358 BOVINE OBSTETEICS 



inaligai,.tlie bacillus bovis morbi Scans (Porster), and others. 

 According to these authors, they may also emigrate from the 

 intestines. 



Nocard examined many uteri of cows dead with parturient 

 paresis and studied bacteria of the uterine secretions. He 

 always found staphylococci, and thinks that these microbes 

 play an important role in the pathogenesis of parturient 

 paresis. He thinks that the symptoms are due to the toxins 

 formed by those low organisms. He refers further to 

 Nicolaier's bacilli, which do not cause severe disturbances on 

 the spot occupied by them while the action of their toxins 

 nevertheless is exceedingly virulent. 



History. — Parturient paresis almost exclusivsly occurs in 

 cows which have calved three or more times. Most of them 

 have had the fourth or fifth calf. This disease, although less 

 frequent, is also observed in old cows. 



By far the most of the patients are in good flesh ; fat cows 

 even seen predisposed to the disease. Emaciated animals, 

 when heavy milkers, may also suffer with this disease after 

 parturition. As a rule, easy normal birth precedes. When the 

 disease sets in before or during parturition the pains are feeble 

 and often insufficient to expel the foetus, so that they must be 

 a,ssisted by traction on the young. 



Many observers have noticed that the disease is more 

 frequent in some families than others. Its heredity is not yet 

 established, although some observations point in that direction. 



Most cases of parturient paresis occur twelve to forty- 

 eight hours after parturition. This disease occasionally mani- 

 fests itself previous to parturition (Albrecht, Andersen, Mattel, 

 Meltzer, Monsarrat, de Bruin). My statistics, published 

 already in 1887, mentions among the seventy-four cases of 

 parturient paresis, one case eight days before birth, two cases 

 three days before and three cases during parturition ; seven 

 cases one to six hours, twenty-two cases six to twelve hours, 

 six cases twelve to eighteen hours, twenty-two cases eighteen 

 to twenty-four hours, and eleven cases twenty-four to twenty- 

 eight hours after parturition. 



