652 . Diseases of the Genital Organs 



a pregnant cow is intensely infected, the fetus inevitably 

 participates in a large degree. If the fetus resists the in- 

 fection with such success that it is born, the birth may be 

 very tardy owing to the paresis of the uterus due to the 

 metritis present. The fetal membranes may be retained. 

 Often the uterus contracts so feebly that traction must be 

 applied to the fetus. Sometimes the feeble action of the 

 uterus, or illness of the fetus, or the two combined, pre- 

 vents the fetus from vigorously assuming the proper posi- 

 tion for birth, the head or a limb deviates from its correct 

 course, and dystocia results. Finally, if the fetus survives 

 and is born, it is ill. It may be smeared over with meconium, 

 indicating that as a fetus it suffered from diarrhea. The 

 calf is weak and listless. It can not get up and perhaps can 

 not stand if lifted to its feet. It may or may not have diar- 

 rhea. The rectal temperature may be abnormal, normal, or 

 subnormal. The calf may rally after a time and get up, but 

 usually the depression increases and after two or three to 

 twenty-four hours it dies. Autopsy reveals hemorrhages 

 in the liver, spleen, or other viscera, or beneath the pleura 

 or peritoneum. The lesions are essentially identical with 

 those observed in aborts. One animal dies within the uterus 

 and is expelled shortly afterward ; the other is alive when 

 expelled from the uterus but soon perishes. The difference 

 between the two is merely the time and place when death 

 occurs. The cause and origin are the same in both cases. 



The dysentery of calves has not been clearly defined. It 

 merges imperceptibly in one direction with calf septicemia, 

 is inseparably linked with calf pneumonia, is complicated 

 by arthritis and other pyemic disturbances, and can not be 

 separated by any clear line of demarcation from lesser dis- 

 turbances which can not be included under either of tin- 

 types mentioned. Like calf septicemia, dysentery of calves 

 is a type of infection, -or group of infections, rather than a 

 specific infectious disease. Clearly due to infection, it is 

 not known to be due to any one disease-producing organism. 

 Though it is known that several organisms may be recog- 

 nized associated with the diarrhea, the exact part in the 

 disease played by any one of the bacteria is unknown. 



