ANTHRAX. 295 



of tar-like blood. If one end of the organ be elevated, it will 

 be seen that the blood will gravitate into the most dependent 

 part, showing that the splenic tissue is disintegrated, and that 

 the blood is more or less fluid. 



Death from splenic fever is very sudden ; in many instances 

 an animal seen a few hours before apparently in good health is 

 found dead, death having apparently occurred without a struggle. 

 If, however, the disease is not so rapid in its course, it may be 

 noticed that there are various alternations in the symptoms ; 

 in some instances an animal will be unwell for several days, 

 suffering from a remittent fever ; one day very ill, with rapid, 

 feeble pulse, hurried and painful breathing, red and injected 

 eyes, hot mouth, irregularity of the bowels, and redness of the 

 urine. After continuing for some hours these symptoms may 

 subside, and the animal commence to eat and ruminate. The 

 febrile symptoms, however, often return, and in the end the 

 sufferer too often succumbs. 



In another form of anthrax without external tumours, the 

 most prominent sign, in addition to the general disturbance, is 

 the passage from the bowels of quantities of dark-coloured 

 blood ; and the disease is then denominated enteric or abdominal 

 cJiarhon, the post mortem characteristics being congestion of the 

 intestinal mucous membrane, more particularly of the small 

 intestines, which are covered with petechial spots, with incipient 

 ulceration in their centres, extravasation of dark-coloured blood 

 into the canal, and very often extravasations into the sub- 

 lumbar areolar tissue ; the fatty mass surrounding the kidneys 

 being loaded with extravasated blood, in a disintegrated, broken- 

 down, tarry, semi-fluid condition, or covered with petechice. 



SYMPTOMS IN SHEEP. 



In this country anthrax in sheep assumes the enteric form, 

 but on the Continent of Europe splenic apoplexy seems to be 

 the form by which they are usually attacked. 



Braxy in sheep — an anthracoid disease — is a form of septicaemia, 

 simulating anthrax in its post mortem appearance, but exhibiting 

 no contagious properties and presenting no specific germ. See 

 Septic Diseases. 



