392 



Diseases of the Genital Organs 



are commonly associated, but whether the epididymitis is 

 the progenitor of the cystitis, or vice versa, there is no evi- 

 dence to show. Thus far the affection has been chiefly ob- 

 served in young bulls, but most bulls are young. There 

 seems quite a probability, however, that the infection, like 

 epididymitis, is largely an invasion during the nursery pe- 

 riod, and that it lies somewhat dormant until unfavorable 

 hygienic conditions, close confinement, overfeeding, or ex- 

 cessive coitus arouse the infection to destructive virulence. 

 On the other hand, the possibility, if not probability, of ac- 

 quiring the infection through repeated coitus with highly 

 infected cows, must be frankly acknowledged and the proper 

 hygienic handling of bulls maintained in order to anticipate 

 such disease. 



Neglect of the study of the genital infections of bulls ren- 

 ders it impossible to speak with any assurance regarding 

 the bacteriology of semino-vesiculitis. Buck and others, 

 searching the vesiculae seminales, vasa deferentia, epididy- 

 mes and testes of 37 out of a group of 235 bulls, for the B. 

 abortus, recognized that organism in the vesiculae seminales 

 of 4. There appears nothing in their communication to in- 

 dicate that they were interested in the bacteriology of the 

 organ. Evidently they searched merely for the one organ- 

 ism, ignoring all others. While they recognized the B. abor- 

 tus in bulls, they have not stated that the cystitis was due to 

 that bacterium. The B. abortus probably plays a negligible 

 part in the causation. Vesicles from bulls, slaughtered be- 

 cause of sterility but not showing evident enlargement, sub- 

 mitted to Carpenter, revealed a streptococcus. It would 

 normally be suspected that the infections of the vesiculae 

 seminales and epididymes would be analogous to those of the 

 oviducts, in which streptococci appear to be the commonest 

 offenders. 



The prognosis, from the standpoint of reproduction, is 

 highly unfavorable. It seems improbable at present that, 

 once well established, semino-cystitis can recover, although 

 further observation may modify such a view. 



There is no effective method known for handling the (lis- 



