324 specific Inflammations. 



newly formed bone like a coarse calcareous sponge, tlie meshes of 

 which are occupied by the actinomycotic nodules and their purulent 

 matter. Fistulous sinuses discharge upon the surface and into the 

 mouth ; and in the purulent material are to be seen the tiny yellow 

 sand-like grains known as "sulphur grains," consisting of the fungi 

 themselves. The animal may die from starvation ; the process may 

 extend along the ramus of the jaw to the base of the skull and 

 gradually advance by the same changes through the latter and cause 

 death from a purulent meningitis ; or the fungi may be carried 

 along the lymphatics of the neck to the thorax, producing an acti- 

 nomycotic pleurisy and entering the lung to cause fibrosis and puru- 

 lent destruction of these organs. Occasionally the fungi swallowed 

 with tlie discharge into the mouth give rise to alimentary actino- 

 mycotic abscesses.] 



Lignieres and Spitz have described an epidemic disease of cattle 

 similar to actinomycosis occurring in Argentina, in which the skin and 

 lymph glands are principally involved (rarely the bones of the face and 

 tongue). The yellow fungus grains are not present, and another species of 

 microphyte which does not stain by Gram's method is regarded as the 

 cause {actiiiobacillosis). 



Botryomycosis. 



By the term botryomycosis is meant a productive inflamma- 

 tion which leads to the formation of fibrous growths or cicatri- 

 cial indurations attended invariably with suppuration and fistula 

 formation or the production of brownish to yellowish-red foci of 

 softening, and which are caused by infection with botryomyces 

 ascoformans. The disease is quite common in the horse; and 

 has been met a very few times also in the cow and hog (Csokor, 

 Wilbrandt). 



The fungus which is the productive agent of the disease, dis- 

 covered independently by Bollinger in 1870, Rivolta and Micel- 

 lone in 1879, and by Rabe and Johne, presents itself in the dis- 

 eased tissue as a deposit of fine sand-like granules, visible to the 

 naked eye. iMicroscopically it is characterized by the occurrence 

 of the fungi in blackberry-like masses (fifty to one hundred 

 micromillimeters in size) made up of conglomerated round, disc- 

 like masses of cocci grouped together in zoogloese.* 



This fungus gains entrance to the tissue by infection of 

 wounds ; apparentl\- it may find its way through small excoria- 



* For fuller description cf. Kltt, Bakterienkunde fiir Tier'drzte. IV Aufl., 

 Wien, 1903. 



