808 Articular Rheumatism. 



suffers. At times catarrh of tlie stomach and indigestion de- 

 velop, in consequence of which the animal rapidly becomes 

 emaciated, the milk supply ceases, and the muscles correspond- 

 ing to the severely affected joints, become atrophied. In this 

 way a cachectic condition develops, which may, however, be 

 due partially to certain sequelae, especially inflammatory changes 

 of other organs (valvular incompetence, growths on the serous 

 membranes, etc.). 



Diagnosis. The diagnosis of articular rheumatism neces- 

 sitates great caution, since other diseases of the joints produce 

 a more or less similar clinical picture. — Polyarthritis puer- 

 peralis as well as joint inflammations sometimes following upon 

 mastitis or upon inflammations of internal organs, which in 

 many cases are limited to one joint, especially the hock joint, 

 can be differentiated positively if the underlying illness can 

 be determined, or if the complaint occurs shortly after parturi- 

 tion or abortion. — The other metastatic forms of the complaint 

 in which frequently several joints are attacked by inflam- 

 mation are also preceded by primary diseases of certain organs, 

 and the arthritis in these cases is mostly purulent. — Traumatic 

 inflammations are followed by feverish symptoms only after 

 some time, and besides the history usually clears up the cause 

 of the disease. 



Arthrites arising in the course of different infectious dis- 

 eases generally declare themselves only some time after the 

 respective diseases have been in existence. In this respect 

 tuberculous arthritis is not rarely an exception, since according 

 to Guillebeau it may arise without tuberculous disease of other 

 organs, and on this account may often be mistaken for joint 

 rheumatism. In tuberculous inflammations, however, in about 

 four-fifths of the cases, only one joint is affected, especially 

 the stifle joint, and tuberculosis of other organs may be estab- 

 lished at least in many cases. At times the tuberculin test is 

 serviceable, but it does not always prove absolutely that the 

 arthritis is of a tuberculous nature. 



In an advanced stage the disease may be mistaken for 

 osteomalacia. In this disease, however, only the phalangeal joints 

 are usually swollen, and further softness and brittleness of 

 the bones will be noticed; moreover, in large cattle herds the 

 spnptoms of licking or gnawing disease are observed. — In 

 rachitis one finds only the articular ends of the long bones 

 swollen in addition to rachitic changes in the bony framcAvork; 

 the articular ends are hard as bone, and only in certain cases 

 moderately sensitive to pressure, while the capsule as well as 

 the cavity of the joint itself is unchanged. 



Prognosis. This is generally unfavorable, because on the 

 one hand fatal complications may set in, and on the other hand, 

 repeated exacerbations greatly decrease the value of the ani- 



