POST-PAHTUM PARALYSIS — MILK FEVER — MAMMARY TOXEMIA, ETC. 461 



and soon afterwards the eyes water, the mucous membrane and the 

 hps of the vulva display oedematus infiltration and congestion, and 

 areas of cutaneous congestion, closely resembling mud fever in the 

 horse, appear over the mammae. At this stage the animals move with 

 difficulty, and show all the symptoms seen at the outset of gan- 

 grenous coryza. 



All these symptoms develop in one, two, or three hours, and death 

 may follow if nothing is done. They disappear, however, as rapidly 

 as they appear. In an hour or less we have seen in some cases a 

 complete return to the normal condition. Given the facts, the 

 diagnosis is extremely easy. 



Treatment. Treatment should be commenced by immediately re- 

 moving the animal to a cool, airy, shady place. It may then be 

 bled, and the head and neck should be freely drenched with cold water. 

 The symptoms generally disappear as though by magic. 



POST-PARTUM PARALYSIS-MILK FEVER— MAMMARY TOX/EMIA— 

 PARTURIENT APOPLEXY— DROPPING AFTER CALVING. 



For a great part of the following short account we are indebted to an 

 excellent report by J. J. Eepp, V.M.D., in the Journal of Conip. Medicine 

 and Veterinary Archives, September, 1901 : — 



The word ''fever " in connection with the terminology of this disease 

 is not very appropriate, because in the majority of cases fever is not 

 present, but the animal has a subnormal temperature. The term milk 

 fever is very misleading and indefinite, as it is also used by the laity to 

 designate other diseases, such as parturient septicaemia and the various 

 forms of mammitis. Parturient paralysis must be clearly differentiated 

 from parturient septicaemia, which is a disease of an entirely different 

 character and w^hich may occur in any of the domestic species, whereas 

 parturient paralysis occurs only in the cow. 



Distribution. Parturient paralysis occurs wherever milch cows are 

 kept. It is more prevalent in dairy districts, because it is the heavy 

 milking strains of cows that are most subject to the disease. 



Cause. No definite cause can be assigned for this disease. Schmidt's 

 theory is that parturient paralysis is caused by the evolution in the mam- 

 mary gland of a poisonous substance through the over-activity of the 

 epithelial cells of this gland excited by the determination to the udder 

 after birth of large quantities of blood which was supplied to the uterus 

 and the foetus before birth, but which now goes to the udder because 

 of the natural demand for milk secretion. This poisonous substance 

 being carried in the circulation to various parts of the body, brings on 

 the symptoms which characterise the disease. It is well recognised that 



