. In a case observed 

 by Sequens, for instance, the rupture had developed in the febrile stage 

 of foot and mouth disease. 



Of other parasites the Sarcosporidia occur in the heart muscle of 

 sheep without leading to any particular cardiac disturbances ; also 

 mature specimens of Filaria immitis in the right auricle and the 

 Strongylus vasorum in the heart of dogs (see pages 902 and 907). Cocu 

 found a living specimen of distoma hepaticum in the coagulum attached 

 to the chordae tendineae of the right ventricle of a cow dead with symp- 

 toms of severe cachexia and dyspnea. 



11. Acute Endocarditis. Endocarditis Acuta. 



Occurrence. Acute endocarditis belongs to the less frequent 

 diseases and occurs in horses usually in consequence of in- 

 fluenza or of pyemic affections ; in cattle it develops most fre- 

 quently in the course of pyemia, of articular rheumatism, rarely 



