CHAPTER XIII 



CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS OF MASTITIS 



Mastitis Caused By External Force 

 Bruises and wounds of the udder are easy to diagnose. 

 The sclerosis following repair of an abrasion might pos- 

 sibly be mistaken for a chronic udder-infection. A good 

 history and careful examination of the milk are of great 

 assistance in making a differential diagnosis. 



Udder-infection 



Infections of the udder may be divided clinically into 

 wound-infections and specific udder-infections. 



infected udder-wounds 



These wound-infections are recognized by a more or 

 less severe swelling in the neighborhood of the wound, and 

 the secretion, which usually consists of yellow pus, but 

 which may infrequently present a red-colored serous fluid 

 in severe acute infections. 



Wound-infections may be divided into acute and chronic 

 forms, depending upon the course. 



The acute wound-infections are streptomycosis, staphy- 

 lomycosis, and colibacillosis. 



Wounds complicated by acute infections usually heal 

 in ca. one month. The infection often begins with fever. 

 At first the secretion is serous, but later becomes purulent. 

 If the infection advances when the wound is fresh it may 

 become complicated with an acute milk-infection. Gan- 

 grene of the wound secretion is an exception. 



A clinical differentiation of the three types appears to 



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