192 Infectious Pajmlous Inflammation of the !Moutli (»f Cattle. 



also on the hard palate, ijarticnlarly on its sharp niari^in, at the 

 corners of the month, and on the inferior surface of the tong-ue, 

 on the internal surface of the cheeks, and also exceptionally on 

 the soft palate. These nodules may become confluent in the 

 further course of development and form larger patches. Sim- 

 ilar nodules often are formed in the integument of the muzzle. 

 The nodules and the area surrounding them at first appear in- 

 tensely reddened, later on they assume a yellowish-gray color 

 and are then surrounded by a red area. They are firmly con- 

 nected with the underlying surface and cannot be removed 

 easily, whether as pseudomembranes or otherwise. In the fur- 

 ther course the epithelial covering desquamates without the 

 preliminary formation of vesicles and central circular depres- 

 sions are formed, with a granular, frequently excavated, base, 

 which may either show an intensely red or a blackish color, de- 

 pending upon the pale red or the grayish-black color of the 

 mucosa of the sick animal. While the erosion grows to the 

 size of a bean or even to that of a silver dollar, the base be- 

 comes yellowish. After eight days the erosions are closed by 

 a new epithelial covering, but the healed spots may be recog- 

 nized for as long as one month by their intensely red color and 

 their roughened surface. Eecurrences occur frequently and 

 repeatedly, so that the course of the disease may extend over 

 months; however, it always ends in recovery. Other s>anp- 

 toms are usually absent, although in more severe cases there 

 may be a formation of crusts on the skin, general emaciation, 

 and a bad smell from the mouth. 



Lienanx noticed in a row salivation, grating of teeth and diarrhea in addition 

 to the symptoms above described. Post-mortem examination showed erosions and 

 loss of substance along the whole gastro-intestinal tract similar to those in the 

 mouth. Artificial inoculation was not successful in contradistinction to what occurs 

 in contagious jiapulous inflammation. Hess mentions the occurrence of very small 

 vesicles in the center of nodules which burst soon and attain the size of a millet 

 seed to that of a pea. 



Diagnosis. The presence of the peculiar flat, nodule-like 

 formations on the buccal mucosa, and occasionally on the muz- 

 zle, without disturbance of the general health and without in- 

 volvement of the feet, the slight extension of the lesions, their 

 eaten-out appearance, with only superficial loss of substance 

 suflficiently characterize the disease. It may be distinguished 

 from vesicular stomatitis by the absence of vesicles in the mouth, 

 and by the presence of the characteristic nodules in the neigh- 

 borhood of the existing erosions; besides there is increased se- 

 cretion of saliva in vesicular stomatitis. The same differential 

 features also distingiiish the affection from foot-and-mouth dis- 

 ease in which large vesicles are often seen on the back of the 

 tongue or on the feet. In aphthous stomatitis of sucklings, 

 pseudomembranous deposits are developed on the usually red- 

 dened tongue and the disease affects only sucklings and young 

 animals which have just been weaned. 



