ANTHRAX 469 



will cease to feed, and stand with the head bent 

 towards the ground. On closer inspection, especially 

 in the case of swine, it will often be found that there 

 is a good deal of swelling under the throat, extending 

 down the neck ; and the swollen part will at first be 

 tender to the touch, and hot, but as the disease goes 

 on it becomes insensitive, cold, and clammy. The 

 shivering fits now become more frequent, and perhaps, 

 while these signs are being noted, the animal will 

 suddenly roll over on its side, and, after a few violent 

 struggles, expire. 



5. According to the severity and suddenness of 

 the attack, the post-mortem appearances will vary in 

 degree, but they are tolerably uniform in kind. Under 

 the skin there are usually patches of effused blood, 

 and a considerable quantity of viscid serous fluid will 

 be seen in those parts which were swollen during life. 

 If the cavities of the chest and abdomen are examined, 

 some red serous fiuid generally escapes. The spleen 

 is enlarged to three or four times its proper size, and 

 is of a deep purple or black colour, soft and easily 

 broken down. Effused blood is also found in masses 

 under the kidneys, and red patches are seen in various 

 parts of the serous membranes. The lining membrane 

 of the intestines is often congested, and the contents 

 are generally mixed with blood ; sometimes, indeed, 

 the intestinal canal is almost filled with that fiuid. 



6. The symptoms and post-mortem appearances 

 which have been described may, as a rule, be accepted 

 as evidence of the existence of anthrax. But it is 

 very desirable to avoid opening the carcase of an 

 animal which has died of anthrax, and the bacillus 

 may be detected by putting a drop of blood from the 

 ear or foot on a glass slide, covering it with a piece of 

 thin glass, and examining it with a magnifying power 



