• ARTHRITIS. 743 



full of minute abscesses, which give it a mottled appearance that is 

 frequently mistaken for scrofula ; all the organs and tissues are tinged 

 with the coloring matter of the bile ; the small vessels of the omentum 

 are charged with blood, and the mucous lining of the fourth stomach is 

 congested and black wherever the milk has lain in contact with it. In 

 many cases, the urachus is black — a bluish-black hue extending some 

 distance along the mucous membrane of the bladder. The umbilical 

 vein is also black, and filled with a cheesy material — degenerated lymph, 

 or coagulum of blood. 



The local appearances — i.e., in the jc^nts — are, in the first stages, in- 

 flammation of the synovial membrane, which, in a short time, extends to 

 the ends of the bones and ligamentous structures — the whole having an 

 intensely scarlet hue, which in a few days diminishes. Coagulable lymph 

 becomes effused into the cavities of the joints, forming perfect casts of 

 their interior, and filling up the interspaces between the bones. In time, 

 the exuded lymph commences to soften and break down. From the con- 

 traction of the mass, the fluid portion is pressed out, and intermixes with 

 the degenerated lymph. Fluid is also thrown out from the irritated 

 vessels of the joint, and aids in the softening of the lymph. After a time, 

 suppuration is thoroughly established, and pus cells are distinguished by 

 the aid of the microscope. The sheaths of the tendons running over the 

 fronts of the joints become excessively inflamed, and the blood-vessels of 

 the ligamentous structures are filled with scarlet blood. The cartilage 

 covering the articular ends of the bones becomes ulcerated and blackened, 

 as also the cancellated structure of the bones ; extravasations of blood, 

 from ulceration through the coats of the vessel, take place, the coagula 

 either undergoing degeneration or healthy organization. In the latter 

 case, distinct granulations are formed, which, on recovery of the animal, 

 fill up the cavities formed by the lymph. The flakes of lymph which are 

 found floating in the fluid contents of the joints or adherent to their sides, 

 are often mistaken for scrofulous deposits. If animals have lived suffi- 

 ciently long, multiple pyaemic abscesses are found in the various organs 

 and structures of the body. Blood from diseitsed lambs introduced into 

 the veins of a dog, gives rise to the formation of multiple hepatic ab- 

 scesses. 



From this description of the pathological anatomy of the malady, there 

 can scarcely be any doubt as to its pyaemic or septic origin, and this is 

 further demonstrated by the following account of its morbid anatomy by 

 Bollinger {Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Thiennediciti^ 1875) : — 



A male calf born at the Agricultural School of Strickhof, near Zurich, showed symp- 

 toms, soon after birth, of inflammation of the umbilicus. As the joints began to swell, 

 and there appeared to be no hope of saving the animal from the effects of the dreadful 

 joint disease — " gelenkseuche " — it was destroyed eight days afterwards. The body 

 was dissected an hour after death, but the examination was imperfectly made. The 

 umbilical ring was discovered to be still open ; it formed a circular aperture about two 

 centimetres in diameter, the sides of which were covered w^ith ulcers and a greenish- 

 yellow pus. The umbilical veins and the joints had been thrown away, and therefore 

 the investigation could not be continued. Projecting about the upper margin of both 

 lungs were several cuneiform tumors of a daric-red color, and of a solid consistency. In 

 the pericardium was a quantity of pale serum, in which floated loose stringy fibres. In 

 the cavity of the heart were a few detached fibres and blood clots. Beneath the endo- 

 cardium were various-sized patches of ecchymoses and blood extravasations. Nothing 

 abnormal was observed in the liver and kidneys, except bloodlessness. 



Another calf was produced at the same establishment on February 6th. Its birth 

 had been laborious, and the umbilical cord was divided in the ordinary natural manner. 



