144 



THE DISTEiMPER. 



Another, and most fatal type of the disease, is that of a 

 malig-nant putrid fever into which the distemper not unfre- 

 quently runs, either from its catarrhal, pneumonic, or he- 

 patic states ; that is, however it commences, it does in many 

 cases deg-enerate into this malig-nant state, particularly in very 

 hot weather, or when an epidemic tendency to this type of 

 disease is prevalent. These cases are characterised by an 

 extreme debility, rapid emaciation, and total loss of appetite, 

 accompanied with an enormous purulent discharge from the 

 eyes and nose, but particularly from the latter, and some- 

 times from the ears also. As the disease proceeds, the pitu- 

 itary discharge becomes extreme, of a most foetid odour, and 

 often bloody; sometimes a considerable nasal haemorrhage 

 will occur. The eyes likewise, and sometimes the ears also, 

 pour out putrid pus; the gums bleed, and the tongue is 

 either furred with a dark crust, or presents marks of ulcera- 

 tion. . Within the nose deep ulcers appear, the secretion from 

 which is so acrid in r,?any instances, as to produce a spe- 

 cies of coryza, which excoriates the lips, cheeks, and every 

 part it touches. Not only are the exhalations from the nose, 

 eyes, and mouth, most foetid, but the whole body emits a 

 cadaverous stench also. Diarrhoea is often present likewise, 

 and tends greatly to aggravate the other symptoms, especi- 

 ally when the stools are bloody, which is very commonly the 

 case. The duration of this malig-nant form of the disease va- 

 ries according- to its severity, the strength of the patient, or 

 the means made use of to counteract it. I have seen it carry 

 off a dog in three or four days, and I have not unfrequently 

 witnessed its protraction to as many weeks ; but, in all, its 

 fatal tendency renders it extremely difficult to combat. On 

 dissection of such as die of it, not only the mucous membranes 

 of the head and chest present ulceration, but the whole ali- 

 mentary canal affords proof of its virulence, by livid spots 



quency with which purging appears later in the complaint, would 

 strengthen an opinion that the latter was the agent. ^ 



