RHEUMATISM. 439 



The lameness often disappears from one part of the body and 

 suddenly reappears in another. Very often the lameness is 

 symmetrical, that is to say, it will be due to inflammation of the 

 same joints in both legs, say in two stifle or in two hock joints. 

 The fever is acute and sthenic when it is not preceded by some 

 epizootic disease ; the pulse is hard and unyielding ; the mouth 

 hot and dry. The urinary secretions are impaired and altered ; 

 the urine, which in health, when tested with litmus paper, gives 

 an alkaline reaction in the herbivora, is neutral, or more or less 

 acid, and if microscopically examined is found to be loaded with 

 hippurates of soda and ammonia, and hippuric acid. 



There is generally some degree of costiveness, and if blood be 

 drawn, the coagulum will be firm and large ; indeed, in no disease 

 is there such a rapid and sensible increase of fibrin in the 

 blood as in acute rheumatism — in some cases as much as 10 

 parts in 1000 of blood have been found. The swellings of the 

 affected parts quickly assume a hardness due to exudation, but, 

 as already stated, suppuration rarely occurs. The elevation of 

 temperature is sometimes very great — 104°, 105°, or 106° F. ; 

 when over 105° F. it is always indicative of great danger. I 

 have known it as high as 109° F. in a cow. 



CHRONIC RHEUMATISM. 



The symptoms of this form are mere modifications of those 

 of the former, except that fever may be entirely absent. It is, 

 however, much more persistent, less metastatic, and leads to 

 alterations of structure, consisting of ulceration of articular car- 

 tilage, eburnation of the bones, and the formation of osteophytes, 

 much more commonly than the acute, an attack of which may 

 leave the animal quite well at its termination. Sometimes, how- 

 ever, the acute degenerates into the chronic, and an animal subject 

 to the chronic is very often attacked by the acute form. In chronic 

 rheumatism not only are the white fibrous structures altered, but 

 the bones in various parts of the body may become subject to 

 various pathological changes ; tumours or bony excrescences form 

 on the bones of the pelvis, spinal column, and in the fringes of 

 the synovial membranes ; distortions also occur. I have seen the 

 neck twisted by large bony tumours on the cervical vertebrae, 

 arising from this cause ; also enlargement and anchylosis of the 

 joints, ulceration of articular cartilages, particularly of the navi- 

 cular bursa, eburnation of the exposed bony extremities, and 



