42 MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



gave to it the name lupinotoxin. They described its physical properties but 

 failed to determine its chemical composition. Attempts to associate a fungus, 

 with the plant have failed. Lupinosis is characterized by jaundice, acute 

 yellow atrophy of the liver, and parenchymatous inflammation of other in- 

 ternal organs. 



Symptoms in Sheep- The disease appears in either the acute or chronic 

 form, depending upon the amount of poison ingested. These two forms have 

 been experimentally reproduced by giving carefully regulated amounts of 

 lupinotoxin. 



In the acute form the disease appears suddenly. There is loss of appetite, 

 fever, hurried and difficult breathing, rapid pulse, stupor, vertigo, and not in- 

 frequently swelling of the lips, ears or face. The initial temperature may be 

 as high as 104 to 106 Fahr., but is intermittent and gradually falls just 

 before death. The pulse may reach 130 per minute and the respirations 100. 

 A bloody froth may issue from the nostrils. Icterus which may be detected in 

 the conjunctiva and the urine, usually appears on the second or third day. In 

 certain cases this latter symptom fails to manifest itself and therefore is not 

 constant. There is grinding of the teeth and sometimes trismus. The animal 

 apparently prefers the recumbent position, extends the head on the ground and 

 seems entirely oblivious to all surroundings. At first there is constipation, the 

 faeces being hard and scanty and covered with yellow mucous. Later diarrhoea 

 may set in and the excreta be tinged with blood giving them a dark brown 

 color. Emaciation develops rapidly. In case of recovery the symptoms grad- 

 ually abate and improvement takes place slowly. Cachexia is a common sequel. 

 In the chronic form the symptoms are not so violent. Jaundice may be en- 

 tirely absent and emaciation and anemia may be the chief signs. Inflammatory 

 tumefaction of the lips, eyelids, and ears with the formation of ulcers and 

 scabs is described by various writers. 



Course. Death may supervene within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, 

 although frequently the disease lasts four or five days. The immediate cause 

 of death is rapid emaciation and extreme weakness. Horses contract the dis- 

 ease from eating oats contaminated with the seeds or from eating the straw 

 of the plant. The symptoms which they manifest are essentially the same 

 as those above described. Horses seldom die from the effects of lupines. 



Lesions. The cadavers are emaciated and decompose rapidly. The muscles 

 are of a grayish yellow color, the fibers having become fatty and having lost their 

 striations. The subcutaneous tissue of the abdomen and the omentum and 

 mesentery are yellowish. The most important lesion in both the acute and 

 chronic forms is found in the liver. The alterations in this organ are those 

 of acute hepatitis. The liver cells have become swollen and granular on ac- 

 count of the parenchymatous change, or they may be more or less completely 

 degenerated into fat. The gland is soft and friable and may be somewhat 

 swollen. The interlobular connective tissue is greatly increased in amount due 

 to inflammatory hyperplasia. In the course of a few days the liver under- 

 goes acute yellow atrophy as a result of the absorption of the degenerated cells 

 and the contraction of the hyperplastic stroma. In the chronic form the 

 changes are those of chronic interstitial hepatitis. The icterus is of hepatic 

 origin and due to catarrh of the bile ducts. The gall bladder is distended with 

 bile and its lining membrane is congested and swollen. The kidneys and blad- 

 der may show changes, more or less marked, due to inflammation. The blad- 



