WESTERN SNEEZE WEED AS A POISONOUS PLANT. 27 



AUTOPSY FINDINGS. 



In 1915 there were 6 autopsies on sheep, 7 in 1916, 7 in 1917, and 

 1 in 1918. In the results of these autopsies no uniform picture was 

 presented which could be considered as characteristic of H. hoopesii 

 poisoning. In some there were congested lungs and kidneys, but 

 this condition was by no means found even in the majority of cases. 

 Generally speaking there was, however, distinct congestion of parts 

 of the alimentary canal. In nearly all cases there was congestion 

 of the duodenum and ileum, and in most of them congestion of the 

 walls of the stomachs. In some cases this congestion was found in 

 the cecum and even in the rectum, but this was not ordinarily the 

 case. It can hardly be said that the autopsies gave any diagnostic 

 characteristics of H. hoopesii poisoning. 



In 4 of the 5 acute cases on which autopsies were held a consider- 

 able mass of serous coagulum was found on or near the rumino- 

 reticular groove. This, doubtless, was caused by the marked effect 

 of the H. hoopesii poison upon the circulatory system, as explained 

 in the discussion of the pathology which follows. 



MICROSCOPIC PATHOLOGY OF H. HOOPESII POISONING. 



The pathological changes occurring in the tissues of sheep poisoned 

 with Helenium hoopesii, or its extracts, vary with the type of the 

 case and the method of administering the material. 



Liver. — In all types of cases the liver is affected, the hepatic cells 

 varying in condition. In acute cases the liver cords may appear 

 compressed from edema, and the hepatic cells themselves often 

 contain large, irregular-shaped, open spaces. In other cases the 

 hepatic cells are swollen so as to obscure the capillaries. In the 

 chronic type, mild cloudy swelling or fatty degenerative changes 

 may occur. In one case interstitial hepatitis, and in another a well- 

 marked small-cell infiltration occurred. Bile ducts are very 

 frequently catarrhal or sometimes badly broken down. 



The quantity of blood varies between wide limits, a few cases 

 being severely congested, while in others very little blood is present. 



In all cases the blood stream in the liver is affected, this being 

 seen best in the central lobular and sublobular veins. In many 

 such veins, besides normal erythrocytes, there are leached or degen- 

 erate erythrocytes, granular material, areas of numerous leucocytes, 

 and sometimes fibrous material. Hepatic cells sometimes are 

 floating in the blood stream. These bodies may or may not be 

 attached to the wall of the vein. While some of them may be formed 

 about the time of death when the blood flow becomes very sluggish, 

 their structure would indicate that they are thrombi. 



The thrombi and the edematous, or swollen, liver cells cccasion 

 some resistance to the blood flow, and sometimes cause the mesen- 

 teric veins, the spleen, and the pancreas to be more or less congested. 



