118 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Progression is generally quite rapid, and locomotion becomes 

 more and more difficult, until finally the legs begin to show 

 marked atrophy. The coat of the animal becomes unkempt and 

 rough, he ceases to feed well, and the paralysis finally becomes so 

 marked that he can progress only by dragging the lower part of 

 the body after him, or sometimes by swinging the legs and lower 

 trunk between the arms, much as a cripple uses crutches. 



Rarely, as in one case of this series, distinct symptoms of pain 

 are present, but this is the exception, and the legs generally be- 

 come anaesthetic, so that a pin may be thrust into them without the 

 animal apparently noticing it. 



Deep necrotic ulcerations begin to appear, usually on the but- 

 tocks where the animal habitually seats himself, but later perhaps 

 on the feet or over the sacrum. Trivial wounds of the paralyzed 

 legs do not heal properly, but ulcerate and slough. 



In a few observations which I have made there seems to be a 

 general loss of muscular and tendon reflexes, but it is very diffi- 

 cult to be certain on this point. 



No mental symptoms appear, though the animal avoids his own 

 kind, apparently fearing, not without reason, injury from them, 

 but toward his keepers and friends he shows no alteration of 

 temper. 



In the later stages of the disease control of the sphincters is lost 

 and the fasces and urine are passed involuntarily. At about this 

 time the animal, apparently as a result of these general conditions, 

 begins to fail rapidly and of course soon ceases to be a desirable 

 specimen for exhibition and therefore is disposed of. 



No cases of recovery are on record, and no measures thus far 

 attempted have even seemed to arrest the progress of the disease, 

 once it becomes fully inaugurated. Where subjects of "cage- 

 paralysis" are allowed to live, they usually die from some inter- 

 current affection, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, or gastro- 

 enteritis. 



Treatment. — Medical treatment is apparently without avail. 

 Tonics, iron in various forms, nutritious foods and all the meas- 

 ures generally employed in such conditions in the human, are 

 used here without avail. It is interesting that iodides have also 

 been used entirely without effect. 



Pathology. — In so far as I have been able to find in the various 

 reports and studies from various zoological gardens, few care- 

 fully conducted post-mortem examinations are recorded and in 

 most of these instances microscopic studies are wanting. 



For these reasons we have attempted to systematically study 

 the spinal cords of the case which have occurred in the Park, 



