602 MICROBIOLOGY OF THE DISEASES OF MAN AND ANIMALS. 



The bacteria abound in the capillaries (Fig. 103). The spleen is enlarged 

 and contains enormous numbers of the organisms. In the kidney the 

 glomeruli and tubules are gorged with the bacteria, which pass into the 

 urine. The bacteria can pass into the milk of females in lactation. 

 The bacteria are also numerous in the liver, lungs and mesentery, but 

 few are found in the muscles. 



Post-mortem examination of subcutaneously inoculated laboratory 

 animals shows subcutaneous oedema and enlarged spleen. 



The organism is eliminated from the body in urine, faeces, mucous 

 discharges, etc. Pastures become infected from burying anthrax carcasses 



FIG. 103. Anthrax. The organisms of anthrax in the capillaries of the liver of a 

 mouse. (After Williams.} 



which have been opened or have been skinned, thus favoring the forma- 

 tion of spores. If buried too near the surface, the rise of the ground 

 water, or the castings of earth worms, bring spores to the surface and on 

 to the herbage, where they may be ingested by grazing animals. Tan- 

 neries using anthrax-infected hides may be the cause of distributing the 

 organism by means of effluent water which has been used for steeping 

 hides. Many such cases have been traced in Delaware, Wisconsin and 

 in Ontario. Hay from an infected pasture may be transported to a 

 distant farm, and cause an outbreak of the disease. In Brazil, vultures 

 feeding on anthrax carcasses disseminate the spores by means of their 



