PURPURA HEMORRHAGICA. 387 



The mesenteric and other glands are generally congested, 

 friable, and enlarged ; the liver, spleen, and kidneys are vari- 

 ously altered, — sometimes merely congested, sometimes enlarged, 

 softened, and containing a large quantity of dark-coloured fluid 

 blood ; the lungs dark, enlarged, pigmented, and more or less 

 decomposed ; the bronchi and trachea filled with dark-coloured 

 extravasation. 



Treatment. — It is useless attempting to treat this disease with- 

 out first removing the animal from all offensive smells, bad drains, 

 and bad ventilation. Pure air, light, warmth, and comfort are 

 the first essentials. Secondly, it must be borne in mind that the 

 great danger of a suddenly fatal termination is from extravasa- 

 tion into some internal organ, or even into the subcutaneous 

 tissues. Some cases may die from the empoisoned condition 

 of the blood, without the occurrence of any extravasation or 

 even congestion, but these are rare compared with the first 

 named. 



For the purpose of overcoming this tendency to extravasation, 

 styptics, such as turpentine or ergot of rye, or astringents, as the 

 tincture of the terchloride of iron, are sometimes successfully 

 employed. If these are given in combination with an oleaginous 

 purgative, any astringent effect which they might otherwise 

 exercise on the alimentary canal is prevented. It must, however, 

 be remembered that extravasations depend more upon the con- 

 dition of the blood than upon the blood-vessels, and remedies 

 which are calculated, either by their antiseptic or oxidizing pro- 

 perties, to alter the abnormally fluid condition of the blood, are 

 better calculated to attain the object than those which merely 

 act upon an effect of the disease. For this reason, the chlorate 

 of potash has been prescribed, and with marked results. Whether 

 this salt acts as a direct antidote to the septic poison or not, is a 

 matter which I cannot explain. It is a fact that blood, when drawn 

 from an animal suffering from purpura, or from one in a state 

 of health, has its coagulating properties much increased when a 

 small quantity of this salt is added to it. I have kept blood 

 thus treated in a firmly coagulated condition for more than a 

 year. The coagulation is so rapid and so firm that scarcely any 

 serum is pressed out ; and, what is most remarkable, there is but 

 little contraction of the clot. 



Acting upon my experience as to the effect of this salt in 



