PASCIOLA HEPATICA. 175 



pressure immediately causes Mm to wince, at the same time there 

 is communicated to the hand a yielding sensation totally unhke 

 the firm resistance which one meets with when running the hand 

 down the spine of a sound sheep. In bad cases there is a visible 

 hoUowness of the back, associated with a corresponding pendulous 

 condition of the abdomen, and a general emaciation of the body. 

 The spine sticks out prominently, the gait of the animal is feeble, 

 its whole appearance being dull, dejected, and melancholy in the 

 extreme. " The general surface of the skin," says Professor 

 Simonds, " loses its ruddy hue, and becomes deficient of the 

 unctuous secretion which in health belongs to it. This renders 

 the wool harsh and dry, and leads also to its easy separation 

 from the follicles. A dry, scaly state of the skin on the inner parts 

 of the thighs, particularly where it is uncovered with either wool 

 or hair, is likewise early to be recognized." In less advanced 

 cases, the same authority observes, " an examination of the eye 

 will materially assist in determining the question of disease. If 

 the lids are everted, the membrana nictitans being pressed forward, 

 it wiU be found that in the early stages of the malady — and 

 especially if the animal has been excited by being driven a short 

 distance — the vessels of the conjunctiva are turgid with pale or 

 yellowish-coloured blood, and that the whole part has a peculiar 

 moist or watery appearance. Later on, the same vessels are 

 blanched and scarcely to be recognized, excepting, perhaps, one or 

 two, which present a similar watery condition, or are turgid with 

 dark-coloured blood." Some other symptoms might be mentioned, 

 but the above are sufficiently numerous and thoroughly charac- 

 teristic. 



Pathological Appearances. — On cutting up a thoroughly rotten 

 sheep the appearances which present themselves to the scientific 

 pathologist are perhaps fully as striking as they are to the butcher 

 himself. One instantly notices the wasted, flabby, watery condi- 

 tion of all the tissues, and a total absence of that fresh, firm, car- 

 neous look which so distinctively characterizes the flesh in a state 



